Jerry Fairley
Jerry P. Fairley
Professor
Office
McClure 401C
Phone
208-885-9259
Email
Mailing Address
Department of Earth and Spatial Sciences
University of Idaho
875 Perimeter Drive MS 3025
Moscow, Idaho 83844-3025
- Ph.D., Earth Resources Engineering, 2000—University of California, Berkeley
- M.S., Geosciences, 1991—University of Nevada, Las Vegas
- B.S., Geology, 1984—State University of New York, Cortland
Courses:
- GEOL 335: Geomorphology
- GEOL 410: Techniques of Groundwater Study
- HYDR 576: Fundamentals of Modeling Hydrogeologic Systems
- Multiphase flow and transport in heterogeneous porous media
- Faults and fluid flow
- Geothermal systems
- Geologic carbon sequestration
- Nuclear waste disposal site characterization
- Fluid flow in faults
The objective of this project is to understand the distribution of properties controlling fluid flow in fault systems. The project focuses on characterizing fault properties by detailed examination of the discharge of hydrothermal fluids along exposed faults in the Basin and Range province of the western U.S. The study has important implications for petroleum hydrocarbon trapping and migration, management of power production in geothermal reservoirs, geologic carbon sequestration, and earthquake prediction. - Carbon sequestration in fractured basalts
New strategies for the sequestration of carbon-based compounds (e.g., carbon dioxide, methane, etc.) are currently in demand, given the current carbon-constrained business environment. This study seeks to understand the distribution of pore space available for the sequestration of carbon dioxide in the deep, fractured basalts of the Eastern Snake River Plane (ESRP). By characterizing surface exposures of ESRP basalts we have developed a spatial-statistical model that allows numerical simulation of CO2 injections to test the physical and economic potential of ESRP basalts as a permanent storage location for greenhouse gases. - Fracture/matrix exchange in the vadose zone
This project aims at developing a theoretical basis for an understanding of fracture/matrix interaction in unsaturated or multiphase fractured porous media. The mathematical and computational underpinnings of the study were developed on the basis of a series of experiments carried out at the laboratory scale at the Idaho National Laboratory and at the field scale in the underground laboratory at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The study has applications to oil and gas production, contaminant transport, and the safe disposal of high-level radioactive waste.
- Lloyd and Caroline Harding Professor of Geology (2012-2015)