Catherine L. Hanks
Research Associate Professor

Rice University '78, B.A.;
University of Washington '81, M.S.;
University of Alaska Fairbanks '91, Ph.D.

Dr. Hanks is a structural geologist with an emphasis on the structural evolution of fold-and-thrust belts. She is specifically interested in the map-scale and mesoscopic-scale structural behavior of the wide range of lithologies which can be found in a fold-and-thrust belt, including both crystalline and sedimentary rocks. Her current research focuses on fracturing on detachment-folded carbonate rocks and implications for reservoir behavior. Her past research has included using balanced cross sections to reconstruct the crustal-scale evolution of northern Alaska; the structural evolution of the rangefront of northeastern Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; and the viability of using SAR imagery in the structural analysis of fold-and-thrust belts in arctic regions.

email: Catherine.Hanks@gi.alaska.edu
phone: 907-474-5562
FAX: 907-474-5163

For more information on recent research, including:

Distribution and Character of Fractures in the Lisburne Group, Northeastern Brooks Range, Alaska

Crustal-scale evolution of northern Alaska

Geologic evolution of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and Geologic Reconnaissance in Arctic Regions

2005 GSA presentation

Recent publications:

Hanks, C. L. , Parris, T. and Wallace, W.K., 2006, Fracture paragenesis & microthermometry in Lisburne Group detachment folds: implications for the thermal and structural evolution of the northeastern Brooks Range, Alaska: AAPG Bulletin, vol. 90, no. 1, p. 1-20.

Hanks ,C.L., Wallace, W.K., Atkinson, P.K., Brinton, J. , Bui, T., Jensen, J., Lorenz, J., 2004, Character, relative age and implications of fractures and other mesoscopic structures associated with detachment folds: an example from the Lisburne Group of the northeastern Brooks Range, Alaska: Bulletin of the Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists. vol. 52, no. 2 (June, 2004), p. 121-138

Bui, T., Brinton, J., Karpov, A.V., Hanks, C.L., and Jensen,J. L., 2003, Evidence and Implications for Significant Late and Post-Fold Fracturing on Detachment Folds in the Lisburne Group of the Northeastern Brooks Range: SPE publication 84845, p. 197-202.

Hanks, C.L., Parker, M., and Jameson, E., 2000, Regional stress patterns of the northeastern North Slope, Alaska: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys’ Short Notes on Alaskan Geology, 1999, p. 33-44.

Peapples, P.R., Wallace, W.K., Hanks, C.L., O’Sullivan, P.B., and Layer, P.W., 1997,Style, controls, and timing of fold-and-thrust deformation of the Jago stock, northeastern Brooks Range, Alaska: Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, vol. 34, p. 992-1007.

Hanks, C.L., Lorenz, J., Teufel, L., and Krumhardt, A.P., 1997, Lithologic and structural controls on natural fracture distribution within the Lisburne Group, northeastern Brooks Range and North Slope subsurface, Alaska: American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, vol. 81, no. 10, p. 1700-1720.

Hanks, C.L., and Guritz, R., 1997, Use of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) for geologic reconnaissance in arctic regions: an example from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska: American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin vol. 81, no. 1, p. 121-134.

Lorenz, J.C., Farrell, H.E., Hanks, C.L., Rizer, W.C., and Sonnenfeld, M.D., 1997, The characteristics of natural fractures in carbonate strata: in I Palaz and K Marfurt, eds, Carbonate Seismology: Society of Exploration Geophysics Publication, p. 179-201.

O’Sullivan, P.B., Hanks, C.L., Wallace, W.K., and Green, P.F., 1995, Multiple episodes of Cenozoic denudation in the northeastern Brooks Range: Fission track data from the Okpilak batholith, Alaska: Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, v. 32, no. 8, p. 1106-1118.

Hanks, Catherine L., Wallace, Wesley K., and O'Sullivan, Paul, 1994, The Cenozoic structural evolution of the northeastern Brooks Range, Alaska: 1992 Proceedings, International Conference on Arctic Margins, Anchorage, Alaska. U.S. Department of the Interior Minerals Management Service OCS Study, MMS 94-0040, p. 263-268.

Hanks, C. L., Lorenz, J. C., and Krumhardt, A. P., 1994, Mechanical stratigraphy of the Lisburne Group, eastern Sadlerochit Mountains: A preliminary report of field results: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Public Data File 94-19, 29 p.

Hanks, C. L., 1993, The Cenozoic structural evolution of a fold-and-thrust belt, northeastern Brooks Range, Alaska: Geological Society of America Bulletin, vol. 105, p. 306-322.

Hanks, C. L., 1993, Rapid evaluation of the regional geometry and shortening of a fold-and-thrust belt: an example from the northeastern Brooks Range, Alaska: American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, vol. 77, no. 1, p. 19-28.

Other links of interest: