Dana Mihaela ENCIU (formerly Mucuta) Ph.D. Candidate (Updated February, 2007) Contact Information: Address: Geophysical Exploration Lab Dept. Geological Sciences University of South Carolina 701 Sumter Street Columbia, SC 29208 Office phone no: (803)-777-3143 E-mail: dmucuta@geol.sc.edu EDUCATION 08/2003-present: Ph.D. Candidate, University of South Carolina, Department of Geological Sciences, Geophysical Exploration Lab Thesis topic: Spatial Relationships between Crustal Structures and Mantle Seismicity in the Vrancea Seismogenic Zone of Romania: Implications for Geodynamic Evolution Expected graduation: August 2007 10/2002-06/2003: University of Bucharest (Romania), -M.S. in Sedimentary Basins Analysis, 2003. Thesis title: Distribution of Pn and Sn wave velocities on the Romanian territory with a focus on lithosphere investigation 10/1997-06/2002: University of Bucharest (Romania), -B.S. in Geophysics, 2002, with honors and distinction Thesis title: The study of SKS waves at the Muntele Rosu station in order to determine upper mantle anisotropy in the Vrancea area-romania RESEARCH INTERESTS Seismic waves propagation and imaging; Seismic processing and interpretation; Petroleum exploration; Structure and origin of sedimentary basins; Application of active and passive source seismology to the structure, composition and physical properties of the Earth s crust and upper mantle; Earthquake relocation and focal mechanisms; Seismic anisotropy; Ground penetrating radar applications
Current work: I am presently developing a 3 D velocity model for the SE Carpathians foreland basin that I will use for improved relocations of crustal earthquakes. Along with focal mechanism determinations, this sub-project will characterize the seismic regime of the Focsani Basin, Romania and its genetic association with the Vrancea Seismogenic Zone (VSZ), where intense mantle earthquakes occur frequently. The relationship between the stress regime in the foreland basin and VSZ is viewed as a key factor in understanding the tectonics of this area. WORK EXPERIENCE: 09/2006- present: Lab Coordinator and Teaching Assistant, USC, Dept. Geological Sciences; - Responsible for organizing Introduction to the Earth laboratories for 13 student 06/2006-09/2006: Summer Internship, BP. I worked in the Advanced Seismic Imaging team of BP America, Houston office. My task was to improve the pre-processing flow for 4D4C seismic data from the North Sea and assess 4D/time lapse effects due to production and injection. I tested different random noise removal filters and improved the final images. I also calculated NRMS differences between 2 surveys to detect and confirm observed 4D differences. 01/2006-05/2006: Lab Coordinator and Teaching Assistant, USC, Dept. Geological Sciences; - Responsible for organizing Introduction to the Earth laboratories for 14 student 08/2005-01/2006: Lab Coordinator and Teaching Assistant, USC, Dept. Geological Sciences; - Responsible for organizing Introduction to the Earth laboratories for 14 student 05/2005-08/2005: Research Assistant, USC, Dept. Geological Sciences Geophysical Exploration Lab - seismic processing of 2D land data using ProMAX 08/2004-05/2005: Teaching Assistant, USC, Dept. Geological Sciences; - Conducting Introduction to the Earth laboratory activities with 3 sections. 06/2004-08/2004: Project DRACULA (Deep Reflection Acquisition Constraining Unusual Lithosperic Activity) acquisition of three lithospheric scale seismic lines (~ 340 km total) using stand alone Texan seismometers in both static spreads and roll-along to image the tectonics of the Vrancea Seismogenic Zone, Romania; I was involved in all aspects of field activities including acquisition, data downloading and programming instruments. 08/2003-06/2004: Research Assistant, Geophysical Exploration Laboratory, Department of Geological Sciences; University of South Carolina. - Seismic processing and interpretation of industry deep seismic data, earthquake relocation, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), integration of active/passive source seismological data with geologic and topographic maps.
10/2002-07/2003: Exploration Geophysicist, Petrom SA (Romanian State Oil Company), Bucharest, Romania. - Involved in exploration activities for oil and gas in the Carpathian foreland and hinterland basins through seismic reflection techniques and well-log analysis. Performed seismic interpretation using Landmark software. 08/2001 : Involved in the field acquisition of ~650km of wide-angle refraction and ~130 km of near-vertical reflection data from the territory of Romania with the DACIA PLAN Project (the project involved the University of South Carolina, University of Texas at El Paso, National Institute for Earth Physics-Romania and the University of Bucharest, Romania.) 07/1999-08/1999: Field activities with the CALIXTO (Carpathian Arc Lithosphere X-Ray Tomography) International Project, involving tomographic acquisition of crustal and mantle earthquakes of the Vrancea Zone, Romania. COMPUTER SKILLS: Experience with Microsoft Windows-based software, 2D seismic data processing and interpretation (Landmark ProMAX and SeisWorks), Kingdom Suite, PITSA, MapInfo and ArcGIS; web pages/html, UNIX; Free USP; software for locating earthquakes (Hypoplus, VELEST, Hypoinverse). SPECIALIZED TRAINING: Seismic reflection profiling GPS training (2004) using 1230 Leica Differential Global Positioning System (GPS) for land surveying. GPR training (2004) using Pulse EKKO 100 Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) system, with 50, 100, 200 MHz antennas. Application of Geophysical Methods to Engineering Problems, 2005. SOCIETY MEMBERSHIP: Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG)- member since 2001 American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)- member since 2003 American Geophysical Union (AGU)- member since 2004 Geological Society of America (GSA) member since 2005 AAPG Student Chapter member since 2003 University of South Carolina Geophysical Society- president 2005-2006; vice-president 2004-2005 AWARDS AND SCHOLARSHIPS: SEG Foundation Scholarship (sponsored by Western Geco): 2006-2007 SEG Foundation Travel Grant, October 2006 AAPG Grant in Aid - Horst and Jessie Von Bandat Memorial Grant, 2006 George M. Reeves Fellow, Graduate School, Univ. South Carolina, Spring 2006 Cox Award for student research, awarded by the GSA Geophysics Division, 2005; SEG Foundation scholarship (sponsored by Leon Thompsen/BP America): 2005-2006; Geologic Society of America Research Grant, 2005-2006; Taber Award for Outstanding Doctoral Research, University of South Carolina, 2005; SEG Foundation scholarship (sponsored by ChevronTexaco): 2004-2005;
Merit Scholarship, Univ. Bucharest, Romania: 1997-2002; LANGUAGES: Romanian, English, French PUBLICATIONS: Dana M. Mucuta, Camelia C. Knapp, and James H, Knapp, Constraints from Moho Geometry and Crustal Thickness on the Geodynamic Origin of the Vrancea Seismogenic Zone (Romania), 2006 Tectonophysics, 420:23-36. ABSTRACTS: Dana M. Mucuta, Camelia C. Knapp, 2006, Deep crustal imaging using industry seismic data: The case of the Focsani basin, Romania, SEG Annual Meeting, New Orleans. Camelia C. Knapp, James H. Knapp and Dana M. Mucuta, 2006, Southeastern Carpathian Foreland Deformation in Relation to the Vrancea Seismogenic Zone of Romania: Results from Project DRACULA, 12th International Symposium on Deep Structure of the Continents and their Margins, Japan, 26 Sept. 1 Oct. 2006. Dana M. Mucuta, Camelia C. Knapp, James H. Knapp, Victor Mocanu and Victor Raileanu, 2005, Neotectonic Southeast Carpathian Foreland Deformation and Genetic Association with the Vrancea Seismogenic Zone, Eos Trans. AGU, 86 (52) Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract. Dana M. Mucuta, Camelia C. Knapp, Mechanical Coupling of Mantle Seismicity and Crustal-Scale Faults in the SE Carpathians Foreland, 2005, 4-th Congress of the Balkan Geophysical Society. Dana M. Mucuta, Camelia C. Knapp, James H, Knapp, and Mihaela Popa, 2004, Constraints from Moho Geometry and Crustal Thickness on the Geodynamic Origin of the Vrancea Seismogenic Zone (Romania), Eos Trans. AGU, 85 (47), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract. Camelia C. Knapp, James H. Knapp, L. Munteanu, V. Mocanu, V. Raileanu, Robert Trenkamp, Dana M. Mucuta, M. Fillerup, Steven Harder, and Michael Fort, Active Foreland Deformation of the Southeastern Carpathians from Deep Seismic Reflection Profiles DRACULA II and III: Genetic Relationships with the Vrancea Seismogenic Region, 2004, Eos Trans. AGU, 85 (47), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract. Camelia C. Knapp, J. H. Knapp, L. Munteanu, V. Mocanu V. Raileanu, Dana M. Mucuta, & M. Fillerup, New Insights on the Vrancea Seismogenic Zone of Romania from Project DRACULA: Deep Reflection Acquisition Constraining Unusual Lithospheric Activity, 11th International Symposium on Deep Structure of the Continents and their Margins, Mont Tremblant, Canada, 26 Sept. 1 Oct. 2004. James H. Knapp, Camelia C. Knapp, and Team DRACULA, Low-cost Deep CMP Acquisition with Reftek-125 (Texan) Seismometers: Challenges and Successes of Project DRACULA, 11th International Symposium on Deep Structure of the Continents and their Margins, Mont Tremblant, Canada, 26 Sept. 1 Oct. 2004.
J.H Knapp, Camelia C. Knapp, V. Raileanu, V. Mocanu, L. Matenco, C. Dinu, E. Anderson, and Dana M. Mucuta, Crustal Constraints on the Origin of Mantle Seismicity in the Vrancea Zone, Romania: The Case for Active Continental Lithospheric Delamination, AGU, Dec. 2003. Camelia C. Knapp, J. H. Knapp, V. Raileanu, L. Matenco, V. Mocanu, R. Stephenson, Dana M. Mucuta, and C. Dinu, Mechanical Coupling of Southeastern Carpathian Foreland Deformation with Vrancea Mantle Seismicity, the 4 th Stephan Mueller Conference, Romania, 2003. J. H. Knapp, Camelia C. Knapp, V. Raileanu, L. Matenco, V. Mocanu, R. Stephenson, Dana M. Mucuta, and C. Dinu, Crustal Expression of Vrancea Mantle Seismicity: Project DRACULA, the 4 th Stephan Mueller Conference, Romania, 2003. Manuscripts in Preparation: SE Carpathian foreland crustal seismicity and its relation to the Vrancea Seismogenic Zone Paper for submission to Journal of Geophysical Research OTHER ACTIVITIES: Co-Chair of the Tectonics of the European-Northeastern African-Middle Eastern Region poster session, AGU, San Francisco, 2005. Judge for the Regional Science Fair Division of Highschools, (2004, 2005 and 2006) University of South Carolina Geophysical Society president (2005-2006); vice-president (2004-2005); founding member. Referrences to be provided upon request