The main focus of my research is salt tectonics, particularly kinematic models for evolution and growth of salt structures. This interest began upon my arrival at Exxon Production Research in 1989, when I was informed that I would be the company’s new expert on salt tectonics despite the fact that I was almost completely unfamiliar with the topic. The learning curve was quite steep at first, but as time passed I became progressively more enamored with salt deformation. After a 3-year stint teaching structural geology at Baylor University, I moved to Austin in 2000 to join the Applied Geodynamics Laboratory, an industry-funded research consortium studying salt tectonics. I have been co-director of the consortium since 2002.
My current research is focused on three topics. First, I am investigating the influence of rifting and basin formation on salt tectonics, especially on passive margins in Brazil, West Africa, and the Gulf of Mexico. Second, I am interested in the emplacement and deformation of allochthonous salt sheets and canopies, mostly in the Gulf of Mexico. Finally, Martin Jackson and I are in the process of writing a book entitled The Theory and Practice of Salt Tectonics, which is intended to be a full-length monograph on salt tectonics and the seismic interpretation of salt structures.
Research Interests
Salt tectonics
Passive-margin basement structure
Structural restoration
Researcher ID
http://www.researcherid.com/rid/A-3796-2009
Education
B.A. Geology, Amherst College, 1983
M.S. Geology, University of Southern California, 1987
Ph.D. Geology, University of Wyoming, 1990
Professional History
Senior Research Scientist, Bureau of Economic Geology, The University of Texas at Austin, 2000–present
Assistant Professor, Baylor University, Waco, Texas, 1997–2000
Research Scientist, Exxon Production Research, Houston, TX, 1989–1997
Selected Publications
Hudec, M. R., Jackson, M. P. A., and Peel, Frank, 2013, Influence of deep Louann structure on the evolution of the northern Gulf of Mexico: AAPG Bulletin, v. 97, no. 10, p. 1711–1735.
Hudec, M. R., Norton, Ian, Jackson, M. P. A., and Peel, Frank, 2013, Jurassic evolution of the Gulf of Mexico salt basin: AAPG Bulletin, v. 97, no. 10, p. 1683–1710.
Hudec, M. R., and Jackson, M. P. A., 2011, The salt mine: a digital atlas of salt tectonics: The University of Texas at Austin, Bureau of Economic Geology, Udden Book Series No. 5; AAPG Memoir 99, 305 p.
Hudec, M. R., Jackson, M. P. A., and Schultz-Ela, D., 2009, The paradox of minibasin subsidence into salt: clues to the evolution of crustal basins: GSA Bulletin, v. 121, no. 1/2, p. 201–221.
Hudec, M. R., and Jackson, M. P. A., 2007, Terra infirma: understanding salt tectonics: Earth-Science Reviews, v. 82, p. 1–24.
Awards
AAPG A. I. Levorsen Memorial Award for Best Paper Presented, 2012 GCAGS Convention, Austin, Texas, 2012
Publication Award, Bureau of Economic Geology, in Special Recognition by the Director for Landmark Publication, “The Salt Mine: A Digital Atlas of Salt Tectonics”, 2012
First Place Thomas A. Philpott Excellence of Presentation Award, 2012 GCAGS Convention, Austin, Texas, 2012
Award of Excellence, “Top 10” Poster Presentation at AAPG Annual Convention, Is There a Subsalt Foldbelt in the Central U.S. Gulf of Mexico?, 2010
Award of Excellence, “Top 10” Poster Presentation at AAPG Annual Convention, Deformation Styles and Linkage of Salt Walls during Oblique Shortening, 2009
Jules Braunstein Memorial Award for best poster at AAPG Annual Convention, Dismembered Sutures Formed during Asymmetric Salt-Sheet Collision, 2008
Publication Award, Bureau of Economic Geology (exemplary publication of scientific or economic impact), 2008
A. I. Levorsen Award as co-author of Best Paper presented at Gulf Coast Section, AAPG Annual Meeting, Importance of Allochthonous Salt in Texas State Waters: Paleo-Canopy Presence and New Exploration Paradigms, 2007
American Association of Petroleum Geologists George C. Matson Award for "A Compressional Origin for Minibasins near the Sigsbee Escarpment, Gulf of Mexico", 2005 - 2006
Outstanding Instructor Award, Exxon Production Research Company, 1993
