Geology, Seismology Can Lead To Explosive Career Path

Catherine Snelson shares with students how her love for math and science led her to a career as a scientist who gets to use explosives.

By Velda Addison, Hart Energy

This story also appears in the Nov. 7 edition of the SEG show daily.

When Catherine Snelson searched for a career while narrowing potential college majors, she sought something that would sync with her passions – being outside and playing in the dirt.

Geology turned out to be her top choice. But being able to blow up stuff made the selection an even better fit for Snelson, who said she has always wanted to work in this field that includes seismology and geophysics. As a senior scientist for National Security Technologies, which operates the Nevada National Security site, Snelson manages projects in which chemical blasts are set off to create seismic energy.

"It's all in an effort to understand how we can monitor for nuclear events or other large conventional explosives," she said. "So we're testing basic science right now to really try to understand how seismic energy is being generated and see if we can develop the capability to be able to monitor those types of things."

Although Snelson said she spends about 70% of her time in the office, in front of a computer, writing, and working on data with other scientists, the most enjoyable part of her job is the field work – which oftentimes involves use of explosives.

"I don't get to do it near enough," Snelson said. "I enjoy the field work aspect of it.  …  To me, that is extremely satisfying – to be able see the beginning and follow it all the way through to execution. I'd say that's probably the best part of my job – to be in the field, getting the project going."

She hopes others find her line of work just as exciting. When she speaks to high school students participating in SEG's Applied Science Education Program, her goal is to entice them to get interested in seismology.

"I really hope that they get excited about seismology and realize that there is a lot you can do with it. It's not just about the scary math and physics," Snelson said. However, she realizes the reality that such subjects can be daunting for students. She encourages them to hang with it, just as her mom and grandmother – who was a teacher – encouraged her when she was a high school student.

Snelson was good in math and science. However, at the time, being a high school girl who was into science and math wasn't cool, she said. So she tuned out her classmates, and instead, listened to her role models, who gave her reassurance to do what she liked. So that's what she did. That was until she simply got bored with school altogether and took about a 10-year hiatus from pursuing her ideal career after graduating from high school.

During that time, she tried different occupations. Among these was accounting. But she discovered that wasn't for her, so she got serious about learning again and went to college, finishing coursework to obtain a geology degree and moving on to graduate school for a master's degree.

"After that, there was no stopping me," Snelson said.

As an undergraduate student at California State University at Hayward, she volunteered for a US Geological Survey seismic experiment in the Bay Area. The opportunity allowed her to use seismic instruments, go on a shoot and see the data. The experience captivated her and helped seal her decision to specialize in geophysics.

"I was fascinated by the fact that we could set off an explosion and we could actually see what was happening below the surface and got completely hooked by that," Snelson said, adding that she was trained on how to use explosives – controlled source seismology – while attending graduate school at University of Texas at El Paso. "This is totally what I want to do for the rest of my life. It just hits all the high points for me. I'm doing really cool science; I can see really cool things below the surface of the earth; and I can use explosives at the same time, which is really fun."

But it's not all about blowing stuff up and having fun. Snelson's work has a purpose. In some instances, the purpose is working to better understand what kind of seismic hazards a city may be facing. The effort can help the community be more prepared for earthquakes.

That was the case with an experiment in which Snelson participated during grad school. The project involved a series of explosions and instruments from the Olympic Mountains through the city of Seattle to the foothills of the Cascades to understand the city's seismic hazards.

Another project Snelson worked on included one conducted in the Rocky Mountains to understand how the earth's crust was put together to form the mountains.

But it was work with the Lawrence Livermore National Lab that prompted the US Department of Energy to nominate Snelson in 2003 for a Presidential Early Career Award For Scientists and Engineers, which she won and earned her a trip to the White House. At the time, Snelson was a professor at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas. The experiment involved a series of tests to understand and characterize the geologic structure of the Las Vegas basin.

The city has a significant seismic hazard, Snelson said, noting there are at least eight active faults cutting across the valley.

"We don't have very many earthquakes," she said, "but when we do, they could be devastating. We haven't had a large one since people have populated the valley. A lot of work that I did during that period of time went toward understanding our seismic hazard and understanding the ground motion effects within Las Vegas."

If students are able to get through the math and physics classes, there are some exciting tasks of importance to society that can be accomplished, she said.

"We image faults and try to map plate boundaries using controlled source seismology, using explosives and other controlled sources, all the way up to the pure science of trying to understand how the earth was put together," Snelson said, describing her current duties. Tasks also include defense applications of being able to detect adversarial countries and whether they have set off a nuclear weapon.

There is a lot that can be applied to seismology, and programs like the SEG's Applied Science Program are important, she added.

"Getting more kids into science and engineering is so important for the growth of our society as a whole, let alone our country," Snelson said, adding the US is lacking when it comes to technology. "A lot of those [technology] jobs are over in foreign countries now, and a lot of our students are shying away from science because it does seem to be intimidating and it can be if it is not presented in the right fashion."

But she hopes to change that by sharing her experiences and emphasizing the same points she makes when speaking with her 3-year-old daughter – It's important to learn, to keep the passion of learning going and to not be afraid of being a geek.

"It's OK to be a geek," Snelson said. "I'm very passionate about it, and I just like to try and get other people passionate about the work as well. It's cool stuff. How can you not enjoy blowing stuff up – for good purposes?"

Contact the author, Velda Addison, at vaddison@hartenergy.com.
Velda Addison
Associate editor (online) E&P