4th Annual Robert Read Distinguished Lecture Event

Join PBS-SEPM at the Petroleum Club of Midland on March 5, 2026, for the 4th Annual Robert Read Distinguished Lecture Series

Benefiting PBS-SEPM Scholarships and Continuing Education

"The answer is blowin’ in the wind: Unravelling the surprising role of subsurface ventilation in the formation of caves" - Dr. Matt Covington, Associate Professor, Department of Geosciences, University of Arkansas

ABSTRACT: Caves exhibit a fascinating array of forms and provide important archives of past conditions. They also are one of the few remaining exploration frontiers on Earth. Most caves are developed by carbonic acid produced by CO₂. Over the past 15 years, my group has focused on understanding CO₂ variability within karst systems and how it influences patterns of cave development. Our most unexpected finding is that cave airflow, and its effect on CO₂ concentrations, provides strong controls on the patterns and timing of carbonate dissolution. I will unfold the story of these discoveries, which began during fieldwork in Slovenia and further developed in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas and in some of the deepest caves in the world, in Oaxaca, Mexico. I will also introduce ongoing work in active sulfuric acid caves in Italy. The spectacular caves of the Capitan Formation of the Permian Basin were developed by similar processes long ago, but the sulfidic water is still present in the caves we are studying in Italy. Increasing evidence suggests that much of the cave development may occur above the water table, as acidic gases dissolve into films of water on the walls, again suggesting that cave development may be controlled by airflow and the gases that it transports.

BIO: Dr. Matt Covington is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geosciences at the University of Arkansas. As an undergraduate, he was a curious student with broad interests and no real career plan. In 2002, he completed dual degrees in both Physics (BS) and Philosophy (BA) and then went on to pursue a PhD in theoretical astrophysics at the University of California – Santa Cruz. Throughout his undergraduate and graduate education, he led a second life as a serious expedition caver, helping to explore and map some of the deepest cave systems in the world. During the final years of his PhD, he realized that he could apply his mathematical modeling skills to the study of caves, and he had found his true calling. After completing his PhD in Physics (2008), he was awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) Earth Sciences Postdoc Fellowship for a project studying karst hydrogeology, splitting his time between the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities and Louisiana State University. He then was awarded a second NSF International Postdoc fellowship and spent two years studying cave formation at the Karst Research Institute in Slovenia, working with fellow physicist and cave scientist Dr. Franci Gabrovšek. In 2012, he began as an Assistant Professor at the University of Arkansas. In 2019, he received a Fulbright US Scholar Award and spent another year working in Slovenia. His research covers a wide range of topics in karst hydrogeology and geomorphology, often combining mathematical models of basic physical and chemical processes with field work conducted in extreme cave environments. He has visited caves in over 25 countries and, by his estimates, spent more than a year and a half of his life underground.

SCHEDULE:

6:00PM - Networking/Cocktail Hour

7:00PM - Dinner

7:45PM - Keynote Talk, Dr. Matt Covington

Valet parking will be available. Dress is business casual to business professional.

Sponsorships available!

Register for a sponsorship online, or download the sponsor form to pay via check.