Making me realise that I should never let being dyslexic hold me back from what I want to do

This PhD thesis is the culmination of a life-long interest in geology and has turned into as much a labour of love as a scientific study. Numerous people over the years have helped me get here, so there are many people I need to thank. Firstly, I would like to thank my supervisors from Durham University, Richard Davies and Richard Brown for their support, encouragement and advice throughout this project. I would like to thank my supervisors from Statoil UK Ltd, Jenny Morris and Rosie Fletcher for their guidance and assistance, and for giving me valuable insights into the petroleum industry. I would also like to thank my past supervisors, Dougal Jerram and Dorthe Møller Hansen for helping to set up this project. I am very grateful to the Volcanic Margins Research Consortium for providing excellent field trips, a place to discuss my research and access to some of the most knowledgeable people in my field, both in academia and industry. I would especially like to thank Tim Watton, Sam Clark, Bansri Raithatha, Heather Rawcliffe, Catherine Nelson, Clayton Grove, Nick Schofield, Simon Passey, David Brown, Richard Walker and Brian Bell for interesting discussions, both in the class room and down the pub. At the end of my PhD, this thesis was examined by Peter Burgess from Royal Holloway, University of London and Claire Horwell from Durham University. I would like to thank both of them for the many suggestions that improved this manuscript.

I would like to extend my gratitude to Statoil UK for funding this project through the CeREES scholarship program, and for providing much of the seismic reflection data. To David Ellis, Peter Dromgoole, Alex Reid and Adam Pugh for useful discussions and advice throughout my PhD. To DONG Energy UK for providing an internship and for letting me get my hands on industry data without any real expectations. To Mike Smith, Steve Cannon, Catherine Horseman, Alwyn Ross, Rémi Rateau, Giuseppina Pezza and Richard Nice for letting me ask many, many questions about Petrel. To the Rosebank partnership, Chevron, Statoil, OMV and DONG Energy, for permission to use the work undertaken during my internship as part of my PhD thesis. To Chevron, CGG Veritas, Fugro Multi Client Services, PGS, Spectrum ASA and WesternGeco for providing the seismic data under licence from Statoil UK Ltd and DONG Energy UK. To Halliburton for providing the seismic interpretation software through the Landmark Universities software grant program and Schlumberger for providing Petrel under licence to DONG Energy UK.

From Durham University, I am grateful to all the administrative staff for practical support throughout my PhD, including Katie Daniels, Andrea Bailey, Karen Atkinson, Janice Oakes, Paula Elliot and April Furnal. I would also like to thank members of the academic staff for advice and support, including João Trabucho-Alexandre, Jon Gluyas and Chris Greenwell. In addition, I would like to thank Dave Stevenson and Gary Wilkinson for data loading, software and hardware support. I would like to thank my fellow postgraduate students for providing a sense of community and camaraderie, there are too many of you to mention but I would especially like to thank Claire McLeod, Isobel Yeo, Harriet Ridley and Amy Clarke. I would also like to thank Mark Ireland, Steve Richardson, Katie Roberts, Amélie Leduc, Dom Maloney and David Moy for helping me get to grips with my research and the more technical elements of interpreting seismic reflection data. Many thanks to the Durham Volcanology Group for providing interesting discussions and introducing me to other aspects of volcanology. Going back in time, I want to thank my classmates and lecturers from the Geology Department at University of Leicester who helped me to believe in myself, made learning a fun experience and who provided me with a strong foundation in the subject I love. I am also grateful to Paul Starr and Paul Edmunds who taught ‘A’ level geology at Bishop Stopford School, Kettering. You set me on the path I am on now and I have never looked back.

On a more personal note I would like to thank Emily Boon, Karen Bianchi, Kathy Mather and Jo Variava for never letting me doubt myself and for reminding me there is a whole world outside of my PhD. I would especially like to thank Rhian Meara for toblerone martinis, peanut butter M&M’s and for always being there when I needed her. I would also like to thank Helen and Mike Hedley for their support and for always inviting me to take a break and go away with them to play in the snow. I am eternally gratefully to my family, my parents Helen and Michael, my siblings Tom and Fiona, my Grandmother, the American and Canadian contingents and those family members more recently rediscovered. Thank you for encouraging me, supporting me and making me realise that I should never let being dyslexic hold me back from what I want to do. This PhD is a testament to your faith in me, I hope I have made you proud. Finally I would like to thank my long suffering other half Ben Hedley. Words cannot express my gratitude for everything you have done. Thank you for accompanying me on this adventure, I look forward to our next one!!

Contributor: Kirstie Wright

Source: Wright, K (2013) Seismic Stratigraphy and Geomorphology of Palaeocene Volcanic Rocks, Faroe-Shetland Basin, PhD, Durham University