Dr Laurence North

Job Title

Rock Physics Laboratory Manager

Site

Southampton

Email

l.j.north@noc.ac.uk

Biography

I specialise in the metrology of geological materials. I design and construct much of the novel instrumentation used for rock physics metrology at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton. I recently received the prestigious EAGE Loránd Eötvös award for my work on the measurement of electrical anisotropy in rocks. https://noc.ac.uk/news/discovery-new-rock-property-earns-prize

My current and recent research activity includes:

The NOC Pulse Tube

The NOC has recently installed an acoustic pulse tube to measure the velocity and attenuation of sediment samples over the frequency range of 1-10 kHz. My contribution to this project has been the developed much of the acoustic instrumentation and the digital signal processing algorithms used to measure sediment properties.

The measurement of electrical anisotropy in rocks

To support and advance understanding of resistivity anisotropy at the rock-fabric scale we have developed a system able to measure anisotropic resistivity in single, 50 mm diameter, core samples in the controlled conditions of a laboratory. The measurements are unbiased by sample orientation and the system provides the full 9 component resistivity tensor without assuming a specific anisotropy symmetry. Furthermore, we are able to achieve this under geologically representative conditions of up to 60 MPa effective pressure and controlled temperature while simultaneously measuring elastic wave velocity and attenuation.

Related Conference Papers:

L.J. North, A.I. Best and J. Sothcott . Pressure Sensitivity of the Joint Elastic-electrical Properties of Carbonate Reservoir Rocks. 74th EAGE Conference & Exhibition 2012

L.J. North, A.I. Best and J. Sothcott . Pressure Dependent Electrical Resistivity Anisotropy in Carbonate Reservoir Rocks. 74th EAGE Conference & Exhibition 2012

L.J. North, A.I. Best, J. Sothcott and L. MacGregor. Laboratory Measurements of Electrical Resistivity Heterogeneity and Anisotropy in Carbonate Reservoir Rocks. 73rd EAGE Conference & Exhibition 2011

Investigating the controls on anisotropy in sedimentary rocks using Finite Element Models

A finite element model of an in-silico, balistically deposited grain-pack showing the current paths between faces of the cubic sample. The current paths were found using a fast marching algorithm and help explain the anisotropy observed in the grain pack:

L.J. North, A.I. Best, J. Sothcott and G. Marketos. Compaction Induced Electrical Anisotropy in Sandstones. 75th EAGE Conference & Exhibition incorporating SPE EUROPEC 2013 DOI: 10.3997/2214-4609.20130349

Seafloor greenhouse gas

NERC standard grant, Geophysical quantification of seafloor greenhouse gas: the effect of gas bubble and hydrate morphology on sediment geophysical properties. Measuring the the 1-10KHz acoustic velocity and attenuation and electrical resistivity of gas hydrate bearing sediments.

Turbidity Current Measurement

NERC oil and gas catalyst grant How do turbidity currents interact with man-made structures? A novel Electric Resistivity Tomography approach. Imaging the concentration gradient in turbidity currents using electric impedance tomography.

Carbon Capture And Storage

EPSRC DiSECCS project, Carbon Capture and Storage, monitoring supercritical fluid flow and homogeneity in core sample using electric impedance tomography.

Marine CSEM

DASI, refurbishment of the DASI Controlled Source ElectroMagnetic ultra-low frequency marine radio transmitter.

Roles Provided

Rock Physics

Publications

Authors

Sutiyoso, Hanif S. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3111-2414; Sahoo, Sourav K. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9644-8878; North, Laurence J.; Falcon-Suarez, Ismael Himar ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8576-5165; Minshull, Timothy A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8202-1379; Best, Angus I. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9558-4261. 2025 Laboratory measurement of sonic (1–20 kHz) P‐wave velocity and attenuation during melting of ice‐bearing sand. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 130 (4). 10.1029/2024JB030465

Publication year

2025

Publication type

Article

Authors

Sutiyoso, Hanif S.; Sahoo, Sourav K. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9644-8878; North, Laurence J.; Minshull, Timothy A.; Falcon-Suarez, Ismael Himar ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8576-5165; Best, Angus I. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9558-4261. 2024 Laboratory measurements of water saturation effects on the acoustic velocity and attenuation of sand packs in the 1–20 kHz frequency range. Geophysical Prospecting. 10.1111/1365-2478.13607

Publication year

2024

Publication type

Article

Authors

Best, A.I. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9558-4261; Sahoo, S.K. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9644-8878; North, L.J.; Madhusudhan, B.N.; Sutiyoso, H.; Sanford, O.; Clarke, T.. 2024 Laboratory acoustic pulse tube studies for seafloor and sea ice greenhouse gas quantification. [Other] In: International Conference on Underwater Acoustics 2024, Bath, UK., 17-20 June 2024. (Unpublished)

Publication year

2024

Publication type

Conference item

Authors

Aladwani, Najeeb S.; North, Laurence J.; Falcon-Suarez, Ismael Himar ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8576-5165; Best, Angus I. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9558-4261. 2023 Shale distribution effects on the joint elastic–electrical properties in reservoir sandstone. Geophysical Prospecting. 10.1111/1365-2478.13331

Publication year

2023

Publication type

Article

Authors

Madhusudhan, B. N.; Sahoo, S. K. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9644-8878; Alvarez-Borges, F.; Ahmed, S.; North, L. J.; Best, A. I. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9558-4261. 2022 Gas bubble dynamics during methane hydrate formation and its influence on geophysical properties of sediment using high-resolution synchrotron imaging and rock physics modeling. Frontiers in Earth Science, 10. 10.3389/feart.2022.877641

Publication year

2022

Publication type

Article

Authors

Sahoo, Sourav ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9644-8878; North, Laurence; Best, Angus ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9558-4261. 2021 Laboratory formation of ice samples representative of natural sea-ice with heterogeneities. Southampton, National Oceanography Centre, 22pp. (National Oceanography Centre Research and Consultancy Report, 84)

Publication year

2021

Publication type

Monograph

Authors

Bayrakci, G.; Callow, B.; Bull, J. M.; Minshull, T. A.; Provenzano, G.; North, L. J.; Macdonald, C.; Robinson, A. H.; Henstock, T.; Chapman, M.. 2021 Seismic anisotropy within an active fluid flow structure: Scanner Pockmark, North Sea. Frontiers in Earth Science, 9. 10.3389/feart.2021.626416

Publication year

2021

Publication type

Article

Authors

Falcon-Suarez, Ismael Himar ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8576-5165; Lichtschlag, Anna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8281-2165; Marin-Moreno, Hector ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3412-1359; Papageorgiou, Giorgos; Sahoo, Sourav K. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9644-8878; Roche, Ben; Callow, Ben; Gehrmann, Romina A.S.; Chapman, Mark; North, Laurence. 2021 Core-scale geophysical and hydromechanical analysis of seabed sediments affected by CO2 venting. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 108, 103332. 10.1016/j.ijggc.2021.103332

Publication year

2021

Publication type

Article

Authors

Robinson, Adam H.; Callow, Ben; Böttner, Christoph; Yilo, Naima; Provenzano, Giuseppe; Falcon Suarez, Ismael H. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8576-5165; Marin Moreno, Hector ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3412-1359; Lichtschlag, Anna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8281-2165; Bayrakci, Gaye; Gehrmann, Romina; Parkes, Lou; Roche, Ben; Saleem, Umer; Schramm, Bettina; Waage, Malin; Lavayssière, Aude; Li, Jianghui; Jedari-Eyvazi, Farid; Sahoo, Sourav ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9644-8878; Deusner, Christian; Kossel, Elke; Minshull, Timothy A.; Berndt, Christian; Bull, Jonathan M.; Dean, Marcella; James, Rachael H.; Chapman, Mark; Best, Angus I. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9558-4261; Bünz, Stefan; Chen, Baixin; Connelly, Douglas P.; Elger, Judith; Haeckel, Matthias; Henstock, Timothy J.; Karstens, Jens; Macdonald, Calum; Matter, Juerg M.; North, Laurence; Reinardy, Benedict. 2021 Multiscale characterisation of chimneys/pipes: fluid escape structures within sedimentary basins. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 106, 103245. 10.1016/j.ijggc.2020.103245

Publication year

2021

Publication type

Article

Authors

Falcon Suarez, Ismael Himar ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8576-5165; North, Laurence; Callow, Ben; Bayrakci, Gaye; Bull, Jonathan; Best, Angus ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9558-4261. 2020 Experimental assessment of the stress-sensitivity of combined elastic and electrical anisotropy in shallow reservoir sandstones. Geophysics. 1-54. 10.1190/geo2019-0612.1

Publication year

2020

Publication type

Article

Authors

North, Laurence; Best, Angus ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9558-4261. 2019 Technical report: The acoustic properties of sea ice – a preliminary study. Southampton, National Oceanography Centre, 16pp. (National Oceanography Centre Research and Consultancy Report, 72)

Publication year

2019

Publication type

Monograph

Authors

Sahoo, Sourav K ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9644-8878; North, Laurence J; Marin Moreno, Hector ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3412-1359; Minshull, Tim A; Best, Angus I ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9558-4261. 2019 Laboratory observations of frequency-dependent ultrasonic P-wave velocity and attenuation during methane hydrate formation in Berea sandstone. Geophysical Journal International, 219 (1). 713-723. 10.1093/gji/ggz311

Publication year

2019

Publication type

Article

Authors

Gehrmann, R. A. S.; North, L. J.; Graber, S.; Szitkar, F.; Petersen, S.; Minshull, T. A.; Murton, B. J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1522-1191. 2019 Marine mineral exploration with controlled source electromagnetics at the TAG Hydrothermal Field, 26°N Mid‐Atlantic Ridge. Geophysical Research Letters, 46 (11). 5808-5816. 10.1029/2019GL082928

Publication year

2019

Publication type

Article

Authors

Murton, Bramley J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1522-1191; Lehrmann, Berit ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0004-7479-5780; Dutrieux, Adeline M.; Martins, Sofia; de la Iglesia, Alba Gil; Stobbs, Iain J.; Barriga, Fernando J.A.S.; Bialas, Jörg; Dannowski, Anke; Vardy, Mark E.; North, Laurence J.; Yeo, Isobel A.L.M. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9306-3446; Lusty, Paul A.J.; Petersen, Sven. 2019 Geological fate of seafloor massive sulphides at the TAG hydrothermal field (Mid-Atlantic Ridge). Ore Geology Reviews, 107. 903-925. 10.1016/j.oregeorev.2019.03.005

Publication year

2019

Publication type

Article

Authors

Attias, Eric; Amalokwu, Kelvin; Watts, Millie; Falcon-Suarez, Ismael Himar ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8576-5165; North, Laurence; Hu, Gao Wei; Best, Angus I. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9558-4261; Weitemeyer, Karen; Minshull, Tim A.. 2019 Gas hydrate quantification at a pockmark offshore Norway from joint effective medium modelling of resistivity and seismic velocity. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 113. 104151. 10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2019.104151

Publication year

2019

Publication type

Article

Authors

Falcon Suarez, Ismael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8576-5165; Papageorgiou, Georgios; Chadwick, Andy; North, Laurence J.; Best, Angus I. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9558-4261; Chapman, Mark. 2018 CO2-brine flow-through on an Utsira Sand core sample: experimental and modelling. implications for the Sleipner storage field. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 68. 236-246. 10.1016/j.ijggc.2017.11.019

Publication year

2018

Publication type

Article

Authors

Bayrakci, G.; Falcon Suarez, I. H. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8576-5165; Minshull, T.A.; North, L.; Barker, A.; Zihlmann, B.; Rouméjon, S.; Best, A.I. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9558-4261. 2018 Anisotropic Physical Properties of Mafic and Ultramafic Rocks From an Oceanic Core Complex. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 19 (11). 4366-4384. 10.1029/2018GC007738

Publication year

2018

Publication type

Article

Authors

Falcon Suarez, Ismael Himar ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8576-5165; Amalokwu, Kelvin; Delgado-Martin, Jordi; Callow, Ben; Robert, Katleen; North, Laurence; Sahoo, Sourav K. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9644-8878; Best, Angus I. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9558-4261. 2018 Comparison of stress-dependent geophysical, hydraulic and mechanical properties of synthetic and natural sandstones for reservoir characterization and monitoring studies. Geophysical Prospecting, 67 (4). 784-803. 10.1111/1365-2478.12699

Publication year

2018

Publication type

Article

Authors

Sahoo, Sourav K. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9644-8878; Madhusudhan, B. N.; Marin Moreno, Hector ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3412-1359; North, Laurence J.; Ahmed, Sharif; Falcon Suarez, Ismael Himar ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8576-5165; Minshull, Tim A.; Best, Angus I. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9558-4261. 2018 Laboratory insights into the effect of sediment-hosted methane hydrate morphology on elastic wave velocity from time-lapse 4D synchrotron X-ray computed tomography. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 19 (11). 4502-4521. 10.1029/2018GC007710

Publication year

2018

Publication type

Article

Authors

Sahoo, Sourav K. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9644-8878; Marin Moreno, Héctor ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3412-1359; North, Laurence J.; Falcon Suarez, Ismael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8576-5165; Madhusudhan, Bangalore N.; Best, Angus I. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9558-4261; Minshull, Tim A.. 2018 Presence and consequences of coexisting methane gas with hydrate under two phase water-hydrate stability conditions. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 123 (5). 3377-3390. 10.1029/2018JB015598

Publication year

2018

Publication type

Article

Authors

Falcon Suarez, Ismael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8576-5165; Bayrakci, Gaye; Minshull, Tim A.; North, Laurence J.; Best, Angus I. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9558-4261; Rouméjon, Stéphane; IODP Expedition 357 Science Party, .. 2017 Elastic and electrical properties and permeability of serpentinites from Atlantis Massif, Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Geophysical Journal International, 211 (2). 686-699. 10.1093/gji/ggx341

Publication year

2017

Publication type

Article

Authors

Falcon-Suarez, Ismael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8576-5165; Canal-Vila, Jacobo; Delgado-Martin, Jordi; North, Laurence; Best, Angus ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9558-4261. 2017 Characterisation and multifaceted anisotropy assessment of Corvio sandstone for geological CO2 storage studies. Geophysical Prospecting, 65 (5). 1293-1311. 10.1111/1365-2478.12469

Publication year

2017

Publication type

Article

Authors

Falcon Suarez, Ismael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8576-5165; Marin Moreno, Hector ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3412-1359; Browning, Fraser; Lichtschlag, Anna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8281-2165; Robert, Katleen; North, Laurence J.; Best, Angus I. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9558-4261. 2017 Experimental assessment of pore fluid distribution and geomechanical changes in saline sandstone reservoirs during and after CO2 injection. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 63. 356-369. 10.1016/j.ijggc.2017.06.019

Publication year

2017

Publication type

Article

Authors

Falcon-Suarez, Ismael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8576-5165; North, Laurence; Amalokwu, Kelvin; Best, Angus ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9558-4261. 2016 Integrated geophysical and hydromechanical assessment for CO2 storage: shallow low permeable reservoir sandstones. Geophysical Prospecting, 64 (4). 828-847. 10.1111/1365-2478.12396

Publication year

2016

Publication type

Article

Authors

Clare, M.A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1448-3878; Cartigny, M.J.B.; North, L.J.; Talling, P.J.; Vardy, M.E.; Hizzett, J.L.; Sumner, E.J.; Hughes Clarke, J.E.; Spinewine, B.. 2015 Quantification of near-bed dense layers and implications for seafloor structures: new insights into the most hazardous aspects of turbidity currents. In: Offshore Technology Conference 2015. Richardson, Texas, OnePetro/Society of Petroleum Engineers, OTC-25705-MS, 16pp.

Publication year

2015

Publication type

Book section

Authors

Falcon-Suarez, Ismael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8576-5165; North, Laurence; Best, Angus ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9558-4261. 2014 Experimental rig to improve the geophysical and geomechanical understanding of CO2 reservoirs. Energy Procedia, 59. 75-81. 10.1016/j.egypro.2014.10.351

Publication year

2014

Publication type

Article

Authors

North, Laurence J.; Best, Angus I. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9558-4261. 2014 Anomalous electrical resistivity anisotropy in clean reservoir sandstones. Geophysical Prospecting, 62 (6). 1315-1326. 10.1111/1365-2478.12183

Publication year

2014

Publication type

Article

Authors

Best, A.I. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9558-4261; North, L.J.; Sothcott, J.; Sinha, M.C.. 2013 Upscaling of elastic wave and electrical properties of reservoir rocks (Commercial in Confidence). Southampton, National Oceanography Centre, 68pp. (National Oceanography Centre Research and Consultancy Report, 29) (Unpublished)

Publication year

2013

Publication type

Monograph