Ricardo A. Olea, Ph.D.
Ricardo Olea is a Research Mathematical Statistician with the USGS Geology, Energy & Minerals (GEM) Science Center in Reston, VA.
Ricardo has extensive experience in quantitative modeling in the earth sciences and public health, primarily in the areas of petroleum geology and engineering, coal resource assessment, geostatistics, classical statistics, compositional data modeling, economic evaluation, well log analysis, marine geology, medical geography, geophysics, and geohydrology.
Professional Experience
2006 to Present: U.S. Geological Survey. Statistical Support: Coal Resource Assessment Methodology Implementation; Mathematical Model Enhancement; Exploitation of subsurface geologic resources in the land loss in coastal Louisiana; Advance the application of statistics to the earth sciences world-wide; and Reducing the risk of explosions at underground coal mines
Department of Petroleum Engineering, Stanford University
Marine Geology Section, Baltic Research Institute, University of Rostock, Warnemünde, Germany
Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
Research Scientist, Kansas Geological Survey, Lawrence, Kansas
Exploration Seismologist, Geostatistician, Log Analyst, Economic Analyst, and Reservoir Engineer, National Oil Company of Chile (ENAP)
Education and Certifications
Ph.D. Engineering, Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of Kansas
Mining Engineer Degree, University of Chile
Affiliations and Memberships*
Compositional Data Association, Member
Society of Petroleum Engineers, Member
American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Member
International Association for Mathematical Geosciences, Member
Sigma Xi and serves as an Associate Editor of the Springer journal Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment
International Association for Mathematical Geology (IAMG), Secretary General (1992–96) and President (1996–2000)
Honors and Awards
IAMG Krumbein Medal - Science and Professional Contributions, 2004
Science and Products
Quantifying ecospace utilization and ecosystemengineering during the early Phanerozoic—The role of bioturbation and bioerosion
Units recovery methods in compositional data analysis
A probabilistic assessment methodology for carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery and associated carbon dioxide retention
Assessment of coal resources and reserves in the Little Snake River coal field and Red Desert assessment area, Greater Green River Basin, Wyoming
Assessment experimental semivariogram uncertainty in the presence of a polynomial drift
Carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery and residual oil zone studies at the U.S. Geological Survey
Self-organizing maps for compositional data: coal combustion products of a Wyoming power plant
Compositional data analysis of coal combustion products with an application to a Wyoming power plant
Gas emissions, tars, and secondary minerals at the Ruth Mullins and Tiptop coal mine fires
Advances in sensitivity analysis of uncertainty to changes in sampling density when modeling spatially correlated attributes
Advancements in hydrochemistry mapping: methods and application to groundwater arsenic and iron concentrations in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India
A practical primer on geostatistics
Non-USGS Publications**
Martín-Fernández, J. A., Palarea-Alabaladejo, J., and Olea, R.A., 2011, Dealing with zeros. In V. Pawlowsky-Glahn and A. Buccianti (eds.), Compositional Data Analysis—Theory and Applications: Wiley & Sons, Ltd, Chichester, UK, p. 43–58.
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Science and Products
Quantifying ecospace utilization and ecosystemengineering during the early Phanerozoic—The role of bioturbation and bioerosion
Units recovery methods in compositional data analysis
A probabilistic assessment methodology for carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery and associated carbon dioxide retention
Assessment of coal resources and reserves in the Little Snake River coal field and Red Desert assessment area, Greater Green River Basin, Wyoming
Assessment experimental semivariogram uncertainty in the presence of a polynomial drift
Carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery and residual oil zone studies at the U.S. Geological Survey
Self-organizing maps for compositional data: coal combustion products of a Wyoming power plant
Compositional data analysis of coal combustion products with an application to a Wyoming power plant
Gas emissions, tars, and secondary minerals at the Ruth Mullins and Tiptop coal mine fires
Advances in sensitivity analysis of uncertainty to changes in sampling density when modeling spatially correlated attributes
Advancements in hydrochemistry mapping: methods and application to groundwater arsenic and iron concentrations in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India
A practical primer on geostatistics
Non-USGS Publications**
Martín-Fernández, J. A., Palarea-Alabaladejo, J., and Olea, R.A., 2011, Dealing with zeros. In V. Pawlowsky-Glahn and A. Buccianti (eds.), Compositional Data Analysis—Theory and Applications: Wiley & Sons, Ltd, Chichester, UK, p. 43–58.
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government