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
A synoptic examination of causes of land loss in southern Louisiana as related to the exploitation of subsurface geologic resources
A bootstrap estimation scheme for chemical compositional data with nondetects
Inference of strata separation and gas emission paths in longwall overburden using continuous wavelet transform of well logs and geostatistical simulation
Time-lapse analysis of methane quantity in Mary Lee group of coal seams using filter-based multiple-point geostatistical simulation
Direct estimation of diffuse gaseous emissions from coal fires: current methods and future directions
Aggregation of carbon dioxide sequestration storage assessment units
National assessment of geologic carbon dioxide storage resources: methodology implementation
Sequential Gaussian co-simulation of rate decline parameters of longwall gob gas ventholes
Special issue on geostatistical and spatiometrical modeling of coal resources
Using simulated maps to interpret the geochemistry, formation and quality of the Blue Gem Coal Bed, Kentucky, USA
VARBOOT: A spatial bootstrap program for semivariogram uncertainty assessment
Geostatistical population-mixture approach to unconventional-resource assessment with an application to the Woodford Gas Shale, Arkoma Basin, eastern Oklahoma
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
A synoptic examination of causes of land loss in southern Louisiana as related to the exploitation of subsurface geologic resources
A bootstrap estimation scheme for chemical compositional data with nondetects
Inference of strata separation and gas emission paths in longwall overburden using continuous wavelet transform of well logs and geostatistical simulation
Time-lapse analysis of methane quantity in Mary Lee group of coal seams using filter-based multiple-point geostatistical simulation
Direct estimation of diffuse gaseous emissions from coal fires: current methods and future directions
Aggregation of carbon dioxide sequestration storage assessment units
National assessment of geologic carbon dioxide storage resources: methodology implementation
Sequential Gaussian co-simulation of rate decline parameters of longwall gob gas ventholes
Special issue on geostatistical and spatiometrical modeling of coal resources
Using simulated maps to interpret the geochemistry, formation and quality of the Blue Gem Coal Bed, Kentucky, USA
VARBOOT: A spatial bootstrap program for semivariogram uncertainty assessment
Geostatistical population-mixture approach to unconventional-resource assessment with an application to the Woodford Gas Shale, Arkoma Basin, eastern Oklahoma
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