Research Interests

Carbonate depositional systems and carbonate platform evolution, high resolution sequence stratigraphy and its application to petroleum reservoirs, carbonate platform record of global climate change in greenhouse, transitional and icehouse worlds. Carbonate diagenesis.

Present projects include studies on

1. Carbonate platform record of greenhouse, transitional and icehouse worlds, USA. In this, our main interests are using the facies stacking patterns of the carbonate platforms to determine whether they formed under low amplitude sea level changes in an ice free earth, moderate amplitude changes, or high amplitude changes typical of an ice house earth using a combination of field data and modeling. This will allow us to refine the present highly simplistic subdivision of the Paleozoic.
2. Mesozoic carbonates of the Arabian plate with emphasis on high resolution sequence stratigraphy and reservoirs. Our emphasis is on using high resolution sequence stratigraphy of cores to better understand the reservoirs in the Jurassic and Cretaceous(Nasser Al-Ghamdi), and how global climate influenced the stacking of facies. This project is directed toward developing better reservoir models and involves national oil company personnel, and other groups, including the Tech group.
3. Climate and sea level record of Bahama type platform, Jurassic-Cretaceous, Croatia (with Antun Husinec, Croatian Geological Institute). This very large platform preserves a record of sea level and climate changes within the highly cyclic shallow platform record. This collaborative project (Croatian Geological Institute and Virginia Tech) will use the high resolution sequence stratigraphy of the platform interior, stable isotopes, and modeling to evaluate the platform record and the evidence for the presence or absence of ice in this generally warm time in earth history.

Former Graduate/Post-Doctoral Students

• Aus Al-Tawil, Chief Geologist, Saudi Aramco
• Anna Balog, Professor, Virginia Western
• Roger Barnaby, Louisiana State Geological Survey, Best Paper Award AAPG 2001
• John Bova, Exxon-Mobil
• Brian Coffey, Assistant Professor, Simon Fraser University British Columbia
• Steve Dorobek, formerly Professor, Texas A&M
• Maya Elrick, Professor, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque
• John Grotzinger, Professor, MIT, National Academy of Sciences, Donath Outstanding Young Geologist Award GSA;
• George Grover, Chief Geologist, Saudi Aramco
• Antun Husinec, Fulbright Post-Doctoral Fellow, Croatia
• Amy Khetani, Financial Analyst - Energy
• William Koerschner, Phillips Petroleum, Best Paper Award, Jour. Sedimentary Petrology, 1989
• Jenny LaGesse
• Jim Markello: Exxon-Mobil, former head of Carbonate Research Group, AAPG Distinguished Lecturer 2005
• Isabel P. Montanez, Professor, University of California-Davis, Best Paper Award, Jour. Sed. Petrology, 1992; J.Cam Sproule Award-AAPG; James Lee Wilson Award-SEPM
• William Mussman, British Gas
• Anthony Nelson
• Jim Niemann, Supervisor, Shallow Hazards Group, Chevron, GOM
• Dave Osleger, Lecturer, University of California, Davis
• Russell Pfeil, Head of environmental consulting company
• Mike Pope, Assoc. Professor, Western Washington University, Pullman
• L. B. (Taury) Smith, New York State Museum Oil and Gas Division; two time winner Best Paper Eastern AAPG.
• Thomas Wynn, Margaret Hawn Mirabile Best Student paper Eastern AAPG Meeting, 2002, Ph.D. 2003, Assistant Professor, Lock Haven University 

Honours

• American Association of Petroleum Geologists Distinguished Lecturer 1989-1990
• Outstanding Paper Award, Journal of Sedimentary Petrology for 1989
• Outstanding Paper Award, Journal of Sedimentary Petrology for 1992
• John Curtin International Fellow, Curtin University, Western Australia, mid-2002
• Virginia Tech's Graduate Sedimentology Program is ranked in the top 10 in the US by US News and World Report on Graduate Schools
• Outstanding Educator Award, Eastern Section, American Association of Petroleum Geologists, 2005
• Levorsen Aware for Best Paper, Eastern Section, American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Morgantown, West Virginia, 2006
• F. J. Pettijohn Medal, Society for Sedimentary Geology, for Excellence in Sedimentary Geology, to be awarded 2007

Selected Papers

• Read, J.F., 1985. Carbonate platform models. A.A.P.G. Bull., 69, 1-21.
• Koerschner, W.F. III and Read, J.F., 1989, Field and modelling studies of Cambrian carbonate cycles, Virginia Appalachians: Jour. Sed. Pet., v. 59, p. 654-687 (Outstanding Paper Award)
• Montanez, I.P. and Read, J.F., 1992, Fluid rock interaction history during stabilization of early dolomites, Upper Knox Group (Lower Ordovician), US Appalachians: Jour Sedimentary Petrology, v. 62, p. 753-778 (Outstanding Paper Award)
• Read, J.F. (1995) Overview of carbonate platform sequences, cycle stratigraphy and reservoirs in greenhouse and icehouse worlds: in Read, J.F., Kerans, C., Weber, L.J., Sarg, J.F., and Wright F.W., Milankovitch sea level changes, cycles and reservoirs on carbonate platforms in greenhouse and icehouse worlds, SEPM Short Course Notes No. 35, p. 1-102.
• Balog, A., Haas, J. and Read, J. F., 1997, Shallow marine record of orbitally forced cyclicity in Late Triassic carbonate platform Hungary: Jour. Sed. Res., 67, 661-675.
• Read, J. F., 1998c, Phanerozoic carbonate ramps from greenhouse, transitional and ice-house worlds: clues from field and modelling studies: in Wright, V.P. and Burchette, T. P., eds., Carbonate Ramps, Geological Society of London, Special Publications, v. 149, 107-135.
• Smith, L. B., and Read, J. F.,1999, Application of high resolution sequence stratigraphy to tidally influenced Late Mississippian carbonates, Illinois Basin: in Harris, P. M., Saller, A. H., and Simo, J. A., (eds.), Advances in Carbonate Sequence Stratigraphy - Application to Reservoirs, Outcrops, and Models: SEPM Special Publication, p. 107-126.
• Al-Tawil, A., Wynn, T.C. and Read, J.F., 2003, Sequence response of a foreland carbonate ramp during Mississippian glacio-eustasy, Appalachian Basin, Eastern U.S.A. Carboniferous and Permian Carbonate Platforms, SEPM Special Publication, p. 11-34.
• Al-Tawil, A. and Read, J.F., 2003, Late Mississippian (Chesterian) glacio-eustatic sequence development on an active distal foreland ramp, Kentucky. Carboniferous and Permian Carbonate Platforms, SEPM Special Publication, p. 35-55.
• Coffey, B.P. and Read, J.F. (2003) High resolution sequence stratigraphy in Tertiary carbonate-rich sections by thin-sectioned well cuttings. American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 86, p. 1407-1415.