 
    Christopher White
Associate Lecturer and Research Professor
Area of Expertise
      Transport in porous media, geostatistics, geothermal reservoir engineering, oil and gas reservoir dynamics, numerical modeling, geochemistry, and petrophysics.
Degrees
      PhD, Petroleum Engineering, Stanford University
MS, Petroleum Engineering, Stanford University
BS, Petroleum and Geological Engineering, University of Oklahoma
Professional Publications & Contributions
      - Acidification Of Northeastern USA Lakes From Rising Anthropogenic‐Sourced Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide and Its Effects on Aluminum Speciation
 KH Johannesson, JD Horne, A Misra, C Aliperta, OV Meletis, RC Santore, ...
 Geophysical Research Letters 50 (22), e2023GL104957, 2023.
- Biogeochemical and reactive transport modeling of arsenic in groundwaters from the Mississippi River delta plain: An analog for the As-affected aquifers of South and Southeast Asia
 Karen H Johannesson, Ningfang Yang, Alexandra S Trahan, Katherine Telfeyan, T Jade Mohajerin, Segun B Adebayo, Omolola A Akintomide, Darren A Chevis, Saugata Datta, Christopher D White
 Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 264, 245-272, 2019
- Scaling analysis of capillary transition zones
 T Sun, CD White, Y Shuai
 International Journal of Oil, Gas and Coal Technology 19 (1), 22-34, 2018.
- Modeling a new design for extracting energy from geopressured geothermal reservoirs
 E Ansari, R Hughes, CD White
 Geothermics 71, 339-356, 2018.
- Rare earth elements geochemistry and Nd isotopes in the Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico mixing zone
 SB Adebayo, M Cui, T Hong, CD White, EE Martin, KH Johannesson
 Frontiers in Marine Science 5, 166, 2018.
- A large scale network model to obtain interwell formation characteristics
 SA Gherabati, RG Hughes, CD White, H Zhang
 International Journal of Oil, Gas and Coal Technology 15 (1), 1-24, 2017.
- Statistical modeling of geopressured geothermal reservoirs
 E Ansari, R Hughes, CD White
 Computers & Geosciences 103, 36-50, 2017.
- Efficient retention of mud drives land building on the Mississippi Delta plain
 CR Esposito, Z Shen, TE Törnqvist, J Marshak, C White
 Earth Surface Dynamics 5 (3), 387-39, 2017.
- Integration of seismic first arrival times to estimate water-air contact and initial water saturation
 T Sun, Y Shuai, C White, J Lorenzo, S Chollett
 Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 45, 391-398, 2017.
- Rare earth element behavior during groundwater–seawater mixing along the Kona Coast of Hawaii
 KH Johannesson, CD Palmore, J Fackrell, NG Prouty, PW Swarzenski, Darren A Chevis, Katherine Telfeyan, Christopher D White, David J Burdige
 Geochimica et cosmochimica acta 198, 229-258 , 2017.
- A gathered EnKF for continuous reservoir model updating
 Y Shuai, C White, T Sun, Y Feng
 Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering 139, 205-218, 2016.
- Modeling coupled convection and carbon dioxide injection for improved heat harvesting in geopressured geothermal reservoirs
 T Plaksina, C White
 Geothermal Energy 4 (1), 1-19, 2016.
- Uncertainty in reservoir modeling
 MJ Pyrcz, CD White
 Interpretation 3 (2), SQ7-SQ19, 2015.
- Ventilation time scales of the North Atlantic subtropical cell revealed by coral radiocarbon from the Cape Verde Islands
 A Fernandez, TJ Lapen, R Andreasen, PK Swart, CD White, ... 
Paleoceanography 30 (7), 938-948, 2015.
- Comparison of arsenic and molybdenum geochemistry in meromictic lakes of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica: Implications for oxyanion-forming trace element behavior in …
 Ningfang Yang, Kathleen A Welch, T Jade Mohajerin, Katherine Telfeyan, Darren A Chevis, Deborah A Grimm, W Berry Lyons, Christopher D White, Karen H Johannesson
 Chemical Geology 404, 110-125, 2015.
- A downhole heat exchanger for horizontal wells in low-enthalpy geopressured geothermal brine reservoirs
 Y Feng, M Tyagi, CD White
 Geothermics 53, 368-378, 2015.
- New cold-production technique for heavy oil with strong bottomwaterdrive
 W Qin, AK Wojtanowicz, CD White
 SPE Journal 19 (02), 270-279, 2014.
- Geochemistry of tungsten and arsenic in aquifer systems: a comparative study of groundwaters from West Bengal, India, and Nevada, USA
 TJ Mohajerin, AW Neal, K Telfeyan, SM Sasihharan, S Ford, N Yang, ... 
Water, Air, & Soil Pollution 225, 1-19, 2014.
- Tungsten speciation in sulfidic waters: Determination of thiotungstate formation constants and modeling their distribution in natural waters
 TJ Mohajerin, GR Helz, CD White, KH Johannesson
 Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 144, 157-172, 2014.
- Benchmark hydrogeophysical data from a physical seismic model
 JM Lorenzo, DE Smolkin, C White, SR Chollett, T Sun
 Computers & Geosciences 50, 44-51, 2013.
- Using multiscale regularization to obtain realistic optimal control strategies
 Y Shuai, CD White, H Zhang, T Sun
 SPE Reservoir Simulation Conference?, SPE-142043-M, 2011.
- Prediction of non-Darcy coefficients for inertial flows through the castlegate sandstone using image-based modeling
 CP Chukwudozie, M Tyagi, SO Sears, CD White
 Transport in porous media 95, 563-580, 2012.
- Perennial ponds are not an important source of water or dissolved organic matter to groundwaters with high arsenic concentrations in West Bengal, India
 Saugata Datta, Andrew W Neal, T Jade Mohajerin, Troy Ocheltree, Brad E Rosenheim, Christopher D White, Karen H Johannesson
 Geophysical Research Letters 38 (20), 2011.
Patent
- Method for estimating and/or reducing uncertainty in reservoir models of potential petroleum reservoirs
 JS Gunning, ME Glinsky, CD White
 US Patent 7,254,091
Additional Information
      After completing his doctorate, Chris White worked for Shell Research and Development on reservoir characterization and numerical modeling. He then spent several years at The Bureau of Economic Geology at the University of Texas at Austin, working on statistical analysis of outcrop data and flow modeling. Chris spent over a decade at Louisiana State University, where he taught reservoir dynamics, natural gas engineering, porous media transport, numerical simulation and geostatistics. He has also worked as a consultant.
Since arriving at U Mass Boston in 2020, Chris has taught “Dinosaurs, a Natural History” and “Earth’s Dynamic Systems”. His current research addresses geostatistics, optimization, mass transport, and geochemistry.
Additional Publications
- Downscaling multiple seismic inversion constraints to fine-scale flow models
 S Kalla, CD White, J Gunning, ME Glinsky
 SPE Journal 14 (04), 746-758, 2009.
- Multivariate statistical log log-facies classification on a shallow marine reservoir
 H Tang, CD White
 Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering 61 (2-4), 88-93, 2008.
- Application of a new grain-based reconstruction algorithm to microtomography images for quantitative characterization and flow modeling
 KE Thompson, CS Willson, CD White, S Nyman, JP Bhattacharya, ... 
Spe Journal 13 (02), 164-176, 2008.
- Consistent Downscaling of Seismic Inversion Thicknesses to Cornerpoint Flow Models
 S Kalla, CD White, J Gunning, ME Glinsky
 SPE Journal 13 (04), 412-422, 2008.
- Coupled semivariogram uncertainty of hydrogeological and geophysical data on capture zone uncertainty analysis
 A Rahman, FTC Tsai, CD White, CS Willson
 Journal of Hydrologic Engineering 13 (10), 915-925, 2008.
- Geophysical data integration, stochastic simulation and significance analysis of groundwater responses using ANOVA in the Chicot Aquifer system, Louisiana, USA
 A Rahman, FTC Tsai, CD White, DA Carlson, CS Willson
 Hydrogeology Journal 16, 749-764, 2008.
- Efficient design of reservoir simulation studies for development and optimization
 S Kalla, CD White
 SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering 10 (06), 629-637, 2007.
- A virtual conversation on the impact of geostatistics in petroleum, production, and reservoir engineering
 TC Coburn, PWM Corbett, A Datta-Gupta, JL Jensen, M Kelkar, DS Oliver, ... 
AAPG Special Volumes, 2006.
- Sedimentology, statistics, and flow behavior for a tide-influenced deltaic sandstone, Frontier Formation, Wyoming, United States
 CD White, BJ Willis, SP Dutton, JP Bhattacharya, K Narayanan
 AAPG Special Volumes, 2004.
- A geostatistical model for calcite concretions in sandstone
 CD White, D Novakovic, SP Dutton, BJ Willis
 Mathematical Geology 35, 549-575, 2003.
- Geostatistical models for shales in distributary channel point bars (Ferron Sandstone, Utah): From ground-penetrating radar data to three-dimensional flow modeling
 H Li, CD White
 AAPG bulletin 87 (12), 1851-1868, 2003.
- Hydraulic effects of shales in fluvial-deltaic deposits: Ground-penetrating radar, outcrop observations, geostatistics, and three-dimensional flow modeling for the Ferron …
 D Novakovic, CD White, RM Corbeanu, WS Hammon III, JP Bhattacharya, GA McMechan
 Mathematical Geology 34, 857-893, 2002.
- Identifying and estimating significant geologic parameters with experimental design
 CD White, BJ Willis, K Narayanan, SP Dutton
 SPE Journal 6 (03), 311-324, 2001.
- Calcite cement distribution and its effect on fluid flow in a deltaic sandstone, Frontier Formation, Wyoming
 SP Dutton, CD White, BJ Willis, D Novakovic
 AAPG bulletin 86 (12), 2002.
- A method to estimate length distributions from outcrop data
 CD White, BJ Willis
 Mathematical Geology 32, 389-419, 2000.
- Quantitative outcrop data for flow simulation
 BJ Willis, CD White
 Journal of Sedimentary Research 70 (4), 788-802, 2000.
- Outcrop characterization of reservoir quality and interwell-scale cement distribution in a tide-influenced delta, Frontier Formation, Wyoming, USA
 SP Dutton, BJ Willis, CD White, JP Bhattacharya
 Clay Minerals 35 (1), 95-105, 2000.
- Translating outcrop data to flow models, with applications to the Ferron Sandstone
 CD White, MD Barton
 SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering 2 (04), 341-350, 1999.
- Modeling high-angle wells in laminated pay reservoirs
 PS Fair, J Kikani, CD White
 SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering 2 (01), 46-52, 1999.
Proceedings
- Computing absolute transmissibility in the presence of fine-scale heterogeneity
 CD White, RN Horne - SPE Reservoir Simulation Conference, 1987
- Characterization and modeling of channel and thin-bedded turbidite prospects in the Gulf of Mexico: integration of outcrops, modern analogs, and subsurface data
 RD Shew, GM Tiller, CJ Hackbarth, DR Rollins, CD White
 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, 1995.
- Response surface methods for upscaling heterogeneous geologic models
 K Narayanan, CD White, LW Lake, BJ Willis
 SPE Reservoir Simulation Conference, SPE-51923-MS, 1999.
- Identifying controls on reservoir behavior using designed simulations
 CD White, BJ Willis, K Narayanan, SP Dutton
 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition?, SPE-62971-MS, 2000.
- Designed simulation for a detailed 3D turbidite reservoir model
 F Wang, CD White
 SPE Unconventional Resources Conference/Gas Technology Symposium, SPE-75515-MS, 2002
- Experimental design as a framework for reservoir studies
 CD White, SA Royer - SPE Reservoir Simulation Conference, 2003
- Completion length optimization in gas wells
 M Armenta, CD White, AK Wojtanowicz
 Canadian International Petroleum Conference, 2003
- Comparison of multivariate statistical algorithms for wireline log facies classification
 H Tang, C White, X Zeng, M Gani, J Bhattacharya
 AAPG Annual Meeting Abstract 88, 13, 2004.
 
- Using multiscale regularization to obtain realistic optimal control strategies
 Y Shuai, CD White, H Zhang, T Sun
 SPE Reservoir Simulation Conference?, SPE-142043-M, 2011.