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
Geostatistical modeling of the gas emission zone and its in-place gas content for Pittsburgh-seam mines using sequential Gaussian simulation
Building on crossvalidation for increasing the quality of geostatistical modeling
Sequential simulation approach to modeling of multi-seam coal deposits with an application to the assessment of a Louisiana lignite
Dealing with zeros
Late quaternary climate variations reflected in Baltic Sea sediments
Source apportionment of atmospheric trace gases and particulate matter--Comparison of log-ratio and traditional approaches
Generalized bootstrap method for assessment of uncertainty in semivariogram inference
Methodology for quantifying uncertainty in coal assessments with an application to a Texas lignite deposit
Formulation of a correlated variables methodology for assessment of continuous gas resources with an application to the Woodford play, Arkoma Basin, eastern Oklahoma
On the use of the beta distribution in probabilistic resource assessments
Quantifying greenhouse gas emissions from coal fires using airborne and ground-based methods
A methodology for the assessment of unconventional (continuous) resources with an application to the Greater Natural Buttes gas field, Utah
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
Geostatistical modeling of the gas emission zone and its in-place gas content for Pittsburgh-seam mines using sequential Gaussian simulation
Building on crossvalidation for increasing the quality of geostatistical modeling
Sequential simulation approach to modeling of multi-seam coal deposits with an application to the assessment of a Louisiana lignite
Dealing with zeros
Late quaternary climate variations reflected in Baltic Sea sediments
Source apportionment of atmospheric trace gases and particulate matter--Comparison of log-ratio and traditional approaches
Generalized bootstrap method for assessment of uncertainty in semivariogram inference
Methodology for quantifying uncertainty in coal assessments with an application to a Texas lignite deposit
Formulation of a correlated variables methodology for assessment of continuous gas resources with an application to the Woodford play, Arkoma Basin, eastern Oklahoma
On the use of the beta distribution in probabilistic resource assessments
Quantifying greenhouse gas emissions from coal fires using airborne and ground-based methods
A methodology for the assessment of unconventional (continuous) resources with an application to the Greater Natural Buttes gas field, Utah
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