This course covers 10 key topics in geophysics. Teaching is delivered through a mixture of lectures, tutorials, and practical classes, including computer based practicals where you will learn the basics of coding python. By the end of the course, you should be able to:
- Describe the main forces operating in the Earth, their behaviour, interaction and geological significance.
- Analyse and interpret basic geophysical data to make quantitative estimates of the Earth’s physical properties
- Apply basic mathematical and coding skills to solving geophysical problems
- Communicate geophysical concepts to a general and specialist audience
Each week of term covers a different topic:
- Planetary Structure and Tectonics: How do planets move?, Earth Structure, Plate Tectonics
- Heat: Heat fundamentals, Heat flow and geothermal gradients, Radiogenic heat production
- Mechanics: Stress and pressure, Strain, Rheology
- Faults and Fractures, Failure models, tensile fractures, faults, strength and friction
- Earthquakes: Where the occur, how big are they, focal mechanisms, induced seismicity, earthquake hazard
- Passive seismology: How do we measure ground motion? What can seismometers detect, locating earthquakes, imaging the Earth
- Seismic reflection and refraction
- Seismic acquisition and processing
- Magnetism: The Earth’s magnetic field, magnetic surveying, interpreting magnetic anomalies
- Gravity: The Earth’s shape, measuring gravity, gravity corrections, interpreting gravity anomalies
