Ge 102: Introduction to Geophysics

Ge 102: Introduction to Geophysics (Year 2008)

Course Description

An introduction to the physics of the earth. The present internal structure and dynamics of the earth are considered in light of constraints from the gravitational and magnetic fields, seismology, and mineral physics. The fundamentals of wave propagation in earth materials are developed and applied to inferring earth structure. The earthquake source is described in terms of seismic and geodetic signals. The following are also considered: the contributions that heat-flow, gravity, paleomagnetic, and earthquake mechanism data have made to our understanding of plate tectonics, the driving mechanism of plate tectonics, and the energy sources of mantle convection and the geodynamo.

Units: 3-0-6 (second term)
Prerequisites: Ma 2, Ph 2, or Ge 108, or equivalents
Regular class time: Mon., Wed. and Fri. 11:00am - 11:55am, 162 S.Mudd
Grading policy: 70% on homework, 10% on class participation, and 20% on a final (3 hour exam).

Seminars

Please attend relevant department seminars: Seismo lab seminars, Division seminars and Geoclub. These are important to give you a glimpse at current research questions in geophysics.

Topics

When possible, please do the reading before the corresponding lecture.

Week	Lecture	Day	Topic(s)	Reading
1	1	1/7	OM - Class Intro	FOG, chpt 1
1	2	1/9	Plate Tectonics Overview	FOG, chpt 1
1	3	1/11	Discussion of seismology	FOG, chpt 3 / S&W, string theory
2	4	1/14	Discussion of seismology: The equation of motion, stress tensor, linear elasticity.	FOG, 3.1 - 3.3
2		1/16	Instructor on travel
2		1/18	Instructor on travel / Office hour in 162 SM at class time
3		1/21	Institute Holiday
3	5	1/23	Discussion of seismology	FOG, chpt 3
3	6	1/25	Discussion of seismology	FOG, chpt 3
4	7	1/28	Discussion of seismology	FOG, chpt 3
4	8	1/30	Seismology
4	9	2/1	Seismology
5	10	2/4	Seismology
5	11	2/6	Global Gravity	FOG 2.1-2.7, not 2.3
5	12	2/7	Global Gravity
6	13	2/11	Gravity/Isostasy
6	14	2/13	Gravity/Isostasy
6		2/15
7		2/18	Institute Holiday
7		2/20
7		2/22
8		2/25
8		2/27
8		2/29
9		3/3
9		3/5
9		3/7
10		3/10
10		3/12	Instructor on travel

Homework

Homeworks will be assigned and due a week after. Late homeworks will be penalized 10% per day, unless there is a clear problem with any given assignment or there is some kind of real emergency. Discussing homeworks with fellow students is fine, but what is turned in should represent your work, not a group effort.

#	Date Due (@ beginning of the class)	Topic(s)	Homework Links
1	1/14	FOG, 1.5 Exercises: 6, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 (FOG, pp 41-42)	.
2	1/24	Wave equation. Stress tensor.	HW2 assignment (PDF file)
3	2/04	Theory of Elasticity - Seismology	HW3 assignment (PDF file)
4	2/11	Seismology.	HW4 assignment (PDF file)
5	2/20	Global Gravity	HW5 assignment (PDF file)
6	2/27	Reading Assignment (See papers below)	Read/Summarize/Compare McNutt (1980), Sandwell (1989), Sandwell (1995).
7	3/07	Reading Assignment (See Papers below)	Read/Summarize/Compare Walcott (1973), Simons (1997), Tamisiea (2007)
8	3/10	Heat Flow	HW8 assignment (PDF file)

Papers

As part of this class, we will read selected important papers. The paper will be handed out during the class or available as PDFs from the class website. A summary of the paper will be due a week later. Unless specifically modified, your summary should be two pages long, max. In general, please treat this assignment like any other scientific writing (i.e., papers, reviews, and proposals) and conform to a format with double-spaced lines, 1 inch margins, and 12 pt font. Use a concise style of prose (but do not slip into outline form). Choose an active style over a passive style, avoid chatty colloquialisms (this is not a diary), watch that you have some kind of logical order of presentation, and be precise with your language.

#	Date Due	Papers	Notes
1	With Homework 3	H. Kanamori (2006)	H. Kanamori (2006)
2	See homework 6	McNutt (1980)	McNutt (1980)
3	See homework 6	Sandwell (1989)	Sandwell (1989)
4	See homework 6	Sandwell (1995)	Sandwell (1995)
5	See Homework 7	Walcott (1973)	Walcott (1973)
6	See homework 7	Simons (1997)	Simons (1997)
7	See homework 7	Tamisiea (2007)	Tamisiea (2007)
6		TBD

Textbooks

Required:

Lowrie, Fundamentals of Geophysics, Cambridge Press, 2nd edition, 2007.

Suggested:

Stein and Wysession, An Introduction to Seismology, Earthquakes, and Earth Structure, Blackwell Publishing, 2006.
Stacey, Physics of the Earth, Brookfield Press, 1992.
Fowler, The Solid Earth: An Introduction to Global Geophysics, Cambridge Press, 1990.
Malvern, Introduction to the mechanics of a continuous medium, Prentice Hall, 1969.
Lay and Wallace, Modern Global Seismology, Academic Press, 1995.

Useful links

Instructor

Mark Simons, 355 South Mudd, simons@caltech.edu, x6984

Teaching Assistant

Francisco Ortega, 360 South Mudd, ortega@gps.caltech.edu, x6932
Office hours: When - any time. Where - my office

Ombudsperson

Emily Hamecher, hamecher@gps.caltech.edu

send email to entire class

Last updated Jan 17, 2008