General Information
Time and Location Tuesday/Thursday 12:05 pm - 1:25 am, ES&T L1116
Office Hours: Tuesday/Thursday 13:30 pm - 14:30 pm (or by appointment)
Course Description:
This course contains a survey of various geophysical techniques used to understand the structures and dynamics of the Solid Earth system from surface to the inner core. These techniques include, but not limited to, seismology, geodesy, gravity, heat flow and magnetism.
Required Textbook:
- Flower, C.M.R. The Solid Earth: An introduction to Global Geophysics, 2nd edition, Cambridge University Press, pp 685, 2005.
Recommended Textbook:
- F. D. Stacey and P.M. Davis Physics of the Earth, 4th edition, Cambridge University Press, 2008.
- W. Lowrie Fundamentals of Geophysics, 2nd edition, Cambridge University Press, 2007.
Additional material will be either handed out in class or made available on the course website.
Course Outline:
This is an tentative outline of topics and timing and is subject to change throughout the semester.
| Classes | Date | Topic | Reading | Homework |
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EVALUATION:
Homework assignment (30%); Midterm exam (20%); Final exam (30%); Course project (20%)
Homework Assignment:
There will be six homework assignments*, which will involve deriving equations, solving geophysics-related programs, computer simulations, or data analysis. The homework is designed for each student to work by him/herself. The homework will count as 30% of your overall course grade, with each counting 5%.
Exam:
There will be a midterm* (20%) and a final exam* (30%). Both of them are close book. Reference to texts or other documents such as previous semester course materials during exams is strictly forbidden. Using these materials will be considered a direct violation of academic policy and will be dealt with according to the GT Academic Honor Code. The use of electronic devices (e.g. cellular phones, computers etc.) other than non-programmable calculators during exams and quizzes is not allowed.
Course Project:
You are required to write a term paper on any topic related to geophysics. This can be a literature review of a selected topic, or research project involving calculations, data analysis, or theoretical results done in consultation with the instructor. The topic needed to be approved by the instructor before the midterm. Your paper should be written up in a journal form with length, figures and referencing in a format suitable for submission to journals like Geophysical Research Letters (GRL). Preliminary version of the final paper should be shown to the instructor for approval at least two weeks before the final due date. You will present your term paper in a 15 minute AGU-style talk; a 12 minute presentation with 3 minutes of questions. The project will count as 20% of your overall course grade. Grading for your project will be based on the 15% of the quality of the research and the written paper, and 5% of your presentation.
Quiz:
Before some classes I will give short quizzes. They are meant to check whether you understood the material from the previous class. Students need to be present in the class in order to take the quiz. This will count a total of 5% of your grade and they are bonus points.
Academic Honesty:
It is expected that all students are aware of their individual responsibilities under the Georgia Tech Academic Honor Code, which will be strictly adhered to in this class. The complete text of the Georgia Tech Academic Honor Code is at
http://www.honor.gatech.edu/.
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Geophysics Home | Updated:
Sun Aug 18 23:58:32 EDT 2013
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