Geosciences Department - The University of Montana

Seismology and Magnetics - Geology 437
Professor: Steve Sheriff

Grading: Based on exams, problem sets, project reports, participation (on grading papers)

Fall 2006 - Syllabus; Excel tips - get your relative and absolute addresses correct and fill out a multiplication table with one big copy

8/28: Intro to course, modern structure/seismo, principles of waves, terminology, and a couple warm-up problems.
8/30: Go over problems, conductive heat flow, least squares(2) constraints, partitioning, and geophones.
9/4: Labor Day
9/6: Huygens principle (2 from SEG),and Huygens, laws of reflection & refraction, derivation: figures(Van's derive, critical angle, 3-layer Huygens)
9/11: Refraction problem, reflection vs refraction, multiple layers, velocity problems, dipping layers, refraction applet
9/13: Meet at the play field north of the football stadium (unless it rains) to conduct refraction experiments (Smartseis manual, quick sheet, Geometrics).
9/18: Discuss problem set, more Smartseis demo, automated interpretation.
9/20: SIPwin demo (history -3mb pdf), dipping layers, qualitative refraction interpretation. Self assessment: the Haeni/USGS paper (8.5mb) & Geometrics applications should make sense by now, reflection seismology.
9/25: Refraction problems (Sheriff & Stickney, 1984), seismic field assignment, Geomagnetism, declination, inclination, magnetic elements, geocentric axial dipole hypothesis.
9/27: Comments on the first problem set (mine, contouring), demo with the Schonstedt fluxgate magnetometer (1, 2),, spherical coordinates, dv, equation for uniformly magnetized sphere.
10/2: Discuss problems, modeling, dipole equation, Inc vs latitude, paleolatitude, rotations and translations.
10/4: Spherical trig, stereonet, pole calculations, apparent polar wander (1), paleosecular variation, dot products
10/9: Reversal, auroras (Lorentz force, detector), geodynamo and frozen flux theory(2)
10/11: Problems for Monday!, Magnetic anomalies vs latitude, (1, 2, 3, 4), dipole applet, Magcad
10/16: Review the problem set, review for exam, proton precession magnetometers (1, 2)
10/18: MIDTERM Exam
10/23: (GEM magnetometer broke...) Aeromag examples: Canadian examples (dikes, Bathurst, java map), Blakely's Portland (GSAB 1995) and Puget Sound (GSAB 2002) work, Philippines figures (1, 2, 3)
10/25: Exam review/discussion, Geometric Cesium vapor magnetometer (sensor orientation and dead zones, sensor theory, the manual)
10/30: More Cesium vapor magnetometer, and the manual, CSAZ, MagMap2000, Magpick, and downloading data (setup with GPS).
11/1: Another field day with the Cesium magnetometer. Assignment for Monday - make good (correctly rectified) images from the data we acquired
11/6: Field Assignment with the Cesium Vapor magnetometer. Data (.zip) for processing with MagPick in class.
11/8: Seismic presentations begin, case study of the Goodnews Project and a progressive terrain correction, sampling and reconstruction
11/13: Seismic presentations, migration: moles, turtles, sharks; rock magnetism, Curie temperature.
11/15: Hysterisis (from Butler), magnetic minerals.
11/20: magnetizations: NRM, TRM, CRM, pDRM, thermal demagnetization/cleaning
11/27: Directional space, vector separation (Zijder: 1,2) and stereonets (modern, ancient), alternating field demagnetizations, paleomagnetic lab equipment
11/29: Vector projection problem, Transforms(1,2), 2D tectonics, relative velocity vectors, Euler poles.
12/4: Magnetic presentations, Euler poles, the San Andreas Fault story (1,2, Atwater's animated gifs)
12/6: Magnetic presentations, hot spots, Paleomagnetic Euler Poles, hot spot tracks and reference frame, Hawaiian-Emperor news, paleomagnetic Euler poles(2), instantaneous velocity along spreading ridges, paleomagnetic applications: Skalkaho slab (Doughty-Sheriff), thrust belts (Jolly, Brunt, Priest), distributed deformation.
12/12: FINAL EXAM @ 1:10 - 3:10

Fall 2005 - Syllabus -This is a good guess on the 2006 schedule - work ahead!

8/29: Intro to course, modern structure/seismo, principles of waves, terminology, and a couple warm-up problems.
8/31: Go over problems, least squares(2) constraints,Huygens principle, and Huygens, laws of reflection & refraction, derivation, partitioning
9/5: Labor Day
9/7: Frank Janiszewski will run a field demo of the Smartseis seismograph (Smartseis manual, quick sheet, Geometrics). Meet in SC 348 and Frank will proceed from there.
9/12: 2-layer refraction equations, figures(Van's derive, critical angle, 3-layer Huygens), reflection vs refraction, multiple layers, velocity problems, applet
9/14: Problem set #2; dipping layers, qualitative refraction interpretation. Self assessment: the Haeni/USGS paper (8.5mb) & Geometrics applications should make sense by now.
9/19: Meet at the play field north of the football stadium (unless it rains) to conduct refraction experiments (Smartseis manual, quick sheet, Geometrics).
9/21: Discuss problems, seismic field assignment, modeling, SIPwin demo (history -3mb pdf), real data:(1, 2, 3, 4, 5), reflection seismology, COCORP, reflection coefficient, 3D (image, movie)
9/26: Reflection seismogram example, Shell - MARs project, CDP Profiling, convolution, synthetic seismogram
9/28: Geomagnetism, declination, inclination, magnetic elements, and a demo with the Schonstedt fluxgate magnetometer (1, 2).
10/3: Problem set #3, spherical coordinates, dv, equation for uniformly magnetized sphere, dipole equation, Inc vs latitude, paleolatitude, rotations and translations.
10/5: Spherical trig, stereonet, pole calculations, apparent polar wander (1), paleosecular variation, dot products
10/10: Problems & Montana crust update (Zeiler et al., 2005); Mag anomalies vs latitude, (1, 2, 3, 4), dipole applet, proton precession magnetometers (1, 2), aeromag anomalies (3, 4), magnetic maps: North America, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, US database, Australia
10/12: Scalar subtraction, aeromag examples: Canadian examples (dikes, Bathurst, java map), Blakely's Portland (GSAB 1995) and Puget Sound (GSAB 2002) work, Philippines figures (1, 2, 3), Magcad(save model(delete crashes)).
10/17: Review the problem set, review for exam, remanence in an aeromag anomaly, look at proton precession and spinner magnetometers.
10/19: MIDTERM EXAM, (old exams, equations)
10/24: Exam review, the GEM magnetometer. The quick sheet presents the basics of operation; the complete document provides more detail.
10/26: Field assignment;magnetics, case study of the Goodnews Project and a progressive terrain correction, sampling and reconstruction; Auroras (Lorentz force, detector), geodynamo and frozen flux theory(2)
10/31: Upward continuation and strike filtering, migration: moles, turtles, sharks, rock magnetism, hysterisis (from Butler), Curie temperature, magnetic minerals.
11/2: Magnetic domains (2), magnetizations: NRM, TRM, CRM, pDRM
11/7: Your presentations, secondary magnetizations, thermal demagnetization/cleaning, directional space, vector separation (Zijder: 1,2) and stereonets (modern, ancient)
11/9: Alternating field demagnetizations, assessing paleomagnetic directions on a stereonet (PSV, VRM, reversals, secondary directions, deformation, etc.), paleomagnetic field procedures and paleomagnetic lab equipment
11/14: Transforms(1,2), 2D tectonics, relative velocity vectors, Euler poles, the San Andreas Fault story (1,2, Atwater's animated gifs),
11/16: Vector projection problem (stereonet), hot spot tracks and reference frame, true polar wander, Hawaiian-Emperor news, true polar wander, paleomagnetic Euler poles(2), instantaneous velocity along spreading ridges.
11/21: Paleomagnetic applications: Precambrian polar wander, Skalkaho slab (Doughty-Sheriff), thrust belts (Jolly, Brunt, Priest), distributed deformation, and a return to whole earth seismology, T-delta space
11/23: T-day travel, no class
11/28: Latest quakes, T-delta continued, stress, and Anderson's theory of faulting, intensity (2)
11/30: Optional Take Home Exam, Seismic problems, Global Seismograph Network, Earthquakes (Loma Prieta (seismic gap)), SF, slip vectors, quake size, magnitude and moment
12/5: Your magnetic presentations, gridding & presenting x, y, z data with examples: Contouring is Interpretation!, continuation, focal mechanisms, (PNW), Intermountain Seismic Belt, Western Montana Ranges, Isaacs et al.
12/7: Review problems, T-delta application and solutions.
12/15: Final Exam; Thursday 1:10 - 3:10

Musings and eclectic interjections:

A short note on uncertainty, accuracy, precision, and omitting data, with links to a units converter and Occam's razor

Scholarship and summer field experience opportunities:

The Summer of Applied Geophysical Experience supported by Los Alamos National Lab and the Department of Energy.
The SEG (Society of Exploration Geophysicists) scholarship program.

Relevant Links:

Earth Coordinate Systems	GPS Overview	Representative textbooks
Environmental Geophysics at Columbia University	Geodetic Datums	SEG Virtual Museum
Society of Environmental and Engineering Geophysics	Earth Science Glossary	NGS Geoid Page
Wolfram Resources	AGU Reviews of Environmental Geophysics	Boise State - CGISS

Here's how the course went during previous years.

Here are the old exams - free recreation!

More free recreation: Problem sets from the past.

Geosciences Department - The University of Montana - 32 Campus Drive #1296 - Missoula, MT 59812-1296
Phone: (406) 243-2341 Fax: (406) 243-4028 Email: geology@mso.umt.edu

The University of Montana Geosciences Department