Courses:
GEOL 3443 - Structural Geology
Structural geology is the study of deformation in the earth’s crust. This deformation is heterogeneous: it happens at various scales, locations, and times; this deformation produces identifiable structures in the crust such as fractures and folds. An appreciation of earth structures has both enormous practical value and profound intellectual implications for how we view this planet. We start out with an introduction to classical descriptive structural geology which is concerned with constructing geometric models of structures and then we proceed with an introduction to physics-based methods to analyze the mechanical processes involved in the formation of geologic structures. Due to the difficulty of the material, we will follow a less-is-more strategy. Students will learn to critically observe, map, and describe rock structures, including folds, fractures, and shear zones at the scales ranging from microscopic to tectonic scales. Special emphasis will be given to critical thinking and quantitative analysis. Laboratory exercises will include practice of geologic mapping skills, an introduction to structural analysis at various scales, and basic mechanical modeling using computers.
GEOL 5365 - Signal Processing of Seismic Data
Time series analysis (or time signal analysis) covers a variety of things that you can do with a measured quantity those changes as a function of time. That signal might come from a seismometer or geophone, which is why exploration geophysicists need to know this material. We shall consider how to analyze the frequencies that are present in a signal and how we can filter a signal in order to reject its undesirable properties and to keep the parts of the signal that are interesting. In addition, we will learn how to extract information regarding source mechanisms of seismic waves; their locations and how to use these information to interpret evolution the perturbed environment. The second part of the course will focus on Acoustic Emission Testing.
GEOL 5302 - Geodynamics
A comprehensive and quantitative study of fundamental aspects of plate tectonics. Introduction to heat flow, elasticity and flexure, fluid mechanics, and faulting, with a wide range of geological applications. Includes collaborative problem solving using Matlab® and peer presentations.
GEOL 4305 - Geol 4305-003 Solid Earth Geomechanics
This course focuses on quantitative approaches to structural geology, introducing students to the basics of classical and continuum mechanics and their applications to solving problems of deformation in the earth. Class examples, examples from recent scientific literature, and laboratory exercises/problem sets illustrate mechanical analysis of natural geologic structures such as faults, folds, lava flows, and dikes, as well as practical problems including basic analysis of the stability of well-bores and underground excavations. Students will review examples from the literature that apply mechanical methods to geologic problems and complete their own analysis as a term project. Laboratory exercises will utilize MATLAB as a tool to quantitatively analyze spatial data and solve elastic and viscous boundary-value problems.
GEOL 5365 - Rock Fracture Mechanics
Principles and tools of elasticity theory and fracture mechanics are applied to the origins and physical behaviors of faults, dikes, joints, veins, solution surfaces, and other natural structures in rock. Special emphasis will be given to incorporation of field observations of fractures in rock with engineering rock fracture mechanics and the elastic theory of cracks in order to explore the role of natural fractures in brittle rock deformation in the earth's crust with applications to crustal deformation, structural geology, petroleum geology, engineering geology, and hydrogeology