GEO 594 / GLE 594:
INTRODUCTION TO APPLIED GEOPHYSICS
Instructors:
Richard Allen, Room 106 Weeks Hall; Tel: 262-7513; rallen@geology.wisc.edu
Dante Fratta, Room 2258 Engineering Hall; Tel: 265-5644; fratta@wisc.edu
Teaching Assistant:
Mei Xue, Room 111 Weeks Hall; 262-9784; meixue@geology.wisc.edu
Class meets: Tue & Thu at 9:30am in Room 140 Weeks Hall
Course webpage: http://www.geology.wisc.edu/courses/g594
Required text:
Environmental and Engineering Geophysics, 1st edition, Sharma, 1997.
Other useful reference texts:
For seismics in particular:
An introduction to applied and environmental geophysics, Reynolds, 1997
The ultimate reference:
Applied Geophysics, 2nd ed, Telford, Geldart, Sheriff, 1990
Other reference texts:
Exploration geophysics of the shallow subsurface, Burger, 1992.
Whole Earth Geophysics, Lillie, 1999.
An introduction to geophysical exploration, Keary, Brooks and Hill, 2002
Prerequisites: One year college calculus, one year college physics or Engineering Mechanics 201, 202
and Physics 202.
Course Objectives
1) To provide the students knowledge of the basic physics underlying different applied geophysical
methods and how the methods are used for exploration and characterization.
2) To provide an overview of the field procedures employed to collect different types of geophysical
data.
3) To provide an introduction to the techniques employed to interpret geophysical data collected for
applied and engineering purposes.
Student Responsibilities and Method of Evaluation (Grades assigned on a curve)
1) Bi-weekly problem sets that focus on the basic physics of the methods, simple analytic interpretation
techniques, and geophysical survey design provide experience in application of principles to the types of
problems encountered by the applied geophysicist.
2) Midterm and final exams are designed to test basic understanding of material and students' ability
to apply principles and solve applied problems with geophysics.
Final Grade
50% - Homework problem sets
10% - Quiz 1
15% - Quiz 2
25% - Final
Office Hours: By appointment