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Summary of Changes
University of Calgary Calendar 2009-2010 COURSES OF INSTRUCTION Course Descriptions G Geophysics GOPH
Geophysics GOPH

Instruction offered by members of the Department of Geoscience in the Faculty of Science.

Department Head - D. W. Eaton

Senior Courses
Geophysics 355       Exploration Geophysics
An introduction to refraction seismic, reflection seismic, gravity and magnetic methods applied to exploration for hydrocarbons, and their use in engineering studies.
Course Hours:
H(3-3)
Prerequisite(s):
Geology 203; Mathematics 251 or 249 or 281 or Applied Mathematics 217; Physics 211 or 221, and 223.
Antirequisite(s):
Note: Credit for both Geophysics 355 and 365 will not be allowed.
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Geophysics 359       Global Geophysics
Earthquake seismology, gravity, the geoid, geomagnetism, paleomagnetism and geodynamics, heat flow, radioactivity and geochronology. Applications to global tectonics and deep structural investigations.
Course Hours:
H(3-3)
Prerequisite(s):
Geology 201; Mathematics 251 or 249 or 281 or Applied Mathematics 217; Mathematics 253 or 263 or 283 or Applied Mathematics 219; Physics 223.
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Geophysics 375       Natural Disasters and Critical Earth Phenomena
Causes of disasters such as earthquakes, tsunami, volcanic eruptions, mud flows, landslides, avalanches, flooding, tornadoes and hurricanes, and other critical phenomena such as sinkholes, ozone depletion and radiation, carbon dioxide and global warming, El Nino, toxic natural materials and pollution, and extraterrestrial impacts. Surveys of historic disasters and their effects on life on Earth. Methods of prediction and prevention of disasters and precautions for the mitigation of their effects.
Course Hours:
H(3-0)
Notes:
A non-major course for students in all faculties. Not available as a course in the Field of Geophysics.
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Geophysics 449       Petrophysical Techniques
Principles of petrophysical well logs as related to cores, cuttings, fluids and seismograms and application to petroleum exploration and exploitation.
Course Hours:
H(3-3)
Prerequisite(s):
Geology 381 and Geophysics 355.
Also known as:
(Geology 449)
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Geophysics 453       Mining Geophysics
Electromagnetic, resistivity, induced polarization, self potential, radiometric and gravity methods applied to problems in the search for metallic mineral deposits.
Course Hours:
H(3-3)
Prerequisite(s):
Geology 201 and Physics 223; Mathematics 253 or 263 or 283 or Applied Mathematics 219; Mathematics 221 or 211 or Applied Mathematics 309 or Mathematics 353.
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Geophysics 457       Physical Properties of Rocks
Physical properties of minerals and rocks, their relationship to geophysical measurements and surveys.
Course Hours:
H(3-3)
Prerequisite(s):
Geophysics 355, 359, Mathematics 331, Physics 321.
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Geophysics 465       Environmental Applications of Geophysics
Application of geophysical methods such as resistivity, electromagnetics, and ground penetrating radar to investigations of geological, geotechnical, hydrological, and environmental problems. Small-scale high resolution applications of other geophysical methods (seismic, gravity, magnetics).
Course Hours:
H(3-3)
Prerequisite(s):
Mathematics 249 or 251 or 281 or Applied Mathematics 217.
Notes:
Credit for both Geophysics 365 and 465 will not be allowed.
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Geophysics 509       Independent Study
Senior thesis. A written report based on independent study. Originality is emphasized, laboratory and field studies are encouraged. Published material may be included.
Course Hours:
H(0-9)
Prerequisite(s):
Consent of the Department and of a Departmental faculty member who will act as a supervisor.
MAY BE REPEATED FOR CREDIT
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Geophysics 547       Gravity and Magnetics
The nature of the magnetic and gravitational fields of the earth. Theory and applications of the gravity and magnetic methods of geophysical exploration.
Course Hours:
H(3-3)
Prerequisite(s):
Geophysics 355, 359, Mathematics 331, Applied Mathematics 415.
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Geophysics 549       Field School
Seismic, gravity, magnetic, electromagnetic, resistivity, induced polarization and topographic surveys will be conducted for about 10-12 days prior to the Fall Term. Data collected will be processed during Fall Term tutorials.
Course Hours:
H(1T-96 hours)
Prerequisite(s):
Geophysics 355 and 453.
Notes:
This course occurs in rugged field conditions and varying weather, for which participants must be prepared and equipped. Students will be required to cover food and accommodation costs, and to pay a surcharge to cover the costs of equipment and other resources.
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Geophysics 551       Seismic Theory and Methods
Seismic wave propagation theory; various techniques of exploration seismology.
Course Hours:
H(3-3)
Prerequisite(s):
Geophysics 355, Physics 321, 323, Applied Mathematics 415, and Mathematics 331.
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Geophysics 557       Geophysical Data Processing
Geophysical signal analysis, digital processing methods applied to seismic and other geophysical data.
Course Hours:
H(3-3)
Prerequisite(s):
Applied Mathematics 415, Geophysics 355.
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Geophysics 559       Geophysical Interpretation
Analysis and integration of geophysical and geological data. Qualitative and quantitative interpretation. Industrial case studies.
Course Hours:
H(3-3)
Prerequisite(s):
Geophysics 355, Geophysics 457 or Geology 461 or 597.
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Graduate Courses

Graduate students are urged to read the Geoscience Department section in the Graduate Studies calendar. Only where appropriate to a student's program may graduate credit be received for courses numbered 500-599. Courses numbered 600 are available to fourth-year students who obtain Departmental approval and who have credit for the prerequisite courses.

Geophysics 645       Seismic Wave Propagation
Seismic body and surface waves, reflection, refraction, diffraction, anelasticity, anisotropy, ray methods, point and line source solutions to the equation of motion, finite-difference methods for seismic waves, additional topics depending on current research interests.
Course Hours:
H(3-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Geophysics 551 or consent of the Department.
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Geophysics 649       Advanced Petrophysical Techniques
Application of petrophysical well logs and their relation to cores, cuttings, fluids and seismograms. Case studies applied to petroleum exploration and exploitation.
Course Hours:
H(3-3)
Prerequisite(s):
Consent of the Department.
Also known as:
(Geology 649)
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Geophysics 653       Electromagnetic and Induced Polarization Topics
Topics in electromagnetic and induced polarization exploration as applied to the search for metallic minerals.
Course Hours:
H(3-0)
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Geophysics 657       Seismic Signal Analysis
Advanced methods of seismic data analysis in exploration and production geophysics. Topics include velocity analysis, polarization filtering, median filtering, migration, inversion and tomography.
Course Hours:
H(3-3)
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Geophysics 659       Practical Seismic Modeling, Migration, and Inversion
Concepts and techniques of seismic imaging (migration) are explored. Practical considerations such as algorithm characteristics and data geometry are emphasized; poststack and prestack migration and DMO methods are examined from the Kirchhoff, Fourier, and downward continuation perspectives.
Course Hours:
H(3-3/2)
Notes:
Some familiarity with seismic data and computer programming is assumed.
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Geophysics 665       Theoretical Seismology
Seismic ray theory, inverse theory, full-wave methods, matrix methods, numerical methods, additional topics depending on current research interests.
Course Hours:
H(3-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Geophysics 551 or consent of the Department.
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Geophysics 669       Global Seismology
An introduction to theory and practice of global seismology. Topics include: seismograph systems, global wave propagation, moment tensors, shear-wave splitting, surface waves, receiver functions, seismic tomography and teleseismic receiver functions.
Course Hours:
H(3-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Basic knowledge of seismic wave theory, Fourier analysis and vector calculus. Students should be enrolled in the graduate program in geophysics or receive consent of the instructor.
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Geophysics 671       Inverse Theory and Applications I
An introduction to the mathematical and numerical techniques of geophysical inversion. Topics include least squares, singular value decomposition, and Tikhonov regularization. Development of numerical codes to solve real inverse problems is stressed.
Course Hours:
H(3-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Knowledge of linear algebra and vector calculus, and some familiarity with statistics. Also, students should be enrolled in the graduate program in geophysics or receive consent of the instructor.
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Geophysics 673       Inverse Theory and Applications II
Multidimensional real-world inverse problems, such as constrained seismic, gravity, or resistivity inversion. Fourier, maximum entropy, Bayesian approaches and iterative solution techniques such as Kaczmarz and conjugate gradient are covered.
Course Hours:
H(3-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Geophysics 671 or consent of the instructor.
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Geophysics 681       Advanced Global Geophysics and Geodynamics
Elasticity, figure of the Earth, Earth structure and seismology, gravity and its temporal variations, isostasy, tides, Earth rotation and orientation, time, plate flexure, glacial rebound, continental drift, geodetic observation methods for geodynamics.
Course Hours:
H(3-0)
Also known as:
(Geomatics Engineering 681)
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Geophysics 683       Dynamics of the Earth
Fluid mechanics and Earth rheology, heat flow and mantle convection, magneto hydrodynamics and core dynamics, stresses, folding and diapirism, faulting and earthquake mechanism.
Course Hours:
H(3-0)
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Geophysics 687       Theory of Seismic Imaging
The theories of wave propagation in acoustic and elastic media are used to develop the major algorithms used in seismic imaging (migration). Green's theorem, Huygen's principle, Kirchhoff diffraction theory, raytracing, wavetracking, multidimensional Fourier analysis, and Radon transforms are explored.
Course Hours:
H(3-3)
Notes:
Elementary knowledge of vector calculus and partial differential equations is assumed.
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Geophysics 699       Selected Topics in Geophysics
Courses are offered in specific topics in areas such as seismology, environmental geophysics, potential methods, integrated geophysical studies, and geodynamics.
Course Hours:
H(3-3)
MAY BE REPEATED FOR CREDIT
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Geophysics 701       Advanced Independent Study
A written report based on laboratory and field studies is required.
Course Hours:
H(0-6)
Notes:
Open only to graduate students in the Department of Geoscience.
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Geophysics 703       Readings in Geophysics

Course Hours:
H(0-6)
Notes:
Open only to graduate students in the Department of Geoscience.
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