University of Madras - BSc Syllabus - Semester V - Application Oriented Subject - I - Seismology and Internal Structure of the Earth

UNIVERSITY OF MADRAS
B.Sc. DEGREE COURSE IN GEOPHYSICS
SEMESTER SYSTEM WITH CREDITS
(Effective from the Academic Year 2003-2004)

SYLLABUS

Semester V - Application Oriented Subject - I - Seismology and Internal Structure of the Earth

Duration: 3 hrs
Maximum Marks: 100
Credits: 4

(90 hrs)

Unit I

Introduction - Elastic theory - Elastic and plastic behaviour of materials - The stress matrix - The strain matrix - The leastid constants - Imperfect elasticity in the earth.

Unit II

Seismic waves - Introduction Seismic body waves - Compressional waves - Transverse waves - D' Alembert's principles - The eikonal equation - The energy in the seismic disturbance - Seismic surface waves - Free oscillation of the earth - Radial oscillations - Toroidal oscillations - Radial oscillation -. Comparison with surface waves.

Unit III

The Seismograph - Principles of seismometer- The equation of the seismometer - The seismogram Earthquake seismology: Introduction - Location of the epicenter of an earthquake - Global seismicity - Analysis of earthquake focal mechanisms - Earthquake size and intensity Earthquake frequency - Energy released in an earthquake - Earthquake prediction - Earthquake control - Monitoring nuclear explosions.

Unit IV

Seismic wave propagation - Introduction - Huygen's principles - The law of reflection using Huygen's principles - The law of refraction using Huygen's principles - Differaction - Fermat's principles - The law of refraction using Fermats principles - The law of reflection using Fermat's principles - Reflection seismology - Refraction seismology.

Unit V

Internal structure of the earth Introduction - Refractions and reflections in the Earth's interior - Radial variations of seismic velocities - Radial variations of density, gravity and pressure - Models of the earth's internal structures - Seismic tomography - Travel time residuals due to anomalous velocity structure - Velocity anomalies from inversion of travel time residuals - Tomographic imaging of the mantle.

Books Recommended

1. Earthquake by Bolt, B.A., W.H. Freeman, New York, 1993.

2. An Introduction to Geophysical by Exploration by Kearey P and Brooks, M. Blackwell Publishers Oxford, 1991.

3. Basic Exploration Geophysics by Robinson, E.S and Coruch, C.John Wiley & Sons, 1998.

4. Earthquake by Walker, B.S., Time-Life Books Inc., Alexandria, Virgina, 1982.

5. The Interior of the Earth by Bott, M.H.P., Edward Arnold,. London. 1982.

6. The Solid Earth: An Introduction to Global Geophysics by Flower, C.M.R., Cambridge University Press, 1990.

7. Modern Global Seismology by Lay, T. and Wallace, T.C., Academic Press, San Diego, 1995.