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

SYLLABUS

Semester VI - Application Oriented Subject II - Earth's Thermal and Electrical Properties

Duration: 3 hrs
Maximum Marks: 100
Credits: 4

Unit I

Geochronology - Time - The Clock - Units of Time - The sidereal mouth Geological Time Scale.

Unit II

Estimating the Earth's age - Cooling of the Sun - cooling of the. earth - Increase of the Earth - Moon separation - Oceanic salinity - Sedimentary accumulation - Radioactivity - Radioactive decay - Radiometric age determination - Rubidium - Strontium - Potassium - Argon - The age of the earth and the Solar system.

Unit III

The Earth's heat - Introduction- thermodynamic principles - Temperature inside the earth - The adiabatic temperature gradient - The melting point gradient - Heat transport in the earth convection - Radiation.

Unit IV

Sources of heat in the earth - Radioactive heat production - the heat conduction equation - Penetration of external heat into the earth - cooling of a semi-infinite half space - Oceanic heat flow - Variation of oceanic heat flow and depth with lithospheric age - Global heat flow - Modals for, the cooling of oceanic lithosphere - thermal structure of oceanic lithosphere - Heat flow at subduction zones.

Unit V

Geoelectricity - Introduction - electricity principles - electric field and potential - Ohm's law types of electrical conduction - electrical properties of the earth - electrical surveying - Natural potentials and currents - Telluric currents - Resistivity surveying - electromagnetic surveying - Electric conductivity in the earth.

Books Recommended

1. Fundamentals of Geophysics by William Lowrie, Cambridge University Press, 1997.

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

3. Basic Exploration Geophysics by Robinson, E.S. and Coruh, C. John Wiley & Sons, 1984.

4. Earthquake by Walker, B.S., Time-Life Books Inc., Alexandria, Virginia, 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. Introduction to Geophysics by Dobrin, M.B. and Savit, C.H., McGraw Hill, New York, 1988.