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GE5195 Volcano Seismology

Spring semester 2013
3 credits

Description and scope of the course: This course will prepare students, including those with no seismology background, to interpret seismic and acoustic signals from volcanoes. Topics: basic seismology, monitoring techniques, tectonic and volcanic earthquakes, infrasound, and deformation over a range of time scales. Download a PDF of the syllabus here.

Volcanoes produce fascinating seismic signals: tremor, explosions, very-long-period earthquakes, etc., that depend on the physical conditions within the system and the interface between the solid Earth, volcanic fluids, and atmosphere. Below is an example of over an hour of harmonic tremor recorded about 900 m from the active vent of Fuego Volcano. Click here to listen to the radial and tangential channels in stereo (sped up by 200 times).

Instructor:
Dr. Greg Waite
Dow 428
Office phone: 906.487.3554
e-mail: gpwaite AT mtu DOT edu

Lecture:
Monday and Wednesday from 1530-1700 Eastern in Dow 610.

Lab :
once per week, time TBA

Texts: There is not a required textbook as most of the material will be handed out. But I highly recommend Aki and Richards or Stein and Wysession if you are interested in more detailed derivations than we have time for in tthis course:

Aki, K. and P.G. Richards (2009). Quantitative Seismology (2nd ed.). Sausalito, CA: University Science Books.
--This book has plenty of detail for an advanced seismology class.

Gubbins, D. (2004). Time Series Analysis and Inverse Theory for Geophysicists. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
-- This is a good reference that has lots of seismology examples.

Shearer, P.M. (2009). Introduction to Seismology (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
--This book does not have the detail that Stein and Wysession does, but is sufficient for this course.

Stein, S. and M. Wysession (2003). An Introduction to Seismology, Earthquakes, and Earth Structure. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.
--This is an excellent general-purpose seismology textbook that also covers advanced topics we won't address.

Zobin, V.M. (2003), Introduction to Volcanic Seismology. Amsterdam: Elsevier Science.
--This is the only volcanic seismology textbook; it covers many of the topics we will address in the course, but not always with sufficient detail.

Prerequisites: MA1160/61, GE2000, PH2100, or permission from instructor. Labs and homework assignments will be done in Matlab, but you need not be an expert in Matlab to take the course. There are a lot of Matlab resources on the web. For example, look Mathworks tutorial and a tutorial written by Professor Gockenbach in html or PDF.

Readings: Journal articles and book sections will be assigned.

Course web page: http://www.geo.mtu.edu/~gpwaite/teaching/volcanoseismo
I am putting most of the course materials on the course blackboard page instead of here.

Grades: Final grade will be based upon homework/laboratories (50%), mid-term (20%) and final exams (30%).

Other readings: Click for a link to a list of good papers on, and related to, volcano seismology. PDFs are provided when possible.

Last modified: 12 January 2013 19:29