GE4560 Earthquake Seismology
Fall semester 2019
3 credits
Description and scope of the course:
This course covers the physics of earthquakes and seismic energy propagation, and seismic methods to determine Earth structure. Emphasis is placed on passive source techniques, with extension to exploration applications.
Students will gain a solid foundation in principals of seismic wave generation and propagation through theory and applications of modern analysis techniques. Learning will be facilitated through assigned reading, lectures, and homework and project assignments. At the end of the course, students will be able to:
- derive fundamental seismological equations from first principles;
- model earthquake sources using seismic waveforms;
- model Earth structure with multiple techniques; and
- plan and complete a seismological research project.
Download a PDF of the 2019 syllabus here.
Current Earthquake Information from IRIS
Instructor:
Dr. Greg Waite
Dow 428
Office phone: 906.487.3554
e-mail: gpwaite AT mtu DOT edu
Lecture:
Monday and Wednesday from 1405-1455 in Dow 610.
Labs:
Friday from 1405-1455 in Dow 709 (computer lab)
Office hours:
Monday and Wednesday 10-12 or by appointment or any other time I am in my office.
Text books:
Shearer, P., (2019). Introduction to Seismology, 3rd edition, Cambridge University Press.
This is an accessible textbook suitible for advanced undergraduates and beginning graduate students. This is required while the books below are not.
Stein, S. and M. Wysession, (2003). An Introduction to Seismology, Earthquakes, and Earth Structure, Blackwell Publishing. This is an excellent general-purpose seismology textbook that also covers advanced topics. This is not required, but complements Shearer's book very nicely. I recommend it for graduate students.
Gubbins, D. (2004). Time Series Analysis and Inverse Theory for Geophysicists, Cambridge University Press. It is not required, but is a good reference that has lots of seismology examples.
Kramer, S.L., (1996). Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering, Prentice Hall. We will sample a couple of chapters from this book; it will not be required, but is recommended for those interested in earthquake engineering.
Prerequisites: GE3000/GE3050, PH2100, MA2160, or permission from instructor. A linear algebra course (MA2320/MA2330) is useful, but not required. Many homework assignments will be done in Matlab, but you need not be an expert in Matlab to take the course.
Readings: Journal articles and book sections will be assigned. You will be quizzed on reading assignments occasionally.
Current students should see the Canvas course page for the most up-to-date information.
A sampling of interesting and useful links:
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