The course has 4 elements: lectures, lab exercises, reading case-history literature,
and a field project.
The description below is available to WWW browsers at the URL
http://www.seismo.unr.edu/ftp/pub/louie/class/492-syll.html.
However, students are responsible for finding the computer resources needed to complete the exercises on their own time. Please inform the instructor immediately if you cannot locate a suitable computer, or if you feel additional class lab sessions need to be scheduled for an exercise. In general each lab exercise will be due one week after the lecture covering the included concepts. Students may work together to complete the exercises, but all must turn in only their own work. Late exercises will be accepted with a 10% penalty for a week or two after the due date, possibly later at the instructor's discretion.
Each method's group will present their analysis with a 15-minute seminar druing the class Final Period on Monday May 11, 9:45-11:45 AM in LMR353. While the class will collectively analyze the data obtained, students will be responsible for their own written reports. Each should describe the objectives, previous work, methods, results, and implications of the entire project in 5 to 10 pages of text, plus figures. For further guidance, see the page on elements of a professional report. The class may be able to publish its collected results. There will be no final exam, unless the field project becomes a complete failure.
Grades will be calculated as follows:
Lab Exercises 40% Abstracts 30% Oral Presentation 10% Field Report 20%
| 1/21 | Seismic principles - moduli, wave propagation, Snell, reflection, surface waves
Text: p. 136-143, 147-162 |
| 1/23 | Seismic principles - porosity, Q, sources, geophones and digital recorders
Text: p. 192-207 A wave-modeling facility, with links to movies |
| 1/26 | Refraction - acquisition, sources, t-x plots, depth, dip, reversal
Text: p. 162-176, 209-216 - First-arrival picking and velocity inversion lab Tutorial 5:00-7:00 PM LMR351 |
| 1/28 | Refraction - low-vel & thin hidden layers, v-z ambiguity, surface wave applications
(media files)
Text: p. 235-243 |
| 2/2 | Reflection principles - profiling, sounding, NMO, dip
Text: p. 176-186 |
| 2/4 | Reflection principles - Vrms, Dix, vert resolution, horiz resolution
Text: p. 207-209 |
| 2/9 | Reflection acquisition - spreads, s/n, stack chart, phases, spatial aliasing
Text: p. 186-192 - Abstract due on engineering seismic case history - First-arrival picking and velocity inversion lab due - Surface-wave dispersion analysis and modeling lab Tutorial 5:00-7:00 PM LMR351 |
| 2/11 | Field project objectives - geologic setting, previous geophysics, planning |
| 2/16 | NO CLASS - Presidents Day Holiday |
| 2/18 | Reflection analysis - displays, spectra, BP filtering, gather slicing
Text: p. 216-228 - Surface-wave dispersion analysis and modeling lab due |
| 2/20 |
Reflection analysis - CMP stacking, CV stack picking, diffractions, migration
Text: p. 229-233, 243-248 |
| 2/23 |
J. N. Louie, W. Honjas, and S. Pullammanappallil, Geophysical exploration for geothermal resources: Advanced seismic technology: Geophysical Techniques in Geothermal Exploration Workshop, 2007 Geothermal Resources Council Annual Meeting, Reno, 28 September.
Text: p. 233-235, 248-272 - Abstract due on seismic reflection case history - Reflection Processing Lab Tutorial 5:00-7:00 PM LMR351 |
| 2/25 | Gravity principles - densities, corrections, instruments, acquisition
Text: p. 6-7, 10-26 |
| 3/2 | Gravity interpretation - modeling, trends, contouring, spatial filters
Text: p. 26-48 |
| 3/4 | Magnetics principles - properties, susceptibility units, diurnal drift, storms, instruments, acquisition
Text: p. 62-63, 67-84 - Reflection Processing Lab due |
| 3/11 | Magnetics interpretation - modeling, trends, contouring, poles, filters
Text: p. 84-114 - Abstract due on potential fields case history |
| 3/14-3/22 | Spring Break Field Project - Previous Fieldwork Photo Albums: 2009; 2007; 2005; 2003; 2002; 2000 |
| 3/23 | Field interpretation - elements of professional report, integration
- Gravity Lab Tutorial 5:00-7:00 PM LMR351 |
| 3/25 | Gravity/magnetics case studies - basin and bedrock geometry
Text: p. 48-52, 114-134 |
| 3/30 | GPS and Geodesy principles (1 Mb PDF)
- Gravity Lab due - Talwani inversion - Magnetics Lab Tutorial 5:00-7:00 PM LMR351 |
| 4/1 | GPS acquisition and analysis, radar interferometry |
| 4/6 | GPS applications and case histories
- Magnetics Lab due |
| 4/8 | Electrical/hydraulic properties - rocks, fluids |
| 4/10 | - draft methods paragraphs, result plots, reduced data due to class from each field team |
| 4/13-17 | Guest lectures or no class- instructor out of town |
| 4/20 | DC Resistivity - acquisition, apparent resistivity, modeling, curve fitting
- Abstract due on geodetic/inSAR case history - Resistivity modeling lab Tutorial 5:00-7:00 PM LMR351 |
| 4/22 | Frequency-domain electromagnetics - wavelengths, phase, skin depth |
| 4/24 | - draft results paragraphs, improved result plots due to class from each field team |
| 4/27 | Time-domain electromagnetics - dynamos, eddy currents, acquisition, modeling
- Resistivity modeling lab due - uses RESIX demo software on DOS |
| 4/29 | Induced polarization, self potential - theory, acquisition, interpretation |
| 5/4 | Electromagnetic case studies - deep-crustal fluids, waste plume characterization
- Abstract due on electromagnetic case history |
| if time permits | The borehole environment - drilling, casing, fluids, filtrates & cakes |
| if time permits | Borehole methods - SP, induction, laterologs, acoustic, gamma, neutron |
| Monday 5/11 | Group Project Results Presentations during final period LMR 353 9:45-11:45 AM
- Abstract due on borehole case history (if assigned) |
| Weds. 5/13 | Individual Project Reports Due 5:00 PM LME 217 |