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ESS 314: Introduction to Geophysics - Home ESS 314: Introduction to Geophysics - Home
  • ESS 314 – Geophysics

Course Logistics

  • Syllabus
  • Technology
  • Lecture Slides

Module 1 — Introduction to Geophysical Methods

  • What is Geophysics?
  • Geophysical Methods

Module 2 — Seismic Waves, Refraction, and Reflection

  • Seismic Wave Basics
  • Seismic Wave Types
  • Wavefronts, Rays, and Snell's Law

Module 3 — Subsurface Imaging

  • Refraction I
  • Refraction II
  • Reflections I
  • Reflections II
  • Migration & Velocity–Image Duality
  • Whole Earth Imaging
  • Seismic Tomography

Module 4 — Earthquake Phenomenology

  • Earthquake Phenomena I
  • Earthquake Phenomena II
  • Focal Mechanisms
  • Ground Motions
  • Tsunami

Module 5 — Gravity

  • Earth's Gravity & the Geoid
  • Gravity Anomalies & Subsurface Modeling
  • Isostasy & Lithospheric Flexure
  • Density & Lithosphere

Module 6 — Magnetism

  • Earth's Field & the Geodynamo
  • Rock Magnetism
  • Magnetic Anomalies & Surveys

Module 7 — Tectonics, Lithosphere, and the Cooling Earth

  • L26 — Lithosphere: Oceanic vs. Continental
  • L27 — Ridges and Rifts
  • L28 — Convergent Margins
  • L29 — Transform & Intraplate
  • L30 — Synthesis

Labs

  • Lab 1: Introduction to Python
  • Geophysics Lab 2: More Python, and Some Earthquakes
  • Lab AI: AI as a Geophysics Collaborator
    • Resources Overview
    • Part 5 — Three Claims
    • Part 6 — Sample Methods Paragraph
    • Part 6 — Methods Reviewer Agent (Template)
    • Session Card (Template)
    • AI Error Log (Template)
  • Notebook: Subduction Parameter Space (L28)

Career Prospects & Skills

  • Overview
  • Job Market & Salaries
  • Skills to Build
  • Career Paths

Discussion Sections

  • Design & Mentoring
  • Five Formats
  • Session 1 — Why Does the Earth Make Noise?
  • Session 2 — Reading the Subsurface
  • Session 3 — Guest: PhD Student's First Year
  • Session 4 — Explaining Geophysics
  • Session 5 — Gravity, Ice Sheets, and CO₂
  • Session 6 — Guest: Industry Geophysicist
  • Session 7 — Inside the Planet
  • Session 8 — Guest: Science-Society Boundary
  • Session 9 — Inversion & the Climate Problem
  • Session 10 — What Have We Learned?
  • Studio (L30) — One Earth, Many Observables
  • Workshop — Lithosphere Comparison (L26)

AI Skills & Skill Threads

  • Five Skill Threads
  • AI Literacy Guide

References

  • Full Bibliography
  • Repository
  • Open issue

Index

By Marine Denolle

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