Syllabus

EAS-A437/537 - Earth Dynamics

The aim of this course is to integrate information inferred from geophysical methods with geological information to show how regional geological structure and tectonic processes may be related to large scale process going on in the deep Earth. We will introduce various geophysical methods and show what discoveries using those methods have contributed to our knowledge of the movement of the Earth's listhosphere plates, the structure and evolution of continents, tectonic activity, and earthquake occurrence.

I. Introduction

A. Historical perspective on Earth structure

B. Historical perspective on plate motion

C. A new mantle convection model -- a new slant on an old debate

 

II. Using seismic methods to infer Earth structure

A. Seismic refraction and reflection methods

B. Seismic surface waves

C. Seismic tomography

 

III. Introduction to the Earth's internal elastic structure

A. The importance of seismology

B. The one-dimensional approximation for Earth structure

1. Crust

2. Mantle

3. Core

C. Three-dimensional variations in Earth structure

 

IV. Three other geophysical properties and what they tell us about the Earth

A. Gravity

B. Magnetism

C. Temperature

D. Anelasticity

 

V. The framework of plate tectonics

A. Plates and their movement

B. Earthquakes

C. Forces acting on plates

 

VI. Plate margins and their implications for crustal structure and evolution

A. Separating margins

B. Margins with lateral movement

C. Converging margins

 

VII. The mechanism of plate tectonics

A. Contracting and expanding Earth hypotheses

B. Mantle convection

C. Modern ideas on plate tectonics mechanisms

 

VIII. Evolution of the Earth's crust and upper mantle

A. The formation of continents

B. Evolution of the oceanic lithosphere