A few weekends of field measurements at representative local sites are included. Lab sessions cover modeling and interpretation of geophysical field data. A basic study in seismology and the utilization of seismic waves for the study of Earth's interior. Hands-on computer laboratory and algorithm development. An introduction to theoretical studies of systems of many interacting components, the individual dynamics of which may be simple, but the collective dynamics of which are often nonlinear and analytically intractable.
Topics vary from year to year.
Format includes both pedagogical lectures and round-table reviews of current literature. Discussions in context of contemporary experimental or observational data. Results of field petrologic and structural studies compared to data from experimental structural geology. Rocks viewed as complex composite media with behavior dependent both on the physical and chemical properties of the constituent phases, and on their geometries. Electrical, fluid transport, and seismic properties covered in detail.