Fisica | TERRESTRIAL PHYSICS

cod. 0522600013

TERRESTRIAL PHYSICS

	0522600013
	DIPARTIMENTO DI FISICA "E.R. CAIANIELLO"
	EQF7
	PHYSICS
	2017/2018

PERCORSO COMUNE

	YEAR OF COURSE 1
	YEAR OF DIDACTIC SYSTEM 2017
	PRIMO SEMESTRE

TEACHING UNITS

	SSD	CFU	HOURS	ACTIVITY	TYPE OF ACTIVITY
	GEO/10	6	48	LESSONS	SUPPLEMENTARY COMPULSORY SUBJECTS

	Objectives
	THIS IS THE FIRST COURSE IN GEOPHYSICAL SCIENCES OF THE MASTER'S DEGREE COURSE IN PHYSICS. THE MAIN OBJECTIVE OF THE COURSE IS TO PROVIDE STUDENTS WITH THE MAIN METHODOLOGIES TO ADDRESS THIS STUDY, ENABLING STUDENTS TO PERFORM A SIMPLE INTERPRETATION OF THE MAJOR PROCESSES RELATED TO KNOWLEDGE OF THE PHYSICAL STRUCTURE AND DYNAMICS OF THE PLANET EARTH. THE MAIN ACQUISITIONS WILL BE: - ANALYSIS OF THE MAIN METHODOLOGIES FOR THE RECOGNITION OF THE SHAPE AND STRUCTURE OF THE EARTH; - ANALYSIS OF INVERSE PROBLEMS IN GEOPHYSICS; - BASIC KNOWLEDGE OF THE MAIN DYNAMIC PROCESSES ACTIVE ON EARTH (SEISMIC, VOLCANIC, DEFORMATIONAL PROCESSES); THE MAIN SKILLS (IE THE ABILITY TO APPLY ACQUIRED KNOWLEDGE) WILL BE: - ANALYZE THE PHYSICAL PROCESSES UNDERLYING GEODYNAMICS; - ANALYZE AND KNOW THE MAIN METHODOLOGIES FOR STUDYING THE INNER STRUCTURE OF THE PLANET EARTH AND ITS FORM.

THIS IS THE FIRST COURSE IN GEOPHYSICAL SCIENCES OF THE MASTER'S DEGREE COURSE IN PHYSICS. THE MAIN OBJECTIVE OF THE COURSE IS TO PROVIDE STUDENTS WITH THE MAIN METHODOLOGIES TO ADDRESS THIS STUDY, ENABLING STUDENTS TO PERFORM A SIMPLE INTERPRETATION OF THE MAJOR PROCESSES RELATED TO KNOWLEDGE OF THE PHYSICAL STRUCTURE AND DYNAMICS OF THE PLANET EARTH.
THE MAIN ACQUISITIONS WILL BE:
- ANALYSIS OF THE MAIN METHODOLOGIES FOR THE RECOGNITION OF THE SHAPE AND STRUCTURE OF THE EARTH;
- ANALYSIS OF INVERSE PROBLEMS IN GEOPHYSICS;
- BASIC KNOWLEDGE OF THE MAIN DYNAMIC PROCESSES ACTIVE ON EARTH (SEISMIC, VOLCANIC, DEFORMATIONAL PROCESSES);
THE MAIN SKILLS (IE THE ABILITY TO APPLY ACQUIRED KNOWLEDGE) WILL BE:
- ANALYZE THE PHYSICAL PROCESSES UNDERLYING GEODYNAMICS;
- ANALYZE AND KNOW THE MAIN METHODOLOGIES FOR STUDYING THE INNER STRUCTURE OF THE PLANET EARTH AND ITS FORM.

	Prerequisites
	THE SUBJECTS COVERED IN THE COURSE REQUIRE THE ABILITY TO SOLVE TOPICS OF CLASSICAL PHYSICS AND MATHEMATICS DEALT WITH IN THE THREE-YEAR DEGREE. THERE IS NO FORMAL PROPEDEUTICITY, BUT IT IS USEFUL FOR THE STUDENT WHO WISHES TO ATTEND THE COURSE WITH THE BENEFIT OF HAVING PASSED THE EXAMINATION OF GEOPHYSICS INSTITUTIONS, ENVISAGED IN THE THREE-YEAR DEGREE IN PHYSICS.

	Contents
	THE COURSE IS FORMED BY A MODULE LASTING 48 HOURS (6 CFU). THE CONTENT OF THE COURSE IS BASED ON THE PRESENTATION OF THE PRESENT STATUS OF KNOWLEDGE ON THE INTERIOR OF THE PLANET EARTH, ON THE DESCRIPTION OF METHODS FOR THE STUDY OF EARTH’S INTERIOR (GEOPHYSICAL INVERSE PROBLEM), ON THE MODELS AND INTERPRETATION OF GEODYNAMICAL PROCESSES. THE MAIN TOPICS OF THE COURSE ARE: - STRUCTURE OF ERTH’S INTERIOR: CRUST, MANTLE, CORE AND THEIR COMPOSITION; - THE GEOPHYSICAL INVERSE THEORY: FORMULATION OF THE INVERSE PROBLEM. PROBABILITY THEORY. THE DESCRETE LINEAR-GAUSSIAN INVERSE METHOD (NORM METHOD; GENERALIZED INVERSE AND MAXIMUM LIKELIHOOD METHOD). THE INVERSE NON-LINEAR METHOD AND THE NON GAUSSIAN DISTRIBUTIONS. THE CONTINUOUS INVERSE PROBLEM. THEORY AND APPLICATION OF GEOPHYSICAL TOMOGRAPHY. - THE SHAPE OF THE EARTH, HEAT FLUX AND THE CONVECTION. - THE LITHOSPHERE-ASTENOSPHERE SYSTEM, THE LATERAL HETEROGENEITIES AND THE GLOBAL DYNAMICS.

Contents

THE COURSE IS FORMED BY A MODULE LASTING 48 HOURS (6 CFU).
THE CONTENT OF THE COURSE IS BASED ON THE PRESENTATION OF THE PRESENT STATUS OF KNOWLEDGE ON THE INTERIOR OF THE PLANET EARTH, ON THE DESCRIPTION OF METHODS FOR THE STUDY OF EARTH’S INTERIOR (GEOPHYSICAL INVERSE PROBLEM), ON THE MODELS AND INTERPRETATION OF GEODYNAMICAL PROCESSES.
THE MAIN TOPICS OF THE COURSE ARE:
- STRUCTURE OF ERTH’S INTERIOR: CRUST, MANTLE, CORE AND THEIR COMPOSITION;
- THE GEOPHYSICAL INVERSE THEORY: FORMULATION OF THE INVERSE PROBLEM. PROBABILITY THEORY. THE DESCRETE LINEAR-GAUSSIAN INVERSE METHOD (NORM METHOD; GENERALIZED INVERSE AND MAXIMUM LIKELIHOOD METHOD). THE INVERSE NON-LINEAR METHOD AND THE NON GAUSSIAN DISTRIBUTIONS. THE CONTINUOUS INVERSE PROBLEM. THEORY AND APPLICATION OF GEOPHYSICAL TOMOGRAPHY.
- THE SHAPE OF THE EARTH, HEAT FLUX AND THE CONVECTION.
- THE LITHOSPHERE-ASTENOSPHERE SYSTEM, THE LATERAL HETEROGENEITIES AND THE GLOBAL DYNAMICS.

	Teaching Methods
	THE COURSE CONSISTS OF 48-HOUR FRONTAL LESSONS (6 CFUS), WHICH TAKE PLACE IN THE CLASSROOM WITH THE AID OF PROJECTIONS. THE FREQUENCY OF CLASSROOM LESSONS AND LABORATORY EXERCISES IS COMPULSORY. TO QUALIFY FOR THE FINAL EXAM, THE STUDENT MUST HAVE ATTENDED AT LEAST 70% OF THE TUITION HOURS. THE ATTENDANCE VERIFICATION MODE IS ANNOUNCED BY THE TEACHER AT THE BEGINNING OF THE LESSONS.

	Verification of learning
	THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE OBJECTIVES OF THE COURSE IS CERTIFIED BY PASSING AN EVALUATION EXAM WITH RATING IN THIRTHY POINTS. THE EXAM IS PERFORMED THROUGH AN ANALYSIS OF A CASE HISTORY, WITH A WRITTEN AND ORAL DISSERTATION. THE ORAL TESTS CONSIST OF AN INTERVIEW WITH A DURATION OF NOT MORE THAN ONE HOUR, WITH QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION ON THE THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL CONTENTS INDICATED IN THE TEACHING PROGRAM AND ARE DESIGNED TO ASCERTAIN THE LEVEL OF KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING ACQUIRED BY THE STUDENT, AS WELL AS TO VERIFY THE EXPOSURE CAPACITY USING THE APPROPRIATE TERMINOLOGY AND THE ABILITY TO ORGANIZE THE EXHIBITION ON THE SAME SUBJECTS WITH THEORETICAL CONTENT. THE FINAL SCORE WILL BE BASED ON THE AVERAGE SCORE OF THE WRITTEN AND ORAL DISCUSSION OTHER THAN THE REPORT. THE MINIMUM VOTE FOR PASSING THE EXAM IS 18/30. PRAISE MAY BE GIVEN TO STUDENTS WHO REACH THE MAXIMUM GRADE OF 30/30 AND WHO DEMONSTRATE THAT THEY ARE ABLE TO APPLY THEIR OWN KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS ACQUIRED IN CONTEXTS OTHER THAN THOSE PROPOSED IN LESSONS.

Verification of learning

THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE OBJECTIVES OF THE COURSE IS CERTIFIED BY PASSING AN EVALUATION EXAM WITH RATING IN THIRTHY POINTS. THE EXAM IS PERFORMED THROUGH AN ANALYSIS OF A CASE HISTORY, WITH A WRITTEN AND ORAL DISSERTATION.
THE ORAL TESTS CONSIST OF AN INTERVIEW WITH A DURATION OF NOT MORE THAN ONE HOUR, WITH QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION ON THE THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL CONTENTS INDICATED IN THE TEACHING PROGRAM AND ARE DESIGNED TO ASCERTAIN THE LEVEL OF KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING ACQUIRED BY THE STUDENT, AS WELL AS TO VERIFY THE EXPOSURE CAPACITY USING THE APPROPRIATE TERMINOLOGY AND THE ABILITY TO ORGANIZE THE EXHIBITION ON THE SAME SUBJECTS WITH THEORETICAL CONTENT.
THE FINAL SCORE WILL BE BASED ON THE AVERAGE SCORE OF THE WRITTEN AND ORAL DISCUSSION OTHER THAN THE REPORT. THE MINIMUM VOTE FOR PASSING THE EXAM IS 18/30. PRAISE MAY BE GIVEN TO STUDENTS WHO REACH THE MAXIMUM GRADE OF 30/30 AND WHO DEMONSTRATE THAT THEY ARE ABLE TO APPLY THEIR OWN KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS ACQUIRED IN CONTEXTS OTHER THAN THOSE PROPOSED IN LESSONS.

	Texts
	D.L. ANDERSON, "THEORY OF THE EARTH" (BLACKWELL SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS, BOSTON, 1989). A. TARANTOLA, "INVERSE PROBLEM THEORY" (SIAM, PHILADELPHIA, 2005). W.MENKE, GEOPHYSICAL DATA ANALYSIS: DISCRETE INVERSE THEORY. (ELSEVIER, THIRD EDITION, 2012,(AVAILABLE ON LINE)