Earth Sciences

AIMS

The course aims to provide an understanding of the dynamics of the solid Earth from theoretical and observational seismology and seismotectonics in relation to earthquake hazard and mitigation. It provides an in-depth study of earthquake seismology and earthquake hazard.

OUTCOMES

The students will acquire the following practical skills:

• Interpretation of earthquake seismograms;
• Determining earthquake focal mechanisms and quantitative seismotectonics;
• Practical approaches to earthquake hazard assessment;
• Practical earthquake hazard mitigation strategies.

The students will acquire the following transferable skills:

• Processing, interpreting and presenting seismological data using the Matlab computer program;
• Solving geophysical problems using computational and analytical techniques;
• Using the Internet as a source of geophysical information;
• Application of statistics to hazard.

CONTENT

Topics include: Seismic waves, dispersion, attenuation, earth structure. Earthquake sources processes, focal mechanisms, seismotectonics. Earthquake precursors, earthquake prediction, earthquake hazard and mitigation.