Tectonic Geodesy
GEOS 655
Spring 2016
MW 1:00-2:30pm, F 1:00-2:00 pm, AVO Record Reading Room
Instructor: Jeff Freymueller
x7286 Elvey 413B jfreymueller@alaska.eduLast Updated: February 8, 2016
The Earth's crust is constantly in motion, with every part of the surface moving due to plate tectonics, and constantly deforming. The Earth is subject to a variety of periodic, steady and transient deformations. Motion and deformation is characteristic of both the solid earth and the cryosphere, and hydrologic and cryospheric mass changes cause observable deformation of the solid earth. Modern space-based geodetic techniques like the Global Positioning System (GPS) provide the ideal tools for studying the kinematics and dynamics of the earth.
The course is intended to teach you how modern geodetic techniques work, with a focus on GPS, and how they are applied to the study of problems in tectonics and other causes of motion and deformation. It begins with a description of how the measurements are made, followed by a mathematical description of coordinates and strains, and then provides an overview of the mathematical models used to relate observed deformation to tectonic, volcanic, and loading source models. Practical examples and applications are interspersed throughout, and the last few weeks of the class will be dominated by such examples. We will conclude with a discussion of related problems in sea level change, altimetry, and gravity change, which are made using different geodetic tools and provide measurements of the dynamic changes in the cryosphere and hydrosphere.
Textbook
There is no suitable textbook for this course; book publishers have not yet caught up with this fairly new field, although there are several books that cover parts of this course in detail. Xerox copies or PDF files of reading material will be provided. When I assign reading assignments, I expect to you read the material before the next class. That will allow me to use the lecture time to summarize key points and answer your questions, rather than trying to give you the details.
Grading
Students will be assigned several homework assignments, with a mix of analytical and numerical exercises. The homework load will not be very heavy, and will be scheduled to minimize time conflicts with the projects. Numerical exercises will be done using MATLAB or a similar programming environment. In addition, there will be midterm and final projects. The midterm project will be in the form of a written report summarizing, analyzing and synthesizing results from two or more published papers on a similar topic. The final project will be in the form of a written research proposal. In both cases, the students will also make a 10-minute presentation of their report or proposal to the class.
Grades will be based on homework assignments, and a class project. We will have several numerical exercises done using MATLAB.
Homework 70%
Project 30%
Projects
The class project will involve working with some real data, preferably GPS or InSAR data, and will be chosen by each student with the approval of the instructor. Students will construct a deformation model, or estimate a best- fitting model in an inverse sense, using an actual data set, and report their results in writing.
Class Time and Location
Class will meet Mondays and Wednesdays from 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm, and Fridays from 1:00 am to 2:00 pm. We will meet in the 3rd floor Elvey Record Reading Room (aka the AVO meeting room). There will be a few gaps within the semester due to travel, which accounts for the slightly longer class times. A few topics will be dealt with through reading and projects rather than lectures.
Homework Assigned
Homework 1. 2D GPS location problem.
Homework 2. Computing plate motions.
Homework 3. Strain and index manipulation.
Homework 4. Computing strain and rotation.
Detailed Schedule
Each lecture title is a link to the powerpoint file for that lecture.
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Day |
Date |
Lecture Topic |
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Fri |
Feb 5 |
1. Introduction; What is Geodesy; History of Geodesy applied to tectonics |
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Mon |
Feb 8 |
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Wed |
Feb 10 |
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Fri |
Feb 12 |
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Wed |
Feb 17 |
5. GPS Networks, time series, reference frame: time series, practical reference frames |
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Fri |
Feb 19 |
6. Measurement systems: Ambiguity Resolution, Kinematic GPS and GPS "Seismology" |
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Mon |
Feb 22 |
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Wed |
Feb 24 |
8. Plate kinematics, rigid plate motions, plate-fixed reference frames |
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Fri |
Feb 26 |
9. Practical applications: steady plate boundary deformation |
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Mon |
Feb 29 |
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Wed |
Mar 2 |
11. Dislocation theory; Screw and edge dislocations; No powerpoint |
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F,MWF |
Mar 4-11 |
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Mon |
Mar 21 |
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Wed |
Mar 23 |
13. Strain tensor; Rotation; Line length and angle measurements |
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Fri |
Mar 25 |
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MWF |
Mar 28 - April 1 |
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Mon |
Apr 4 |
15. Practical applications: earthquakes; seismic vs. aseismic slip |
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Thu |
Mar 31 |
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Tue |
Apr 5 |
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MWF |
April 11-15 |
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Mon |
Apr 18 |
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Wed |
Apr 20 |
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Fri |
April 22 |
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Mon |
Apr 25 |
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Wed |
Apr 27 |
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Fri |
Apr 29 |
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Mon |
Mar 2 |
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FINALS |
WEEK |
Presentation of Final Projects |
Dr. Jeffrey T. Freymueller
Professor of Geophysics
Geophysical Institute
University of Alaska, Fairbanks
Fairbanks, AK 99775-7320