EART 290C – GEODYNAMICS

Spring 2011 Class Notes

Email Prof. Nimmo (fnimmo@es.ucsc.edu) if you have problems accessing the files below

Office hours: 1pm-2pm Tu/Thurs in E&MS A219

Timing/Location: Tu/Thurs from 10:00 to 11:45 in E&MS D258

Course Goals: To provide a quantitative, graduate-level investigation of the physical processes controlling the deformation and response of planetary bodies at different time- and length-scales.

Texts:  The two most useful textbooks are Turcotte and Schubert, Geodynamics, 2^nd ed., CUP, 2002, and Kennett and Bunge, Geophysical Continua, CUP, 2008. Reference will also be made to the primary literature.

(Approximate) Course Outline

          Week 1 (29 Mar): Heat transfer. Notes

Problem Set #1 Answers

                   Suggested additional problems in T&S: 4-16, 4-30, 4-33, 4-39

Week 2 (5 Apr): Elasticity and flexure. Notes

Problem Set #2

                   Suggested additional problems in T&S: 3-19, 3-22

          Week 3 (12 Apr): Rheology & viscoelasticity. Notes.

Problem Set #3 Answers

                   Suggested additional problems in T&S: 7-18, 7-19

          Week 4 (19 Apr): Gravity & potential field theory. Notes. More notes.

Problem Set #4 Answers

                   Suggested additional problems in T&S: 5-9, 5-10, 5-11, 5-13, 5-19

          Week 5 (26 Apr): Gravity (concluded). Tides.

Problem Set #5 Answers

          Week 6 (3 May): Fluid dynamics. Notes.

Problem Set #6 Answers

                   Suggested additional problems in T&S: 6-4, 6-10, 6-12, 6-15, 6-23, 6-26

          Week 7 (10 May): Fluid dynamics (cont’d).

Problem Set #7 Answers

          Week 8 (17 May): Convection. Notes.

Problem Set #8

          Week 9 (24 May): Permeable Flow. Notes. FN away Tues

          Week 10 (31 May): Recap and applications. Notes.

Order of magnitude pages.