EART 290Q – PHYSICS OF THE OUTER SOLAR SYSTEM
Spring 2009 Class Notes
Email Prof. Nimmo (fnimmo@es.ucsc.edu) if you have problems accessing the files below
Timing/Location: Tu/Thurs from 2:00 to 3:45 in E&MS D250
Course Goals: To provide a quantitative, graduate-level investigation of the physical processes controlling the origin, evolution and state of bodies in the outer solar system, especially icy satellites.
Texts: Various, but Turcotte and Schubert Geodynamics and Murray and Dermott Solar System Dynamics are the two essentials.
Week 1 (31 March): Conductive heat transfer. Notes
Week 2 (7 April): Convection and Navier-Stokes. Notes
Week 3 (14 April): Rheology and viscoelasticity. Notes
No lecture 16 April
Week 4 (21 April): Flexure and relaxation. Notes.
Week 5 (28 April): No lectures this week
Week 6 (5 May): Tides and Orbits (1). Notes. Powerpoint slides.
Week 7 (12 May): Tides and Orbits (2). Notes.
Week 8 (19 May): No lectures this week.
Week 9 (26 May): Shape, gravity, internal structure. Notes.
Week 10 (2 June): Impacts. Notes.