Prerequisite: GP120
Course status: Optional
Credit Rating: 12 credits
Total hours spent: 120 hours [45 hours lectures, 15 hours Tutorials, 30 hours Assignments, and 30 hours independent study]
Course Objective(s):
o To impart to students the knowledge and skills on various geophysical methods used in exploration of Earth resources.
o To enable students to have the necessary skills on how to acquire, process, and interpret geophysical data.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, students should be able to:
o Describe the basic principles of geophysical techniques used in geological investigations.
o Explain various geophysical data acquisition methods and their limitations in geological investigations.
o Interpret geophysical data both qualitatively and quantitatively, and identify geophysical anomalies.
Course Structure
Introduction to Geophysical Exploration Methods; Gravity Methods; Magnetic Methods; Electrical Methods; Electromagnetic Methods; Seismic Methods; Role of Geophysical Methods in Mineral Deposits Exploration.
Course Content
Gravity and magnetic methods: Principles and instrumentations,Gravity survey: airborne and ground, Data reduction to Bouguer anomalies, Magnetic method:Principles and instrumentations, Airborne and ground surveys, Reduction and interpretation;Electrical methods: - Electrical properties of rocks, Resistivity, resistivity tomography, Self-Potential (SP), Induced polarization (IP); Electromagnetic methods (EM): Electromagnetic induction laws, Frequency and Time Domain Measurement of phase: horizontal loop system and TEM, Measurement of Amplitude and direction, VLF and TURAM, Interpretation of EM anomalies; Seismic methods: Seismic elastic properties of rocks, Principles of Reflection method, Refraction method and its application in site investigations; Radioactivity method: Radioactivity measuring techniques, Applications in geological mapping; and Role of geophysical methods in mineral deposits exploration: Reconnaissance Follow up and Development.
Assessment
Coursework 40%, Final Examination 60%.
Key Textbooks:
1. Parasnis, D.S. (1997). Principles of Applied Geophysics, (5th Ed.) Chapman and Hall, London.
2. Burger, H.R., Sheehan, A.F. and Jones, C.H. (2006). Introduction to Applied Geophysics. Exploring the Shallow subsurface. W.W. Norton and Company, New York.
3. Kearey, P. Brooks, M. and Hill, I. (2013). Introduction to Geophysical Exploration. (3rd Ed.) Blackwell Publishing.
4. Dentith, M. and Mudge, S.T. (2014). Geophysics for the Mineral Exploration Geoscientist. Cambridge University Press.
5. Reynolds J.M. (2011). An Introduction to Applied and Environmental Geophysics. (2nd Ed.) Wiley – Blackwell.
6. Telford W. M., Geldart L. P., and Sheriff R. E. (1990). Applied Geophysics, 2nd Edition, Cambridge University Press
7. Musset, A.E. and Aftab, K.M. (2000). An Introduction to Geological Geophysics, 1st Edition Cambridge University Press.