Geophysical courses

[idawg]

What are the typical courses in geophysics? I want to register some classes in the local community college. Please advise, thank you!

[eric2009]

What do you study geophysics for?

[idawg]

I want to be a geophysical technician instead of utility locator. I want to learn some basic theories about geophysics and maybe something about georadar and electromagnetic.

[geophix]

First of all, you need to take a geophysics introduction course, so you can get a general idea what the geophysics is about. In this course, you will get in touch with some basic concepts such as earth structure, seismology, geodynamics, plate tectonics, gravity and geomagnetism, etc. This is basically about solid earth geophysics.

To be a geophysical technician or a field geophysicist, you need to study “applied geophysics”. You'll learn common geophysical methods used in geophysical surveys. The methods generally include gravity, magnetics, seismic, electromagnetic, resistivity, induced polarization and self potential, etc.

I don’t think the courses specifically about some topics in solid geophysics such as geodynamics and plate tectonics will help you much. Knowing the concepts probably is good enough for you.

Georadar is relatively new, not many universities and colleges provide classes about it. Hopefully you will learn a little bit about it from applied geophysics courses.

[chrisvecan]

An introduction course to geology is very beneficiary, too. Knowing the subject of geophysics (geology) is as important as knowing the means (geophysical methods). Get yourself familiar with different types of rocks and soils, how they were formed and how they evolved over the years. For example, in near surface geophysics, limestone is a very common concern for sinkholes while clay soil is not favorable for GPR. Geology is also an important part of exploration geophysics, no matter it’s for hydrocarbon, precious metals, geothermal or groundwater, etc.

[idawg]

Thanks, Guys! I only have a high school diploma. Do you get some trainings in the computer skills in these courses? I am tired of doing utility locating everyday. I want to do those cool things like EM mapping, landfill delineation, seismic surveys and other geophysical surveys. I have been assisting geophysicists doing some of them, but I don't have much understanding of them and how they work exactly.

[geophix]

I guess you work for a group providing geophysical services. A lot of courses offered in colleges are “outdated”. As a matter of fact, marine geophysics and borehole geophysics are not taught much in colleges although they are very important in practices. Reservoir geophysics or petroleum engineering are not popular in a lot of universities teaching traditional geophysics. Depending on the particular field you will work in, you still need to learn the frontier skills in the field while working with geophysicists. But I think you are in the right direction. The better you get educated in the general background about what you are doing, the more effective you will learn in the field.

[chrisvecan]

I think personal attitudes are more important than educational backgrounds. Some utility locators are very satisfied with what they are doing. Although they don't improve their skills much after they reach certain levels, their skills serve the purposes. They could get paid far less than geophysicists, but they don't have to pull their hairs out to deal with geophysical survey design and data processing. But as a utility locator, if you want a well job and do more challenging works, geophysics is one of the good directions.

[marken]

Thanks, Guys! I only have a high school diploma. Do you get some trainings in the computer skills in these courses? I am tired of doing utility locating everyday. I want to do those cool things like EM mapping, landfill delineation, seismic surveys and other geophysical surveys. I have been assisting geophysicists doing some of them, but I don't have much understanding of them and how they work exactly.

I don't know how much you know about computers. Most likely you will need to use computers while taking these courses. Geophysics courses usually don't give you formal computer trainings and you may need to take some computer courses such as C++ and Matlab programming.

[idawg]

Which universities have the best geophysics programs? I want to check courses they offer and what textbooks they usually use.

[nsm]

I recommend these two books for reading:

Environmental and Engineering Geophysics, By Prem V. Sharma

An introduction to Applied and Environmental Geophysics, By John M. Reynolds

[geophix]

To name a few schools with top ranking geophysics programs: California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Stanford University and Colorado School of Mines.

[Tyler]

Montana Tech of University of Montana has a geophysical engineering program. You can also take a look at its website for geophysical courses.

[bert]

What School can we find Geophysical courses? Can you please give us some list because I'm planning to take this course. Its a little bit confusing and I'm interesting with it.

[Tyler]

To name a few:
Principles/introduction of geophysics
Plate tectonics
Seismology
Geodynamics
Geophysics Inversion Theory

[geophix]

Don't know what you are going to do with geophysics, but you can also take a introductory geology class if your background is not in earth sciences.