A Student's Guide to Geophysical Equations
A Student's Guide to Geophysical Equations
The advent of accessible student computing packages has meant that geophysics students can now easily manipulate datasets and gain first-hand modeling experience – essential in developing an intuitive understanding of the physics of the Earth. Yet to gain a more in-depth understanding of physical theory, and to develop new models and solutions, it is necessary to be able to derive the relevant equations from first principles. This compact, handy book fills a gap left by most modern geophysics textbooks, which generally do not have space to derive all of the important formulae, showing the intermediate steps. This guide presents full derivations for the classical equations of gravitation, gravity, tides, earth rotation, heat, geomagnetism and foundational seismology, illustrated with simple schematic diagrams. It supports students through the successive steps and explains the logical sequence of a derivation – facilitating self-study and helping students to tackle homework exercises and prepare for exams.
- Covers a wide range of geophysical topics and can be used to accompany advanced lecture courses
- Fundamental, background mathematics is explained in an introductory chapter, providing a helpful primer for less mathematically able students
- Detailed, step-by-step derivations help students develop a real understanding of the physical meaning, without the need for intensive tutorial assistance
Reviews & endorsements
"The book is concise yet it contains the derivations of many geophysical equations that allow the reader to examine underlying physical assumptions..All in all, this is a good introduction to books dealing with foundations of quantitative geophysics."
Rafael A. Abreu, The Leading Edge
"[This] is one of the most useful little handbooks....It contains a wealth of information in a compact format that is readily accessible and that follows a logical progression....For such a low cost, this book is well worth purchasing."
M.S. Field, CHOICE
"This compact book may turn out to be an extremely useful compendium of hte mathematics necessary to equip the modern geophysics graduate student for research."
John Adam, Mathematical Reviews
"Figures are small, simple, and clear, and largely devoted, to illustrating dimensions or coordinate systems relating to the equations under discussion...succeeds as a supplemental work to either a more general introductory textbook (most naturally Lowrie’s own Fundamentals of Geophysics, which maintains continuity in mathematical notation) or as an introduction to several more advanced, subject- specific works. As such, it is a worthy addition to the shelf (or eBook reader) of serious students of geophysics, or indeed faculty preparing lecture courses on related subjects."
James Wookey, American Mineralogist
"… a basic resource for anyone who needs to revisit the basic theory of classical geophysics … I wish this book had been available when I was preparing my own set of geophysics lecture notes … the fundamental geophysical equations are presented here in an informative and intuitive way, which makes this relatively inexpensive book an excellent investment for any geophysicist's library."
Geological Magazine
Product details
June 2011Paperback
9780521183772
296 pages
229 × 150 × 18 mm
0.48kg
78 b/w illus. 7 tables
Available
Table of Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- 1. Mathematical background
- 2. Gravitation
- 3. Gravity
- 4. The tides
- 5. Earth's rotation
- 6. Earth's heat
- 7. Geomagnetism
- 8. Foundations of seismology
- Appendix A. Magnetic poles, the dipole field, and current loops
- Appendix B. Maxwell's equations of electromagnetism
- References
- Index.
