APPLIED GEOPHYSICS

Course objectives

Educational goals: General outcomes • The main objective of this course is to provide students with the fundamental principles and methods in Applied Geophysics for Engineering Geology, Civil and Environmental Engineering applications, with particular focus on specific problems such as seismic and hydrogeological risks, pollution, landslides and soil instability, groundwater management, geothermal energy, etc. Specific outcomes • Fundamental knowledge of the theoretical principles and practical methods of the most widely-applied geophysical techniques in Civil and Environmental Engineering and Engineering Geology. • The course provides the tools to enable the student to independently choose the most appropriate methodology for specific engineering problems, with particular focus on modeling the subsoil as a physical system and on the assessment of specific risks affecting the subsoil such as seismic and hydrogeological risks, pollution, landslides and soil instability, groundwater management, geothermal energy, etc. • Specific understanding of the main possibilities and limitations of geophysical methods and their integration. Survey design, quality estimation and reliability assessment of the geophysical investigation. • Specific skills for communicating the results of a geophysical survey with specific reference to data dissemination and interaction with other professionals. Learning ouctomes: the students will enhance their ability on the interpretation of the different geophysical data sets to solve the problems related to the Near Surface Geophysics and Applied Geology.

Channel 1
PAOLO CIAMPI Lecturers' profile

Program - Frequency - Exams

Course program
• Introduction to Applied Geophysics: Overview of geophysical survey techniques. Active and passive methods. Fields of application. The forward and inverse problem in applied geophysics. • Gravimetric Method: Principles and applications. The Earth's gravitational field; relative measurement of the gravitational field; techniques for conducting gravimetric surveys; data correction and processing, calculation and filtering of anomalies; interpretation. • Magnetic Method: The Earth's magnetic field. Rock magnetization. Measurement techniques in magnetometry. Magnetometers. Magnetic field generated by magnetized bodies with spherical symmetry. Interpretation of magnetic anomalies. Examples of magnetic survey applications for the detection of buried bodies in archaeological areas. • Electrical Methods: Conduction mechanisms in rocks: metallic conductors, semiconductors, dielectrics, solid and liquid electrolytes. The resistivity of rocks. General equations: Archie's law. Direct current geoelectrical survey: resistivity method, principles, and applications; Self-Potential Method, principles and applications; Induced Polarization Method, principles and applications. • Electromagnetic (EM) Methods: Electromagnetic theory review. Induction-based EM methods. VLF analysis-based methods. Impulse energization methods. Ground-penetrating radar (GPR). Measurement execution, data processing, and interpretation; application examples. • Seismic Methods: Nature, characteristics, and propagation of elastic waves; refraction method; reflection method; surface waves, active and passive techniques, HVSR and MASW, applications. • Hydrogeophysics: The contribution of Applied Geophysics in the characterization of subsurface water resources. Applications in hydrogeological and environmental issues, including the characterization of contaminated sites and the study of areas with high natural and/or environmental risk. Direct-push surveys for high-resolution characterization (MIP, LIF). Practical examples. • Illustration of instrumentation and acquisition methods, analysis, processing, and interpretation of geophysical data for the study of real-world cases.
Prerequisites
Basic knowledge of mathematics, physics, Earth sciences, structural geology, applied geology, and hydrogeology.
Books
Materials provided by the lecturer and shared on the Google Classroom platform. Literature and bibliographic material made available during the course. Reference Text: Introduction to Applied Geophysics by H.R. Burger, A.F. Sheehan, C.H. Jones, W.W. Norton & Company; ISBN: 0393926370.
Frequency
Attendance: Not mandatory but recommended.
Exam mode
The first part of the oral exam involves the production and discussion of a brief presentation on a case study related to a specific topic, chosen by the student from the various themes and geophysical investigation techniques covered during the course. The second part focuses on assessing the theoretical knowledge acquired throughout the course. The evaluation takes into account the content, the quality of the presentation, and the student's skills in planning geophysical surveys and interpreting geophysical data and anomalies.
Lesson mode
Lectures: 40 hours; Exercises: 12 hours.
  • Lesson code1041864
  • Academic year2024/2025
  • CourseEngineering, Territory and Risk Geology
  • CurriculumSingle curriculum
  • Year2nd year
  • Semester1st semester
  • SSDGEO/11
  • CFU6
  • Subject areaDiscipline geofisiche