Graduate students pursuing an MS in Geoscience with the Geophysics option currently have three choices: thesis, publishable paper in lieu of thesis, and non-thesis. All graduate students, regardless of choice, are encouraged to begin participation in a variety of research and field exploration projects early in the program.
Recent research projects in the department include:
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— oil reservoir characterization |
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— seismic processing/interpretation
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— electrical resistivity studies
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— neural network analysis/application
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— remote sensing analysis
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— ground penetrating radar studies
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— shallow seismic investigations
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— application of artificial neural networks |
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— Antarctic history |
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— gravity and magnetic studies.
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Engineering geophysical applications are also of interest and a recent project involved the combined use of seismic and electrical techniques in a groundwater development investigation. Major department equipment includes a 96-channel seismograph; time domain EM system; ground penetrating radar system; gravimeters; magnetometers; gamma-ray spectrometer; horizontal loop EM system; a resistivity, IP, controlled source AMT system; and three department vehicles for field work. Extensive use is made of the department's computing facilities including PCs, LINUX and Silicon Graphics workstations, and a 28-node supercomputer. |