Timing/Location: Tu/Thurs from 10:00 to 11:45 in E&MS D258

Course Goals: To provide a quantitative, graduate-level investigation of the physical processes controlling the deformation and response of planetary bodies at different time- and length-scales.

Texts:  The two most useful textbooks are Turcotte and Schubert, Geodynamics, 2nd ed., CUP, 2002, and Kennett and Bunge, Geophysical Continua, CUP, 2008. Reference will also be made to the primary literature.

(Approximate) Course Outline

Week 1 (29 Mar): Heat transfer. Notes

Week 2 (5 Apr): Elasticity and flexure. Notes

Week 3 (12 Apr): Rheology & viscoelasticity. Notes.

Week 4 (19 Apr): Gravity & potential field theory. NotesMore notes.

Week 5 (26 Apr): Gravity (concluded). Tides.

Week 6 (3 May): Fluid dynamics. Notes.

  • Problem Set #6     Answers
  • Suggested additional problems in T&S: 6-4, 6-10, 6-12, 6-15, 6-23, 6-26

Week 7 (10 May): Fluid dynamics (cont’d).

Week 8 (17 May): Convection. Notes.

Week 9 (24 May): Permeable Flow. Notes. FN away Tues

Week 10 (31 May): Recap and applications. Notes.