From crust to core: Intro to Earth structure and dynamics

Please note: the information in the course manual is binding.
 

By the end of the course the student:

After presenting an overview of the geophysical constraints on the elastic structure and density of the Earth's interior, we will discuss the relevant elements which constitute the Earth's interior, starting from a brief summary of the origin of the Earth and cosmic abundances of elements to seismological observations and a comprehensive mineralogical description of the Earth's interior. The basic material will be presented in lectures on topics ranging from seismological observations of the Earth's mantle and core, to constrains from geochemistry, geodynamics and mineralogy. With this basic knowledge. all students will then read and give presentations on a number of key papers from the literature, in which we further build our ideas of the structure and dynamics oft he deep Earth. The lectures and presentations will be complemented with computer practicals inw hch some of the main concepts will be applied in practise. In the last part of course, we present a synthesized view of the Earth's interior which takes the geophysical, petrological and geochemical aspects we introduced into account. This final part will take place in the form of group discussions and the students will make posters to summarize the main findings and ideas. The range of skills that the students will master in this course make it an ideal preparation for doing the master research project, even if it would be on a very different subject or topic. 

Development of Transferable skills

• Leadership: take responsibility in teams when when combining course literature in posters, flowcharts etc.;
• Ability to work in teams: work with a partner on the practical and literature presentation, take responsibility;
• Written communication skills: write a report on the practical;
• Problem-solving skills: make all exercises in the practical;
• Verbal communication skills: give a presentation on a scientific paper, ask and answer questions during presentations, participate in group discussions after the paper presentation;
• Strong work ethics: keep to the deadline of handing in the practical report, be on time for presentations;
• Initiative: each student is asked to add something from their own interests to their presentation;
• Analytical/quantitative skills: use data analysis and modeling in the practicals;
• Flexibility/adaptability: the students are motivated to do something extra for the presentations, such as reading a paper from their own interest adding calculations, whatever suits the specific interests of each student;
• Technical skills: methods and research techniques are used in the practical.