3 credits
Spring 2026 Lecture Upper Division
This course includes a survey of the physical properties of earth materials: solids, liquids, and porous materials relevant to a range of geophysical and engineering concerns broadly within the domain of the growing field of Rock Physics. The variety of rock materials with particular emphasis on the aspects of composition, texture, and pore structure is first overviewed. Standard petrophysical characteristics such as mineralogic composition, density, and porosity are defined and the methods used to determine them both directly in the laboratory and indirectly from borehole measurements studied. With this background, students then explore how the intrinsic characteristics of pore structure, fluid content, and composition together with conditions of in situ temperature and pressure control the bulk material's electrical conductivity, dielectric permittivity, elasticity, and strength. These properties are viewed from perspectives of many scales of observation from the laboratory through geophysical logging from boreholes to larger scale geophysical surface measurements and high pressure and temperature laboratory measurements. More advanced issues related to frequency dependence, anisotropy, and stress measurement are discussed. Depending on their level, students will complete assignments or carry out literature reviews and a final research project. The research project may be designed to complement the student's own research needs.
Learning Outcomes1Be aware of the various physical properties of rocks and particularly link these to geophysical observations.
2Gain an appreciation of various methods to model these various physical properties and what the practical limitations of these various models are.
Restrictions
made by Purdue students.