The main goals of the course are three: 1. Help the student understand the importance of a deep comprehension of physics as a fundamental step to study the Earth as a system.2. Give the student a specific knowledge of the physical mechanisms of the interior of the Earth. 3. Stimulate the student to an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approach and to become familiar with different methods useful to study the Earth interior.
teacher profile teaching materials
Titus-Bode Law. Terrestrial and gaseous planets. Notes on the formation of the solar system. Elements of chemistry of the solar system. Geochemical classification of the elements. Formation and differentiation of planets
The Earth as a Planet
Definition of planet. Kepler's laws. General features: liquid water, atmosphere, crustal dichotomy, magnetic field, internal dynamics.
Earth's mass, density and moment of inertia
The problem of estimating the average density of the Earth: historical notes (from Newton to Poynting). Cavendish's experiment in a modern way. Estimate of the mass of the Earth and planets - Average density of the Earth. Recalling the moment of inertia. Tensor of moments of inertia. Ellipsoid and spheroid. Moment of inertia of a solid sphere with constant density. Moments of inertia and models of planetary structures.
Earth's shape and gravity
The shape (figures) of the Earth .. Oblate ellipsoid and polar crushing. Earth shape and topography. Earth shape and variations of g. Acceleration and gravitational potential. Gravitational potential: Laplace equation. Gravitational potential in spherical coordinates. Gravitational potential of a solid sphere with constant density. General solution of the Laplace equation in spherical coordinates. Legendre polynomials. Spherical harmonics and Stokes coefficients. MacCullagh equation and moments of inertia. Ellipticity of the shape (figures) of the Earth. The acceleration ratio m (acceleration ratio). The geopotential. Relationship between J2, J4, m and f. Calculation of the inertia ratio for the Earth. Gravity on the reference spheroid. Geocentric and geographical latitude. Clairaut formula. Normal gravity. The geoid. Measurements of g. Absolute and relative measures. Corrections to the extent of g. Anomalies in open air and Bouguer. Non-uniqueness of the anomalies of g. Isostasy. Isostatic anomalies. Vertical movements of the crust. Isostatic compensation. Isostatic adjustments and coat viscosity. Satellite geoid measurements. Geoid ripples.
Tides and land rotation
Origin of the tides. Tidal potential. Components of the lunar tidal acceleration. Combination of lunar and solar tides. Terrestrial tides. Tidal friction and deceleration of terrestrial and lunar rotation. Euler nutation and Chandler swing. Solar-solar precession.
Notes on the properties of minerals and rocks
Crystalline structure of minerals. The rocks. Classification of rocks. Sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rocks. Eutectics and solid solutions.
Terrestrial magnetism: History - from Petrus Peregrinus to Gauss.
The magnetism of the rocks
Physics of magnetism. Ampere equivalence principle. Review of atomic magnetic moments. Magnetic susceptibility. Magnetic properties of matter. Diamagnetism (classical theory). Paramagnetism (classical theory). Ferromagnetism. Ferrimagnetismo. Antiferromagnetism. Parasitic ferromagnetism. Magnetic minerals. Magnetism of the rocks. Titanomagnetites and magnetic series. Magnetization of rocks. Types of magnetization. Thermo-remaining magnetization (TRM). Remaining chemical magnetization (CRM). Remaining Debris Magnetization (DRM). Notes on Paleomagnetism.
Earth's magnetic field
The observables of the CMT. General characteristics of the CMT. Laplace equation and CMT potential. Gauss coefficients. CMT modeled with dipoles. The terrestrial dipolar field. CMT best fit - inclined eccentric dipole. Power spectrum of the CMT. Estimated depth of the source of the main field. Secular variation. External sources of the CMT. Earth core composition. CMT models. Bullard dynamo. Self-excited dynamo model. The magnetohydrodynamic approach. Magnetohydrodynamics equations. Hydrodynamic magneto models. Magnetic measurements. Precession magnetometer. Magnetic anomalies and corrections.
Terrestrial heat
Earth's energy budget. Heat transmission within the Earth: conduction, convection, radiation and advection. Internal heat sources. Original heat; radiogenic heat; other heat sources. Conduction equation (Fourier equation). Heat conduction equation in three dimensions. Thermal diffusion. Adjective term. Balance geotherm. Notes on the transport of heat in the oceanic and continental lithosphere. Time scale of the conductive heat flow. Adiabatic thermal gradient. Melting point gradient. Geothermal diagrams inside the Earth.
Internal structure of the Earth
Adams-Williamson equation. Density trend with depth. Unzipped density. The mineralogical phases of the coat. Compositional model of the Earth. Structure and asymmetries of the Earth's core. Profiles of v, rho, g and P within the Earth. Bullen model and Preliminary Reference Earth Model (PREM).
Fowler, C. M. R. (2005). The Solid Earth, Cambridge University Press.
Mutuazione: 20410042 FISICA TERRESTRE in Fisica LM-17 PETTINELLI ELENA
Programme
Earth in the Solar SystemTitus-Bode Law. Terrestrial and gaseous planets. Notes on the formation of the solar system. Elements of chemistry of the solar system. Geochemical classification of the elements. Formation and differentiation of planets
The Earth as a Planet
Definition of planet. Kepler's laws. General features: liquid water, atmosphere, crustal dichotomy, magnetic field, internal dynamics.
Earth's mass, density and moment of inertia
The problem of estimating the average density of the Earth: historical notes (from Newton to Poynting). Cavendish's experiment in a modern way. Estimate of the mass of the Earth and planets - Average density of the Earth. Recalling the moment of inertia. Tensor of moments of inertia. Ellipsoid and spheroid. Moment of inertia of a solid sphere with constant density. Moments of inertia and models of planetary structures.
Earth's shape and gravity
The shape (figures) of the Earth .. Oblate ellipsoid and polar crushing. Earth shape and topography. Earth shape and variations of g. Acceleration and gravitational potential. Gravitational potential: Laplace equation. Gravitational potential in spherical coordinates. Gravitational potential of a solid sphere with constant density. General solution of the Laplace equation in spherical coordinates. Legendre polynomials. Spherical harmonics and Stokes coefficients. MacCullagh equation and moments of inertia. Ellipticity of the shape (figures) of the Earth. The acceleration ratio m (acceleration ratio). The geopotential. Relationship between J2, J4, m and f. Calculation of the inertia ratio for the Earth. Gravity on the reference spheroid. Geocentric and geographical latitude. Clairaut formula. Normal gravity. The geoid. Measurements of g. Absolute and relative measures. Corrections to the extent of g. Anomalies in open air and Bouguer. Non-uniqueness of the anomalies of g. Isostasy. Isostatic anomalies. Vertical movements of the crust. Isostatic compensation. Isostatic adjustments and coat viscosity. Satellite geoid measurements. Geoid ripples.
Tides and land rotation
Origin of the tides. Tidal potential. Components of the lunar tidal acceleration. Combination of lunar and solar tides. Terrestrial tides. Tidal friction and deceleration of terrestrial and lunar rotation. Euler nutation and Chandler swing. Solar-solar precession.
Notes on the properties of minerals and rocks
Crystalline structure of minerals. The rocks. Classification of rocks. Sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rocks. Eutectics and solid solutions.
Terrestrial magnetism: History - from Petrus Peregrinus to Gauss.
The magnetism of the rocks
Physics of magnetism. Ampere equivalence principle. Review of atomic magnetic moments. Magnetic susceptibility. Magnetic properties of matter. Diamagnetism (classical theory). Paramagnetism (classical theory). Ferromagnetism. Ferrimagnetismo. Antiferromagnetism. Parasitic ferromagnetism. Magnetic minerals. Magnetism of the rocks. Titanomagnetites and magnetic series. Magnetization of rocks. Types of magnetization. Thermo-remaining magnetization (TRM). Remaining chemical magnetization (CRM). Remaining Debris Magnetization (DRM). Notes on Paleomagnetism.
Earth's magnetic field
The observables of the CMT. General characteristics of the CMT. Laplace equation and CMT potential. Gauss coefficients. CMT modeled with dipoles. The terrestrial dipolar field. CMT best fit - inclined eccentric dipole. Power spectrum of the CMT. Estimated depth of the source of the main field. Secular variation. External sources of the CMT. Earth core composition. CMT models. Bullard dynamo. Self-excited dynamo model. The magnetohydrodynamic approach. Magnetohydrodynamics equations. Hydrodynamic magneto models. Magnetic measurements. Precession magnetometer. Magnetic anomalies and corrections.
Terrestrial heat
Earth's energy budget. Heat transmission within the Earth: conduction, convection, radiation and advection. Internal heat sources. Original heat; radiogenic heat; other heat sources. Conduction equation (Fourier equation). Heat conduction equation in three dimensions. Thermal diffusion. Adjective term. Balance geotherm. Notes on the transport of heat in the oceanic and continental lithosphere. Time scale of the conductive heat flow. Adiabatic thermal gradient. Melting point gradient. Geothermal diagrams inside the Earth.
Internal structure of the Earth
Adams-Williamson equation. Density trend with depth. Unzipped density. The mineralogical phases of the coat. Compositional model of the Earth. Structure and asymmetries of the Earth's core. Profiles of v, rho, g and P within the Earth. Bullen model and Preliminary Reference Earth Model (PREM).
Core Documentation
Stacey, F. D., and Davis, P. M. (2008) Physics of the Earth, Cambridge University Press.Fowler, C. M. R. (2005). The Solid Earth, Cambridge University Press.
Type of delivery of the course
Traditional teaching method in mixed modality. Some lectures are given on the blackboard, as those are dedicated to the numerical part and mathematical demonstrations, some others are given with the support of the slides for the most descriptive topics. The theoretical lessons are alternated with lessons dedicated to numerical exercises in order to verify students' learning and problem-solving capabilities.Type of evaluation
The exam is conducted in an oral manner aimed at verifying the level of effective understanding of the concepts and the ability to describe both the formal aspects and the physical implications of the topics covered. The duration of the exam is approximately 45 minutes. In the first part of the exam the committee asks the student to deal with a topic of his interest among those described in the program. In the second part of the exam, the committee verifies the completeness and methodological rigor used by the student in describing the phenomenology and the physics basic principles of the Earth System.