We live on the surface of planet Earth, a slightly flattened sphere
with a radius of 6,371 kilometers. All information about Earth's interior
comes from field measurements made within the top few kilometers of the
planet's surface, from laboratory experiments, and from the powers of human
deduction. Solid-earth studies include many sub-specialties. The UW Geophysics
Program emphasizes the application of physics and mathematics to exploring
the Earth and its near environs. Solid-earth courses and advanced work
are offered in: geodesy, the study of the shape of the Earth and
the motions of tectonic pl ates; seismology, which is used to discover
Earth's inner layering, as well as to illuminate the stress state and location
of fractures in Earth's crust; mineral physics, the study of minerals
at inner-Earth pressures and temperatures, using laboratory experimentation
coupled with theoretical deduction; geomagnetism and paleomagnetism,
the history and origin of Earth's magnetic field, and the properties of
magnetization in rocks; and magnetotellurics, the study of electrical
and magnetic properties of rock s in Earth's interior through analysis
of fluctuations in transient electric cur rents traveling through the Earth.
These are caused by the interaction of the solar wind (charged particles
emanating from the Sun) with Earth's magnetic field.
Research Areas: