ESS 412/512: Seismology
This graduate course explores seismic wave propagation, earthquake source mechanics, and state‑of‑the‑art computational seismology. Over ten weeks, students build on the foundations of Quantitative Seismology (Aki & Richards) and Source Mechanisms of Earthquakes (Udías et al.), then apply advanced methods from Computational Seismology (Igel) and seismo‑live notebooks. Weekly theoretical lectures are paired with practical sessions using Python/ObsPy, FDSN web services, finite‑difference and spectral‑element modeling (SPECFEM3D/sem3D), and Instaseis for global synthetic seismograms. Case studies of recent large earthquakes and slow‑slip events connect the mathematics to real data. Students gain a rigorous understanding of continuum mechanics, wave propagation and reflection, moment tensors, dynamic rupture, and full‑waveform inversion while developing hands‑on skills for analyzing seismic observations.
