The University of Alberta Geophysics Field School
Electromagnetic survey on the University of Alberta campus
Geoph436 Field School – Fall Term 2023
Field measurements on campus in the first four weeks of the term,
Final Reporting TBD Fall Semester (usually the end of November)
Instructor: Prof. Vadim Kravchinsky (vadim@ualberta.ca)
Field school TA: Masoud
Souzani (mirzaeis@ualberta.ca)
Our sponsors:
Geophysics 436 is an intensive weeklong field camp for the 4th
year undergraduate and often 1st year graduate students in Geophysics.
Geophysics 436 is a mandatory component of the undergraduate Geophysics degree
and, after 2014, became a requirement for those seeking Professional
registration under APEGA.
There is
a number of different geological targets for the various surveys: sedimentary
cross-sections, buried industrial features (water pipelines, electrical lines,
sidewalks, near road buried features), environmental (depth of water
penetration, sedimentary layer disturbance), etc. The student teams will be reminded of the
basic theory behind the measurements, be taught how to
operate various geophysical equipment, carry out surveys with this equipment,
and perform basic analyses and an interpretation. Successful completion of the
course requires reporting the results both in a written
reports (assignments) and an oral presentation. We will have a presentation
session at the end of November. Make sure to take lots of photos for the poster
and reports (downloaded photos from the internet will NOT be allowed).
Different geophysical
measurements will be carried out, including:
Potential Fields –
Gravity and Magnetics
Electromagnetic Methods
– Ground Penetrating Radar, EM sounding, Electrical Resistivity Tomography
Surveying – Differential
GPS
Seismology: Refraction Seismic Profiling
Field methods may vary
from year to year, depending on the availability of the equipment.
What happens after the field school – after the data are collected in the field and
prepared for analysis, the course instructor and teaching assistant process and
analyze the data before handing them in for your further analysis. Preparation,
organizing and pre-processing of the data collected in the field is time-consuming;
the data will be ready for your analysis gradually. You will perform further
processing, analysis and interpretation of the selected data sets from the
field school. Please plan to allocate enough time, as Matlab
coding and report writing will take your time.
Logistics:
1. FEES: The field school is the course GEOPH 436, and you will need to
register for it. In addition, the departmental course fees are to be paid ($500 per student) to pay for food, accommodation,
and transportation to the site. If you have not registered for Geoph 436, please do so as soon as the registration opens
on BearTracks. Please make out a check payable to the
University of Alberta; this must
reach us before August 15th. Please contact Amy Wang in the General Office of the Department of Physics to pay
the fee.
2.
REQUIRED FORMS:
a. Contact
and Emergency Information (this
provides us with emergency contact and other information required for planning
purposes; if you did not already do this for us, please get it to us as soon as possible.
b. Field
School Waiver for U of Alberta Students and Volunteers Print this out, complete and bring it to departure – DO NOT SIGN AS WE MUST WITNESS IT YOUR
SIGNATURE!
c. Field
School Waiver for Non U of A Participants
Print this out, complete and bring it to departure – DO NOT SIGN AS WE MUST WITNESS IT YOUR SIGNATURE!
d. Waiver
for Volunteers Print this out, complete
and bring it to departure – DO NOT SIGN AS WE MUST WITNESS IT YOUR
SIGNATURE!
3.
RULES and POLICIES for
Geophysics Field School – please read these documents before we head to the field
school.
a. Department
Field School Rules
b. University
Student Code of Behaviour
4.
Other Considerations and Safety
a. All of the equipment, but particularly the
gravimeter and the differential GPS, are very expensive. You must handle all of
this equipment as if your life depended on it not being damaged. The
instructors will help you initially so that you know how to use the equipment
properly.
b. The students must always remember how to
carry out their measurements as safely as possible. This will include:
1. Wearing your assigned safety jacket
2. Taking care along the roads in particular.
3. Not allowed to use earbuds
or headphones during the day; you must be able to hear.
Geophysics Field School 2015
Geophysics Field School 2020
Geophysics Field School 2022