B2068 - GEODESIA GEOFISICA

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student will have learned the basic concepts related to modern geodesy and will be able to appreciate, through case studies, the role that this discipline plays on knowledge in various fields of geophysics and in particular in the context of Earth System Physics.

Course contents

Module 1. Introduction to Geodesy. Mathematical foundations and harmonic functions. Mass distributions. Newton's Law. The Earth's gravity field and the geoid. Motion of satellites in a non-central field. Global gravity field models. Satellite methods. Undulations of the geoid. Isostasy. Tides. Love numbers. Harmonic expansion of the gravitational field. The movements of the Earth. Reference systems. Geodesy and climate change. Case studies.

Module 2. Space geodetic techniques and main applications for the study of the Earth system. Insights into the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS): methods for data processing, procedures for generating time series of coordinates of a network of stations, analysis of noise and geophysical signals in time series of positions. Methods for estimating displacement speeds and deformation rates. Calculation, visualization and interpretation of velocity and deformation fields. Analysis of case studies in the field of seismotectonics (plate tectonics and seismic cycle) and in the field of environmental geodesy (hydrology and subsidence), also through classroom discussion of scientific publications.

Readings/Bibliography

Torge W, e Müller J. Geodesy. Walter de Gruyter, 2012.

Lambeck K. Geophysical geodesy, Oxford: Clarendon, 1988.

Hofmann-Wellenhof B, e Moritz H. Physical geodesy. Springer, 2006.

Wahr J. Geodesy and Gravity (class notes), Smizdat Press, 1996.

Assessment methods

Oral exam

Teaching tools

Computer, beamer and blackboard

Office hours

See the website of Giorgio Spada

See the website of Enrico Serpelloni