I. Solar System

• Patterns in the Solar System
  • Titius-Bode Law
  • Period, shape and orientation of orbits
  • Temperature of planetary surfaces
  • Planet densities
  • Figure of planets, non-dimensional centripetal acceleration
  • Moment of inertia
• Meteorites, Solar System Composition, Evolution of the Solar System
• Tour of the Solar System
• Tides
  • Potential due to tides
  • Love numbers
  • Evolution of Earth-Moon Orbit

II. Gravity, Figure of Earth

• Potential Theory
  • Newton's Gravitational Law
  • LaPlace's and Poisson's Equations
  • Spherical Harmonic Analysis
  • MacCullagh's Formula - potential of nearly-spherical body
  • Effect of Rotation on Earth's Shape
  • International Gravity Formula
  • Earth's Geoid
• Precession of the Equinoxes
• Chandler wobble
• Length of day
• Meteorite Impacts

III. Earth's Magnetism

• History of Magnetism
• Basics of Magnetics
• Earth's Magnetism
• Filtering (magnetic) data

IV. Seismicity

• Global Seismicity
• Magnitude and intensity
• Recording Earthquakes
• Earthquake mechanisms

V. Earthquake Seismology and Earth's Interior

• Elastic waves
• Snell's law; the ray parameter
• Surface waves, body waves, free oscillations
• Earthquake phases
• Travel-time tables, inversion, velocity structures
• Hypocenter determination
• Velocity structure of the Earth

VI. Earth Models

• Pressure, temperature, density
• Adams-Williamson Equation
• Murnaghan Equation
• Static determination, Shock-wave

Copyright 2004, Judson L. Ahern