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Geophysical Exploration Methods

By Prof. Elango Lakshmanan   |   IIT Madras
Learners enrolled: 541   |  Exam registration: 8
ABOUT THE COURSE:
Assessment of the subsurface conditions is of great importance in civil engineering. Geophysical tools offer a cheaper, non-invasive, and rapid method of understanding and characterising subsurface conditions.Geophysical methods are used extensively for geotechnical engineering, groundwater exploration, recharge assessment, seawater intrusion, global water balance and clime change, sustainable groundwater management, environmental impact assessment, monitoring groundwater remediation strategies, mineral exploration, etc.Geophysical tools offer a cheaper, non-invasive, and more rapid method of understanding and characterising surface and subsurface conditions. In this course, the various physical properties of the earth and the application of different geophysical methods to understand subsurface features and structures will be taught using suitable case studies.

INTENDED AUDIENCE: Civil Engineering / Ocean Engineering / Mining Engineering / Water Resources Engineering / Environmental Engineering / Geotechnical Engineering / Geology / Applied Geology

PREREQUISITES: 12th Std Maths and Physics

INDUSTRY SUPPORT: Construction/Geotechnical Companies, Environmental Consultancy Companies, ONGC, AMD, Groundwater Exploration Consultants, Leading companies such as L&T, Gammon India, HCC….
Summary
Course Status : Upcoming
Course Type : Elective
Language for course content : English
Duration : 12 weeks
Category :
  • Civil Engineering
Credit Points : 3
Level : Undergraduate/Postgraduate
Start Date : 20 Jan 2025
End Date : 11 Apr 2025
Enrollment Ends : 27 Jan 2025
Exam Registration Ends : 14 Feb 2025
Exam Date : 27 Apr 2025 IST

Note: This exam date is subject to change based on seat availability. You can check final exam date on your hall ticket.


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Course layout

Week 1: Introduction to geophysical methods: Scope and application of different methods; Planning, implementation and interpretation of geophysical investigations;
Week 2: Applications in geotechnical, environmental and groundwater investigations; Parameters measured and their relation to the property of the medium;
Week 3: Electrical methods: resistivity methods, principle, vertical electrical sounding, profiling, Self-potential methods, Induced polarisation methods;
Week 4: Electromagnetic methods; Ground-based and air-based methods; case studies;
Week 5: 3 D sounding, inverse methods, earthen embankment seepage, case studies and applications;
Week 6: Seismic methods: Principle, travel velocity in various geological formations;Seismic field operation on land, refraction and reflection survey, seismic inversion;
Week 7: Determination of thickness, attitude and depth of formations, cross-hole seismic methods, assessment of ground improvement; case studies
Week 8: Gravity methods: Gravimeters, corrections, interpretation of gravity data;
Week 9: Gravity recovery and climate change experiment, applications;
Week 10: Magnetic methods: Components of magnetic field; Magnetometers;corrections, qualitative interpretation; applications
Week 11: Ground penetrating radar methods; Synthetic aperture radar imaging for land deformation studies; Other emerging methods: Surface nuclear magnetic resonance methods;
Week 12: Radioactivity methods and Well logging; Electrical and radioactivity logging methods, calliper and other miscellaneous logging methods; field procedure and interpretation of data;

Books and references

1. Everett M E (2013) Near-Surface Applied Geophysics,Cambridge University Press.
2. Kearey P, Brooks M, Hill I (2002) An Introduction to Geophysical Exploration, Wiley-Blackwell.
3. Lowrie W, Fichtneror A (2021) Fundamentals of Geophysics (South Asia edition), CambridgeUniversity Press.
4. Medhus A.B, Klinkby L (2023) Engineering Geophysics,CRC Press
5. Sharma P V (2012). Environmental and Engineering Geophysics, Cambridge University Press.
6. Telford, W.M., Geldart, L.P. Sheriff, R.E. and Keys, D.A.(1991) Applied Geophysics, Cambridge UniversityPress

Instructor bio

Prof. Elango Lakshmanan

IIT Madras
Prof. Elango Lakshmanan has four decades of teaching and research experience at Anna University and IIT Madras. He coordinated a significant capacity-building program for the State Water Resources Department's officers, funded by The World Bank through the Hydrology Project. Professor Elango Lakshmanan has organised four international workshops sponsored by UNESCO's International Hydrology Programme. He has successfully led nine international research projects supported by organisations such as the Department of Science and Technology, the University Grants Commission, the European Commission, the British Geological Survey, the Australian Research Council, and the Russian Academy of Sciences. Additionally, he has carried out 26 national research projects sponsored by MHRD, CSIR, UGC, DST, BRNS, SERB, MoES, and DoS to the tune of Rs 18 crores. He served as the Vice President of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences from 2013 to 2019. He is the Co-President of the International Commission of Water Quality of IAHS from 2021 to 2025. He has also carried out several consultancy projects on subsurface investigations for organisations such as the Dept. of Atomic Energy, PWD, MECON, Larson and Toubro, HPCC, Gammon India, Gimpex etc,. He has extensively used electrical geophysical methods to understand seawater intrusion, characterise the aquifer systems and determine subsurface formations for critical waste disposal sites. He used seismic methods in different consultancy projects of national importance to characterise the subsurface of the foundation strata and the efficacy of ground improvement techniques. He used Gravity Recovery and Climate Change Experiment GRACE data to understand the changes in groundwater storage in the Chennai basin. He carried out several subsurface investigations using Ground Penetrating Radar.

Course certificate

The course is free to enroll and learn from. But if you want a certificate, you have to register and write the proctored exam conducted by us in person at any of the designated exam centres.
The exam is optional for a fee of Rs 1000/- (Rupees one thousand only).
Date and Time of Exams: April 27, 2025 Morning session 9am to 12 noon; Afternoon Session 2pm to 5pm.
Registration url: Announcements will be made when the registration form is open for registrations.
The online registration form has to be filled and the certification exam fee needs to be paid. More details will be made available when the exam registration form is published. If there are any changes, it will be mentioned then.
Please check the form for more details on the cities where the exams will be held, the conditions you agree to when you fill the form etc.

CRITERIA TO GET A CERTIFICATE

Average assignment score = 25% of average of best 8 assignments out of the total 12 assignments given in the course.
Exam score = 75% of the proctored certification exam score out of 100

Final score = Average assignment score + Exam score

Please note that assignments encompass all types (including quizzes, programming tasks, and essay submissions) available in the specific week.

YOU WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR A CERTIFICATE ONLY IF AVERAGE ASSIGNMENT SCORE >=10/25 AND EXAM SCORE >= 30/75. If one of the 2 criteria is not met, you will not get the certificate even if the Final score >= 40/100.

Certificate will have your name, photograph and the score in the final exam with the breakup.It will have the logos of NPTEL and IIT Madras .It will be e-verifiable at nptel.ac.in/noc.

Only the e-certificate will be made available. Hard copies will not be dispatched.

Once again, thanks for your interest in our online courses and certification. Happy learning.

- NPTEL team


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