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Diploma-/Master Course
GGE contributes to the German language B.Sc. and M.Sc. programs “Applied Geosciences” and “Georesources Management”, as well as to the English language M.Sc. program “Applied Geophysics” which is implemented jointly with the IDEA-league partner universities TU Delft and ETH Zürich.
GGE offers courses on Physics of the Earth, Applied Geophysics, Petrophysics and Geothermal Energy at bachelor and master level which comprise theoretical and practical education. These courses are also still open to students of the diploma programs in Geology or Physics which are phasing out. The teaching staff of GGE comprises Professor Dr. Christoph Clauser, Dr. Roland Blaschek, Dr. Frank Bosch, and Dr. Norbert Klitzsch.
The bachelor and master programs “Applied Geosciences“ provide interdisciplinary training in a wide scope of geosciences. The curriculum focuses on today‘s demands specified by industry and academia regarding, for instance, providing sufficient mineral and energy resources with a view on Teaching understanding the relevant processes in the system Earth. Among these programs, the B.Sc. program „Georesources Management“ has seen a tremendous increase in inscriptions of more than 180 in the winter term 2007/ 2008 compared to about 60 in “Applied Geosciences. While this documents the appeal of both programs, this overstretches the resources by far and admission had to be limited to 40 students in each of the two programs.
The new and particularly innovative IDEA League Joint Master in Applied Geophysics established in 2006 as a joint program between the IDEA-League partners Delft Technical University (TUD), Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Z), and RWTH Aachen University also enjoys increased interest from both students and industry with inscriptions rising from 6 in 2006, to 18 and 16 in 2007 and 2008, respectively. Also industry (Enel, E.ON, RWE Dea, Shell, StatoilHydro, Wintershall) demonstrates interest by supporting the program with stipends as well as projects for master thesis topics performed in collaboration between industry and university.
Links to the RWTH Campus System:
Courses at Bachelor Level
Introduction to Geophysics
Dr. Frank Bosch, Prof. Dr. Christoph Clauser
Introduction to Geophysics is a basic course for B.Sc. students of Applied Geosciences (2nd year) and Georesources Management (3rd year). During one semester, it introduces to the physics of the Earth and addresses the following subjects in particular: radioactive dating of rocks; seismology; earthquakes and Earth‘s natural oscillations; Earth‘s magnetic field and its variations through time; gravity and figure of the Earth; thermal regime of the Earth. Students deepen their understanding obtained in lectures by exercises and tutorials on the physical basics, the application and interpretation of the different methods.
Fundamentals of Applied Geophysics I and II
Dr. Roland Blaschek, Prof. Dr. Christoph Clauser, Dr. Norbert Klitzsch
Applied Geophysics focuses on the exploration of economically attractive resources, such as hydrocarbons, ores, groundwater, and geothermal energy, and the detection of soil contaminations and cavities. Topics in material sciences are touched when applied geophysicists study the structural integrity of buildings or the sealing properties of levees. Therefore, during its two semesters, the course deals with both the geophysical exploration methods for identifying structures of the Earth‘s crust and the physical properties of the different parts of the crust. It introduces geophysical methods suitable for exploration of these different targets and explains measurement principles and interpretation methods. Part I covers seismic and gravity methods (Lectures: Prof. Christoph Clauser; Exercises: Dr. Norbert Klitzsch), while part 2 deals with magnetic, electrical, and electromagnetic methods (Lectures: Dr. Roland Blaschek; Exercises: Dr. Norbert Klitzsch).
Applied Geothermics
Prof. Dr. Christoph Clauser
The course offers a balanced and comprehensive treatment of geothermal methods. It comprises both (i) the basics of Cours es terrestrial heat transfer by heat conduction and advection and (ii) techniques for prospecting for and mining of geothermal heat. Subjects covered include: field and lab techniques for geothermal prospecting; thermophysical rock properties; thermal signatures of various transient and steady-state heat transfer processes; quantifying flow from its thermal signature; types of geothermal resources; assessment of geothermal potential and evaluation of corresponding heat mining techniques; design calculations for heat mining installations.
Scientific Reading and Writing (STRAW)
Prof. Dr. Christoph Clauser (Scientific Writing)
The course introduces to the craft of writing technical and scientific texts. It addresses (1) the different types of written work (qualification thesis, journal paper, outreach paper); (2) how to structure a text into different sections (title, authors, affiliations, abstract; introduction; description of techniques and observations; interpretation; discussion; summary or conclusions; acknowledgements; references; tables and headings and figures and captions); (3) aspects of style (use of units, referencing and list of references, special aspects with respect to German and English texts); (4) tools for writing, handling literature and drafting figures (word processors (e.g. MS-WORD), literature data banks (e.g. BIBLIST ); plotting software (e.g. Axum, Grapher, Excel)).
Survey Methods in Geophysics , Hydrogeology and Engineering Geology
Dr. Frank Bosch, Dr. Norbert Klitzsch
This ten-day field practical is performed in collaboration by the institutes of „Applied Geophysics and Geothermal Energy“, “Hydrogeology”, and „Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology“ (Prof. Dr. Thomas Rüde, Dipl. Geol. Christoph Senz, Dr. Thomas Fernandez-Steeger). It was first established in the summer term of 2008 and replaces the former geophysical field course (Geophysikalisches Praktikum) which was organized last in the summer term of 2007. Students perform practical geophysical, hydrogeological and engineering geological measurements and interpret and present their results in oral and written form. This field practical benefits from its interdisciplinary approach in solving typical problems in near-surface geoscience.
Geothermics Field Trips
Dr. Frank Bosch, Prof. Dr. Christoph Clauser
In the summer term of 2008, the institute offered two geothermics field trips (five and six days), one of which was organized by „Geothermiezentrum Bochum“ (Prof. Dr. Rolf Bracke). Both field trips visited commercial facilities and research projects regarded as milestones for the use of geothermal energy in France, Switzerland, Southern Germany and Austria. Students obtained insight in the application of different techniques for using geothermal energy for heating and the production of electricity.
Field Trips to 3D-Seismic Surveys of the Deutsche Montan Technologie (DMT)
Dr. Roland Blaschek, Dr. Frank Bosch, Prof. Dr. Christoph Clauser
These two field trips of five days each organized in the summer terms of 2007 (Bosch, Clauser) and 2008 (Bosch, Blaschek) visited commercial 3D seismic surveys of the geophysical service company DMT (Essen, Germany). Students visited commercial seismic surveys for the exploration of hydrocarbons in Austria and gas storage fields near lake Chiemsee, Germany. The techniques employed and logistics required were presented to the students during visits to active survey teams in the field and the logistic field centers. Visits of drilling locations and gas storage facilities complemented the insight into the seismic field surveys and highlighted their commercial context.
Courses at Master Level
Flow and Transport Modeling
Dr. Roland Blaschek
This course is a mixture of lectures and computerised exercises aiming at a deeper understanding of the numerical implementation of mathematical descriptions of numerical simulations of flow and transport in porous media. First, the necessary technical terms and correlations from hydrogeology are introduced. Then, simple models are studied dealing with flow, heat and mass transport. Boundary conditions and numerical problems, such as time and space discretization, are explained as well as the basic principles of finite difference, finite element, and random walk techniques. This conveys a deeper insight into how common software packages actually work. These programs are used in the parallel course ‘Numerical Simulation Project (Projektarbeit numerische Modellierung), see below’. Both courses are examined jointly.
Numerical Simulation Project
Dr. Roland Blaschek, Dipl.-Geol. Thomas Demmel (Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology)
This course applies the information conveyed in the course on “Flow and Transport Modeling” (‘Strömungs- und Transportmodellierung’) using available software packages. The focus is on more complex models of flow and transport and aims at solving realistic problems. Different problems are addressed during several weeks in each case. The main topic is the development of a hydrogeological model from given data including setting up, calibrating, validating, and analyzing the sensitivity of a numerical model.
IDEA League Joint M.Sc. in Applied Geophysics
Geothermics
Prof. Dr. Christoph Clauser
The course offers a balanced and comprehensive treatment of geothermal methods. It comprises both (i) the basics of terrestrial heat transfer by heat conduction and advection and (ii) techniques for prospecting for and mining of geothermal heat. Subjects covered include: field and lab techniques for geothermal prospecting; thermophysical rock properties; thermal signatures of various transient and steady-state heat transfer processes; quantifying flow from its thermal signature; types of geothermal resources; assessment of geothermal potential and evaluation of corresponding heat mining techniques; design calculations for heat mining installations.
Geophysics Special Methods: NMR and SIP
Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Bernhard Blümich (Macro-molecular Chemistry), Dr. Norbert Klitzsch
Fundamentals and applications of the methods of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and spectral induced polarization (SIP) are introduced. A first block addresses the NMR effect, the NMR hardware, techniques to measure NMR relaxation and diffusion, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and NMR well logging. A second block deals with electrical conduction and polarization mechanisms, the relation of the SIP response to rock properties, SIP model theories, experimental set-ups, and applications of the SIP method.
Geophysical Logging and Log Interpretation
Dr. Frank Bosch, Dr. Renate Pechnig
The course consists of two parts: The first part focuses on the physical principles of the different borehole measurements, and their petrophysical and geological interpretation, in particular: basics of data acquisition; data processing and quality control; wireline and LWD techniques; principles of conventional measurements (gamma, neutron, density, sonic, resistivity); principles of special measurements (Image logs, NMR); log interpretation techniques, e. g. rock identification, sequence analysis, fluid and hydrocarbon identification, cross-plot and overlay techniques; basics of core-log integration, link to laboratory petrophysics, and geochemistry; basics of petrophysical interpretations with respect to, e. g., porosity, saturation, permeability. The second part comprises practical examination in well log data acquisition followed by data processing and interpretation, in particular: practice in slim hole logging; onsite training (unit mobilization, tool calibration and data acquisition); data editing and quality control (borehole corrections, depth matching, splicing); integration of logs with information from core or cuttings from the measured well; interpretation of the recorded data and preparation of a report.
Petrophysics
Dr. Frank Bosch, Dr. Bernd Krooss (Geology, Geochemistry, and Reservoirs of Oil and Coal)
The course comprises two parts: The first part focuses on theories for describing physical rock properties. The second part tests students‘ perception of key concepts and methods by laboratory exercises or solving of problem sets, the results of which are presented by the students. The course deals with both the direct measurement of rock properties (such as porosity, specific surface area, permeability) and the derivation of certain rock properties from other physical properties (e. g. resistivity, seismic velocity, density, and natural gamma radiation). To this end, the theoretical background is provided and laboratory experiments are performed and analyzed. In particular, it is emphasized how petrophysical properties are interrelated and how certain measured properties may be used to infer other rock properties.
OPEN SEMINAR
Open Seminar
Dr. Frank Bosch
This weekly seminar joins students and staff at the institute of „Applied Geophysics and Geothermal Energy“ for presentations of results from on-going work at the institute or reported in literature. In each semester, selected invited speakers from the entire field of applied geophysics complement the program. Besides of conveying and discussing current scientific results, the seminar provides advanced students with an opportunity to experience technical presentation of experienced scientists and practice presentations of their own.