Theory of Potential Field Methods in Geophysics

Author

Dr. Ralph-Uwe Börner

Published

February 5, 2025

Prerequisites

Here are the lecture notes for the 2024/2025 module covering the Theory of Potential Field Methods. These notes are tailored for Master’s students of Geophysics and Geoinformatics at the Institute of Geophysics and Geoinformatics, TU Bergakademie Freiberg.

You can access all the materials on the GitHub repository https://github.com/ruboerner/Potential_Theory.

Enjoy studying!

Background

This course targets Master’s students in their first semester, with a recommended understanding of fundamental potential field applications, such as Gravity, Magnetics, and DC resistivity methods. Additionally, prior completion of the Theoretical Physics – Electrodynamics course is strongly advised as a prerequisite for this lecture.

Code

The website’s course material includes sections with embedded Python and Julia code.

You can easily copy the code and execute it in a compatible Python or Julia runtime environment.

For an optimal experience, we recommend installing Python via miniconda.

Further, you may wish to install Julia via this link.

Moreover, you have the freedom to explore your own concepts and delve deeper into the course content by creating your personalized Jupyter notebooks. You can utilize any of the following platforms:

Working with Jupyter Notebooks in Visual Studio Code is exceptionally straightforward.

Self study

There are individual small tasks for self-study that are scattered throughout the lecture.

Self study

You can easily identify these callouts.

License

This material is licensed under a Creative Commons License.