Project overview¶
Introduction to geodynamic modelling
Lars Kaislaniemi and David Whipp
14-18 May 2018
Course project¶
What is the idea?¶
We’d like to see you take your new skills as geodynamic modellers and apply them to learning something about a problem of your choosing.
Example problems could include:
- Modifying our DOUAR models of rifting of a continent
- Using DOUAR to model continent-continent collision
- Writing a 2D finite-difference solution to the heat advection-diffusion equation
- Modelling sinking of tectonic plates in the mantle using DOUAR
What do you need to do?¶
For the project you should design a model, run 1-3 numerical experiments with your model, and write a short paper describing the model and your results in the format of a scientic journal article.
The paper¶
Format¶
The paper should be formatted as follows:
- 12 pt Times New Roman (or similar) font
- Single spacing between lines
- Text and figures should not exceed 8 pages
- References and the appendix can be on additional pages as needed
The paper should include the sections described on the following slides
Abstract¶
A one-paragraph summary of the exercise and your results
Introduction¶
- Clearly describe the problem you are addressing (or hypothesis being tested) and it’s significance
- Provide background information on the topic (e.g., from lecture notes and other sources)
- Provide 1 short paragraph about how your models relate to understanding your stated problem
- 2-4 paragraphs in length
Methods¶
- Clearly state the equations being solved and the different methods used in solving the equations
- List the main variables or free parameters in the equations
- This should be more than 1 paragraph in length
Results¶
- This part describes the results from your experiments
- Include selected figures from the output of your model with figure captions describing the results
- You should have at least 1 paragraph of text that describes each figure
Note: The results section should only contain observations that resulted from your experiment. No interpretations of the results should be included in this section.
Discussion¶
- This part of the report discusses your results. It can have multiple subsections if you desire. Any interpretation you make from your plots/calculations should be presented here.
- An example discussion section topics (at least one paragraph each)
could include:
- What are the main geological or geophysical implications of your results?
- Was there any result that was unexpected or counterintuitive?
- What are the limitations of the modeling approach and how do they affect the results?
- What are the implications of your results for the problem/hypothesis you stated in the introduction? Have you su ciently tested your hypothesis or are more experiments needed?
- Any other topics you feel should be discussed about the implications of the model results
Conclusions/summary¶
- This should summarize the main findings of your research paper
- 1-2 paragraphs in length
References¶
- Include a list of cited references from your paper
- This should include at least 6 primary sources
Appendices¶
- Include a link to a webpage containing the code you have used to
generate your results (if relevant)
- If you have made any significant changes to the code, describe them here
Due date and credit points¶
Project due date¶
- The final project should be submitted via email to Dave/Lars by the end of the day on 31.8.2018
- Completion of the course project will provide an additional 2 CP