Syllabus of Combined Geo-Scientist (Main) Examination

Stage-II (Descriptive Type)

Geophysics : Paper-III

PART-A

A1. Radiometric and Airborne Geophysics:
Principles of radioactivity, radioactivity decay processes, units, radioactivity of
rocks and minerals, Instruments, Ionization chamber, G-M counter,
Scintillation counter, Gamma ray spectrometer, Radiometric prospecting for
mineral exploration (Direct/Indirect applications), beach placers, titanium,
zirconium and rare-earths, radon studies in seismology and environmental
applications. Airborne geophysical surveys (gravity, magnetic, electromagnetic
and radiometric), planning of surveys, flight path recovery methods.
Applications in geological mapping, identification of structural features and
altered zones.
A2. Marine Geophysics:
Salinity, temperature and density of sea water. Introduction to Sea-floor
features: Physiography, divisions of sea floor, continental shelves, slopes, and
abyssal plains, growth and decline of ocean basins, turbidity currents,
occurrence of mineral deposits and hydrocarbons in offshore. Geophysical
surveys and instrumentation: Gravity, Magnetic and electromagnetic surveys,
Sonobuoy surveys, Instrumentation used in ship borne surveys, towing cable
and fish, data collection and survey procedures, corrections and interpretation
of data. Oceanic magnetic anomalies, Vine-Mathews hypothesis, geomagnetic
time scale and dating sea floor, Oceanic heat flow, ocean ridges, basins,
marginal basins, rift valleys. Seismic surveys, energy sources, Pinger, Boomer,
Sparker, Air gun, Hydrophones and steamer cabling. Data reduction and
interpretation. Ocean Bottom Seismic surveys. Bathymetry, echo sounding,
bathymetric charts, sea bed mapping. Navigation and Position fixing methods.
A3. Geophysical Signal Processing:
Time Series, Types of signals, sampling theorem, aliasing effect, Fourier series of
periodic waveforms, Fourier transform and its properties, Discrete Fourier
transform and FFT, Hilbert Transform, Convolution and Deconvolution, Auto
and cross correlations, Power spectrum, Delta function, unit step function. Time
domain windows, Z transform and properties, Inverse Z transform. Poles and
zeroes. Principles of digital filters, types of filters: recursive, non recursive, time invariant, Chebyshev, Butterworth, moving average, amplitude and phase
response of filters, low pass, band pass and high pass filters. Processing of
Random signals. Improvement of signal to noise ratio, source and geophone
arrays as spatial filters. Earth as low pass filter.
A4. Remote Sensing and Geohydrology:
Fundamental concepts of remote sensing, electromagnetic radiation spectrum,
Interaction of electromagnetic energy and its interactions in atmosphere and
surface of the earth, elements of photographic systems, reflectance and
emittance, false color composites, remote sensing platforms, flight planning,
geosynchronous and sun synchronous orbits, sensors, resolution, parallax and
vertical exaggeration, relief displacement, mosaic, aerial photo interpretation
and geological application. Fundamentals of photogrammetry, satellite remote
sensing, multi-spectral scanners, thermal scanners, microwave remote sensing,
fundamental of image processing and interpretation for geological applications.
Types of water bearing formations, porosity, permeability, storage coefficient,
specific storage, specific retention, specific yield, Different types of aquifers,
vertical distribution of ground water, General flow equation; steady and
unsteady flow of ground water in unconfined and confined aquifers.

PART-B

B1. Solid State Physics and Basic Electronics
Crystalline and amorphous structure of matter; Different crystal systems, Space
groups; Methods of determination of crystal structure; X-ray diffraction,
Scanning and transmission electron microscopes; Band theory of solids,
conductors, insulators and semiconductors; Thermal properties of solids,
Specific heat: Einstein's and Debye theory; Magnetism: dia, para and ferro;
Elements of superconductivity; Meissner effect, Josephson junctions and
applications; Elementary ideas about high temperature superconductivity.
Semiconductor devices and circuits: Intrinsic and Extrinsic semiconductors;
Devices and structures (p-n junctions, diodes, transistors, FET, JFET and
MOSFET, homo and hetero junction transistors, thermistors), Device
characteristics, Frequency dependence and applications. Opto-electronic devices
(solar cells, photo detectors, LEDs) Operational amplifiers and their
applications.
B2. Laser systems
Spontaneous and stimulated emission of radiation. Coherence, Light
amplification and relation between Einstein A and B coefficients. Rate equations
for three and four level systems. Lasers: Ruby, Nd-YAG, CO2, Dye, Excimer,
Semiconductor. Laser cavity modes, Line shape function and full width at half
maximum (FWHM) for natural broadening, collision broadening, Doppler
broadening; Saturation behavior of broadened transitions, Longitudinal and
transverse modes. Mode selection, ABCD matrices and cavity stability criteria
for confocal resonators. Quality factor, Expression for intensity for modes
oscillating at random and mode-locked in phase. Methods of Q-switching and
mode locking. Optical fiber waveguides, Fiber characteristics.
B3. Digital electronics, Radar systems, Satellite communications
Digital techniques and applications: Boolean identities, de Morgan's theorems,
Logic gates and truth tables; Simple logic circuits: registers, counters,
comparators and similar circuits). A/D and D/A converters. Microprocessor:
basics and architecture; Microcontroller basics. Combination and sequential
logic circuits, Functional diagram, Timing diagram of read and write cycle, Data
transfer techniques: serial and parallel. Fundamentals of digital computers.
Radar systems, Signal and data processing, Surveillance radar, Tracking radar,
Radar antenna parameters. Fundamentals of satellite systems, Communication
and Orbiting satellites, Satellite frequency bands, Satellite orbit and
inclinations. Earth station technology.
B4. Quantum Mechanics
Wave-particle duality; Wave functions in coordinate and momentum
representations; Commutators and Heisenberg's uncertainty principle;
Schrodinger’s wave equation (time-dependent and time-independent);
Eigenvalue problems: particle in a box, harmonic oscillator, tunneling through a
1-D barrier; Motion in a central potential; Orbital angular momentum; Addition
of angular momentum; Hydrogen atom; Matrix representation; Dirac's bra and
ket notations; Time-independent perturbation theory and applications;
Variational method; WKB approximation; Time dependent perturbation theory
and Fermi's Golden Rule; Selection rules; Semi-classical theory of radiation;
Elementary theory of scattering, Phase shifts, Partial waves, Born
approximation; Identical particles, Pauli's exclusion principle, Spin-statistics
connection; Relativistic quantum mechanics: Klein Gordon and Dirac equations.