Courses Taught by John K. Costain

Undergraduate Courses (San Jose State College), 1959-1960

• General Physics (first course -- with calculus)
• Astronomy (senior course)
• Groundwater Hydrology (senior course)

Undergraduate Courses (University of Utah), 1960-1967

• Exploration Geophysics
  • Reflection seismology including high resolution field procedures and data processing based upon Fourier theory; interpretation of refraction and reflection seismic data
• Geodynamics
  • Rheology of the crust and mantle
• Geomagnetism of the Earth
  • Origin of the Earth's main field. Dynamo theory.
  • Secular changes in the main magnetic field

Undergraduate Courses (Virginia Tech), 1967-1997

• Geop 3100 Elementary Geophysics
  • Reflection and refraction seismology. Gravity, magnetic, and electrical methods.
• Geop 4136: Exploration Geophysics
  • Reflection seismology including high resolution field procedures and data processing based upon Fourier theory; and interpretation of refraction and reflection data (4136). Pre: 3104, MATH 2216. (3H,3L,4C). I,II.
• Geol 4114: Groundwater Hydrology
  • Physical principles of groundwater flow. Sources, occurrence, inventory, utilization, and recharge of ground water in the earth's crust. Groundwater and geologic processes. Modeling groundwater flow using Visual MODFLOW, FLOWNET, AQTESOLVE, QuickFLOW. Pre: MATH 2016, PHYS 2176, PHYS 2306 or PHYS 2406; (3H,3C). I. Click here for the Spring 1999 course syllabus.
• Geol 4984: Applied Groundwater Modeling: Simulation of Flow and Advective Transport
  • Prerequisite: Geology 4114 or equivalent. It is assumed that the student is thoroughly familiar with the fundamental differential equation for transient groundwater flow; i.e., the diffusion equation, and with the basic principles of hydrogeology as contained in, for example, Freeze and Cherry (1979). The student must already have used the software called MODELCAD, MODFLOW, and some kind of postprocessing software (e.g., SURFER). We will use MODFLOW (a finite difference model) and AQUIFEM-N or MicroFem (both finite element models). Required Text: Applied Groundwater Modeling: Simulation of Flow and Advective Transport, by M. P. Anderson and W.W. Woessner, 1992, Academic Press, Inc., 381 pp. Course content follows the book by Anderson and Woessner.

Graduate Courses (Virginia Tech), 1967-1996

• GEOL 5104: Seismic Deconvolution
  • Synthetic seismograms. Finite discrete linear operators for seismic applications. Analysis of single-and multi-channel real seismic data. Statistical determination of seismic waveletts and their arrival times. Deconvolution . Analysis of seismograms using digital computer. Pre: 4136 or consent; (3H,3L, 4C). II. Alternate years. Click here for the course syllabus.
• GEOL 5140: Tectonics
  • Qualitative discussion of geophysical methods and techniques as applied to problems in regional tectonics. Geophysical topics include primarily reflection seismology, gravity, magnetics. Resolution of each method. Examples of geophysical data from the southeastern U.S. including regional gravity and magnetic gradients and their origin, and the on-strike continuity of major reflectors.

Special Studies (Virginia Tech), 1967-1996

• Finite-difference programming of 3-D groundwater flow
  • The student programs in Fortran the Freeze and Cherry (1979) discussion of finite difference methods, then extends it to three dimensions. Compare results with Freeze and Cherry. This exercise is essentially the two pages in Section 5.3 (Flow Nets by Numerical Simulation) of Freeze and Cherry (1979, pp. 181-183 and Figure 5.12), but extended to three dimensions. It is not a course in the techniques of programming "relaxation" methods (p. 184) but ignores these entirely and concentrates instead on basic concepts and understanding how to formulate boundary conditions. An excellent opportunity to gain insight into the mathematical definition of boundary conditions and how to implement them on the computer. Comparison of results with MODFLOW.