1. Bachelor of Statistical Data Science (BSDS) :-  Earth System Sciences/Geosciences Elective Course

     1. The Earth System: The Scientific Method; System Concept, Dynamic Interactions among Systems, The Energy Cycle, Introduction to Geological data.

     2. Earth as a Planet in the Solar System: Origin of the Universe and the Solar System, Evolution of the Planets, Meteorites and Asteroids, Origin of Atmosphere, Ocean and Life.

     3. The Solid Earth: The Earth as a Layered Planet: Mechanical Layering of the Earth, Layers of Different Composition and Physical State, Earthquake and the Earth’s Interior, Plate Tectonics, Geothermal Gradient, Magmas and Volcanoes

     4. The Earth’s Evolving Crust: Sedimentary Strata; Sedimentary process and Sedimentary Rocks; Metamorphism and Metamorphic Rocks; Plate Tectonics, Continental Crust and Mountain Building; Understanding the past from Stratigraphic     Records; Geological Time Scale.

    5. Hydrosphere, Atmosphere and Biosphere: Water and the Hydrologic Cycle; Snow and Ice; The Oceans; The Atmosphere; Winds and the Global Air Circulation; The Earth’s Climate System and the Changing Climate.

    6. Life on Earth: A Planetary Perspective on Life; The Habitable Planet; Biogeochemical Cycles and Biological Evolution; Mass Extinctions.

    7. Resources on Earth: Coal and Petroleum Resources; Nuclear, Wind and Hydroelectric Power Energy.

    8. Geostatistics: Application of statistics to Geological Data; Pattern recognition of geological events; Statistics for earth resources.

    References:-  1. The Blue Planet– An Introduction to Earth System Science by B.J. Skinner, S.C. Porter and D.B. Botkin.

                           2. The Earth Machine– The Science of a Dynamic Planet by E.A. Mathez and J.D. Webster.

                          3. Understanding Earth, 5th Edition by J. Grotzinger, T.H. Jordan, F. Press and R. Siever.

                         4. Planet Earth: Cosmology, Geology, and the Evolution of Life and Environment by C. Emiliani.

     

 

2. B.Stat.:- Geology Elective Course

    

 

3. PhD Course work (2025-26 onwards)

Sl.No.	Name. of the Courses	Marks/Credit		Course Code	Sub-topics
1	Research Methods and Ethics	60/3	40/2	GE1A	1a. Research Methodology
			20/1	GE1B	1b. Research and Publication Ethics
2	Computational & Statistical Methods	60/3	20/1	GE2A	2a. Computer Applications
			20/1	GE2B	2b. Statistical Methods
			20/1	GE2C	2c. Review and Assignment
3	Field Work (any one)	60/3		GE3A	3a. Sedimentological Mapping, measurements (section logs) & Sampling
				GE3B	3b. Structural & Petrological mapping, measurements & sampling
				GE3C	3c. Techniques of fossil excavation
4	Electives (any 3)	40/2 x 3 (=120/6)		GE4A	4a. Microscopy & Mineralogy
				GE4B	4b. Thermodynamics & Isotope geology
				GE4C	4c. Advanced Structural Geology
				GE4D	4d. Basin analysis & Stratigraphy
				GE4E	4e. Palaeontology & Morphometry
				GE4F	4f. Geochemical Proxies
				GE4G	4g. GIS and Remote Sensing Techniques
	TOTAL	300/15

 

Course Details

(Total Marks: 300; Total Credits: 15)

 

COURSE GE1:     RESEARCH METHODS AND ETHICS (Marks: 60; Credits: 3)

COURSE GE1A: Research Methodology – Meaning of Research – Objectives of Research – Motivation in Research –Types of Research – Research Approaches –Significance of Research – Research methods versus methodology; Importance of knowing how research is done; research process; criteria for good research; problems encountered by researchers in India; Journal reading techniques; defining the research problem; what is research problem; selecting the problem; necessity of defining the problem; technique involved in defining the Problem; conclusion.

COURSE GE1A: Research and Publication Ethics – Basic philosophy of science and ethics; research integrity; publication ethics; indexing; citation; open access publication; research metrics; plagiarism; intellectual honesty and integrity; scientific misconduct. 

 

COURSE GE2:     COMPUTATIONAL, NUMERICAL & STATISTICAL METHODS (Marks: 60; Credits: 3)

COURSE GE2A: Computational Methods - Elements of computational geometry & image analysis; fractal analysis; concepts of time series analysis & spectral analysis; spatial interpolation methods; analysis of orientation data; Image J, Orange, R, Python libraries (e.g., shapley, Pillow, SciPy) in Jyputer environment (as suitable for the instructor).

COURSE GE2B: Statistical Methods - Application of statistics in earth sciences; basic statistical methods; univariate probability distributions; estimation and testing; linear model and regressions; non-parametric statistics; concepts of multivariate analysis. 

COURSE GE2C: Review and Assignment - Analyze, evaluate and synthesize information from book chapter, published articles focusing on the strengths and weaknesses of the work, and its contribution to the domain knowledge; assignments provided to practice, and demonstrate understanding of the fundamental concepts and to assess skills, knowledge, and/or abilities of course materials of GE1, GE2A and GE2B.

 

COURSE GE3:     FIELD WORK (Marks: 60; Credits: 6)

Field course of 2-3 weeks duration aiming to study geological specimens (rocks and fossils) in their natural mode of occurrence, inter-relationship between different types of specimens, methods to observe and systematically document the observations, methods of collecting and recording numerical and photographic data, systematic sampling of geological specimens and their proper storage and transportation.

Will focus on any one of the themes mentioned:

COURSE GGE3A: sedimentological mapping, measurements (section logs) & sampling (geochemistry, age dating, OSL, stable isotopes, oriented samples);

COURSE GGE3B: Observing and measuring different structural elements (linear and planar), recording the numerical and photographic data; identifying different lithotypes; studying systematic distribution of different structural elements with respect to different lithotypes; identifying litho-contacts (direct vs. inferred) and mineral isograds; rationale behind systematic sampling of different lithotypes; mapping the above in different scales on plain paper / georeferenced maps (geological and satellite).  

COURSE GGE3C: Systematic exploration of fossil bearing horizons; techniques of measuring and recording data; techniques of fossil excavation;

 

COURSE GE4:     ELECTIVES (ANY THREE; Marks: 40; Credits: 2)

COURSE GGE4A: Microscopy and Mineralogy – The petrological microscope and studying the optical properties of minerals under the petrological microscope; measurement on digital images (practical use of QWIN, NIH and other software for texture/microstructure measurement); elements of preparation of thin sections, polished sections, ultrathin sections, for routine microscopy, EPMA, SEM, etc.

COURSE GGE4B:  Thermodynamics and Isotope Geology – Free energy and phase equilibria; conventional geothermobarometry; geometrical analysis and phase equilibria in metamorphic systems; derivation of phase rule in open and close systems; P-T estimates for assemblages and use of thermodynamic parameters of internally consistent date base; radioactive and radiogenic Isotope geochemistry; concepts and calculations of Isochron age; model age; Stable Isotopes geochemistry and thermometry

COURSE GGE4C:  Advanced Structural Geology – Concepts and handling of PC based tools for fault slip analysis; simulation of geological structures; strain measurement; fabric analysis and kinematic interpretation; non-plane strain deformation (transpression, inclined transpression); plate tectonics and crustal stresses, etc.

COURSE GGE4D:  Basin analysis & Stratigraphy – Processes of sediment transport and sedimentary structures; major siliciclastic and chemogenic depositional systems; facies, sedimentary environments analysis and classification, palaeogeographic and palaeoenvironmental reconstruction; sediment distribution and sediment dispersal patterns and basin analysis; provenance determination.

COURSE GGE4E: Palaeontology & Morphometry – Diversity through deep time, brief recapitulation of the basic morphology of – a) micro-organisms b) mega invertebrates c) vertebrates and basics of speciation, organic evolution and migration – role of plate tectonics, eustatic changes, paleoclimate and ocean currents; concept of morphospace, adaptive landscape, numerical taxonomy and cladistics, outline and landmark analysis, shape versus size data; basic types of non-destructive imaging for internal data micro CT, SEM; Bone histology, quantitative taphonomy.

COURSE GGE4F: Geochemical Proxies – Fluvial events and arid intervals; ocean currents; relation between temperature maxima and oxygenation; palaeoclimate reconstruction; CO₂ and long-term climate; greenhouse climate Cretaceous/late Paleocene thermal maximum, Cenozoic cooling and glaciations; ice core records of atmospheric composition; Milankovitch cycle and glacial episodes; (Eh/Pe)-pH and chemical potential diagrams- principles of construction and application in geological systems; Henry’s law and solubility of gaseous species in liquids; ocean-atmosphere interactions; element mobility in geological system; principles and applications of trace element geochemistry; application of major oxides, trace elements, rare earth elements and stable isotope geochemistry to sedimentological problems;

COURSE GGE4G: GIS and Remote Sensing Techniques – Application of GIS and Remote Sensing Techniques, with hands on training on the use of RS/GIS software like ArcGIS, Global Mapper, ERDAS Imagine, etc. Recapitulation of definitions and related terminologies. Digital representation of vector and raster geographic data and digital elevation models. Data entry and data preparation, Map coordinate systems, map projection transformations. Organization, querying and editing of spatial data. Topology and spatial relationships. Methods of analysis of vector GIS data. Techniques of analysis of raster geospatial data. Techniques of digital terrain analysis. Techniques of raster to vector and vice-versa transformations. Visualization of vector and raster data and basic cartographic techniques. Introduction to GeoProcessor.