Each Lab Section of the class will conduct small-scale geophysical field investigations. The GPH Section 1101 will complete its fieldwork during the March 17-25 Spring Break. The GE Section 1102 will complete fieldwork during scheduled Tuesday 12:00-2:45 lab sessions. The GPH Lab Section will trial gravity, magnetic, time-domain electromagnetic, seismic reflection, refraction microtremor, and deep refraction microtremor surveys in a search for the blast cavity and any collapse chimney due to the 1963 Project Shoal nuclear blast east of Fallon, Nevada at a depth of 400 m below Ground Zero Canyon. (This field area is open to the public with no known radiation hazards.) The GE Lab Section will trial gravity, magnetic, resistivity, seismic refraction, and refraction microtremor in an investigation of physical- and engineering-property differences between the Manzanita Lake dam and Manzanita Bowl below.

Planning and mobilizing for each geophysical method will be assigned to a student team from each Lab Section of the class. Everyone Everyone in the GPH Lab Section must be willing to give up their entire spring break for the field project. The fieldwork may occupy all nine days of Spring Break, from 7 AM to 7 PM each field day. Additional details will be announced in February. There is a field project preparation web page from 2016 that will be updated with this class's objectives.

Each method's team will present their analysis with a 20-minute seminar during the final Tuesday lab period, in LME 417. While the class will collectively analyze the data obtained, students will be responsible for their own written reports. Each should describe the objectives, previous work, methods, results, and implications of the entire project in 5 to 10 pages of text, plus figures. For further guidance, see the page on elements of a professional report. The class may be able to publish its collected results; see some examples. There will be no final exam, unless the field project becomes a complete failure.