A magnitude-7.0 earthquake occurred in Haiti two weeks ago, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without a roof over their heads, many of them with only the clothes on their backs and all in desperate need of food and clean drinking water.

If this is the type of phenomenon (earthquakes) that you have an interest in understanding in order to be in a position to help others, then perhaps a career as a geophysicist is one option for you.

Career & Education chats this week with Dr Lyndon Brown, a geophysicist and current head of the Earthquake Unit at the University of the West Indies, Mona.

He holds a first degree in Geology from the UWI, a master’s degree in research in Geophysics from City College, City University of New York, and his Ph D in research in Geophysics from the University of Delaware.

Who is a geophysicist?

Geophysics is a major discipline of the earth sciences/geology and also a sub-discipline of physics. The geophysicist studies quantitative properties of the earth by its physical properties, for example, electrical conductivity, density of subsurface material, magnetic properties, etc. Areas of studies to understand sub-surface material includes reflection seismology, refraction seismology, electrical resistivity, electromagnetism, gravity. These tools can also be applied to planetary studies.

What is the value of the work that you do?

The academic value, which is very important. It includes understanding tectonic plate motions, studying shallow internal properties of the earth that may be useful for archaeological studies, groundwater, site assessment for variations in rock properties that may be of environmental significance, and petroleum and other mineral resources assessment.

What prompted your entry into the field?

I just wanted to use practical applications of geology and geophysics combined to understand shallow environmental properties.

What are the academic requirements for entry into the field?

Love for the earth sciences and math and science and a first degree in geology or physics.

What other skills and competencies are required?

A love of the outdoors and a willingness to go to places that might not be totally hospitable.

What do you most enjoy about your work?

Field work and the potential to travel all over.

What are the challenges you face on the job?

They include the lack of equipment since geophysical equipment tend to be expensive, and engineers who think that they know an area and therefore don’t need to use these tools. Geophysics helps in improving the resolution of the site that you are going to place major development. The better the resolution, the less chance to develop problems that you did not anticipate. The sub-surface shows so much variation that applying these techniques can minimise the unknown in the subsurface.

Trained as a geophysicist, what employment options are open to you outside of the field?

Teaching, consulting with engineering and geotechnical firms, as well as petroleum exploration.

How much can you earn on an annual basis as a geophysicist?

Good potential for serious earnings, but without equipment, your potential to do work is limited.

Why would you advise anyone to get into the field?

We still need to understand more about the subsurface, especially the shallow subsurface. There are a lot of applications in environmental assessment — groundwater, groundwater resources, subsurface variation in rock strength, pollution transfer. This field needs to be applied more in Jamaica to understand the subsurface and to provide data for geotechnical and environmental analysis.