Geology 265: Structural Geology Spring 2004

MW 11:10 AM–12:20 PM, F 12:00–1:00 PM, Mudd 73 Carleton College

Lab: T 1:00–5:00 PM, Mudd 66

Cameron Davidson Lab Assistants:

Mudd 160 Kristin Bergman

x 7144 Gabe Nelson

cdavidso@carleton.edu

Deformation in the earth occurs at all scales, from the motion of lithospheric plates to the breaking of bonds and slip in minerals at the atomic scale. In this course we will focus on the geometry, mechanisms, and causes of deformation in the earth’s crust. This requires an inspired combination of careful observation, description, and quantitative reasoning. Some of you will be thrilled by your ability to see complex three-dimensional structures in your head. Others will marvel at the ease at which constitutive equations flow from your pencil. Thanks to the variety of approaches one can use when thinking about deformed rocks, hopefully all of you will find this a challenging and enjoyable course!

Week		Topic	Reading
1.	M, Mar 29	Overview & Review	p. 2-37
	T, Mar 30	Lab 1: Using stereonets to solve problems	p. 691-714
	W, Mar 31	Primary and Secondary Structures	p. 656-669
	F, Apr 2	Friday Forum 1: Snoke, A.W., and Tullis, J., 1998, An Overview of Fault Rocks, in Snoke, A.W., Todd, V. and Tullis, J., eds., Fault–Related Rocks: A Photographic Atlas: Princeton Univ. Press, p. 3-18. [Read p. 3-9 & 15-18.]
2.	M, Apr 5	Secondary Structures	p. 645-655; 372-382
	T, Apr 6	Lab 2: Working w/ maps, Pt. 1	p. 669-676
	W, Apr 7	Guest Speaker: Scott Sitzman, HKL Technology, Inc. Electron backscatter diffractometry and applications in geology.
	F, Apr 9	Field Trip (Friday and Saturday): Minnesota River Valley.
3.	M, Apr 12	Kinematics and Strain	p. 38-97
	T, Apr 13	Lab 3: Working w/ maps, Pt. 2
	W, Apr 14	Friday Forum 2: Southwick , D. L., and Chandler , V. W., 1996, Block and shear-zone architecture of the Minnesota River Valley Subprovince; implications for late Archean accretionary tectonics: Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, v. 33, p. 831-847.
	F, Apr 16	No Class Today

4.	M, Apr 19	Strain	p. 38-97
	T, Apr 20	Lab 4: Strain
	W, Apr 21	Stress and Fracture Mechanics	p. 98-149
	F, Apr 23	Friday Forum 3: Tikoff, B., and Wojtal, S.F., 1999, Displacement control of geologic structures: Journal of Structural Geology, v. 21, p. 959-967.
5.	M, Apr 26	Stress and Fracture Mechanics	p. 98-149
	T, Apr 27	Lab 5: Balanced Cross Sections
	W, Apr 28	Midterm Exam
	F, Apr 30	Friday Forum 4: Marrett, R., and Peacock, D.C.P., 1999, Strain and stress: Journal of Structural Geology, v. 21, p. 1057-1063.
6.	M, May 3	Dept Field Trip: Franklin Mountains, Missouri
	T, May 4	Dept Field Trip: Franklin Mountains, Missouri
	W, May 5	Dept Field Trip: Franklin Mountains, Missouri
	F, May 7	Deformation Mechanisms and Microstrutures	p. 150-202
7.	M, May 10	Joints, Shear Fractures, and Faults	p. 204-268
	T, May 11	Lab 6: The Autocorrelation Function (ACF)
	W, May 12	Joints, Shear Fractures, and Faults	p. 269-318
	F, May 14	Friday Forum 5: Simpson, C., and Schmid, S.M., 1983, An evaluation of criteria to deduce the sense of movement in sheared rocks: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 94, p. 1281-1288.
8.	M, May 17	Penetrative Deformation and Shear Zones	p. 493-563
	T, May 18	Lab 7: TBA
	W, May 19	Friday Forum 6: Tullis, J., and Yund, R.A., 1985, Dynamic recrystallization of feldspar: A mechanism for ductile shear zone formation: Geology, v. 13, p. 238-241.
	F, May 21	Field Trip (Friday and Saturday): Thompson Dam
9.	M, May 24	Thrust Faulting	p. 319-339
	T, May 25	Lab: Work on Research Projects
	W, May 26	Extensional Faulting	p. 340-357
	F, May 28	Friday Forum 7: Tikoff, B., de Saint Blanquat, M., and Teyssier, C., 1999, Translation and the resolution of the pluton space problem: Journal of Structural Geology, v. 21, p. 1109-1117.
10.	M, May 31	Work Day
	T, June 1	Lab: Poster Presentations (Oral) and Poster Session
	W, June 2	Poster Presentations (Oral) – continued.

Text: Structural Geology of Rocks and Regions, 2^nd ed., by Davis & Reynolds, 1996

Equipment: 6” plastic ruler/protractor, mechanical pencil (0.5 mm), good eraser (white rubber), colored pencils, map board (clipboard should work), hand lens, field book.

Evaluation: Midterm Exam – 20%

Labs – 45%

Friday Forum Leader – 10%

Friday Forum Participation – 5%

Research poster – 10%

Research presentation – 10%

Due dates: Laboratory exercises are due at the beginning of lab the following week unless stated otherwise.

Friday Forum: Scattered throughout the term, I scheduled the careful reading and discussion of seven papers from the primary literature. Working in groups of two (one group if three), you will be responsible for the presentation of the main point(s) from the paper (about 15 minutes) followed by a group discussion. Ideally, one person from the group will give the presentation, and the other will be in charge of organizing the discussion. To help organize the discussion, everyone in the class must send (by e-mail) three questions about the paper to me by 4:00 PM the previous day. I will then pass these on to the presenters ASAP.

Research Project: An important part of this course will be a 2-day field trip to the Minnesota River Valley to examine rocks and deformation associated with the assembly of the North American craton. The main purpose of this trip is to give you the opportunity to ask a research question, collect field data to help answer your question, and to summarize your results and conclusions by constructing a poster and giving a short presentation in class. You will work together in groups of two or three on all aspects of the research project including the poster.

Research Presentations: An important step in the research process is reporting back to your peers. Therefore, near the end of the term, each group will present their research findings in a short (20 minute) presentation.