Tulane University

EENS 340 STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY

Spring Semester 2007

Dr. Nancye Dawers   |    ndawers@tulane.edu

 

Office: 301 Dinwiddie Hall; 862-3200;  Office Hours: TR 1:30-2:30 & by appt.

Lectures:  TR 11:00-12:15, Geology Library, 3rd Floor Dinwiddie Hall

Lab: ~ 2 hours/week; W 4:00-6:30, 201D Geology Library, 3rd Floor Dinwiddie Hall

Websites:  Blackboard, & also Course Site

 

Goals of this course:

- to acquire a basic understanding of the processes and manifestations of rock deformation;

- to gain an understanding of how these processes relate to tectonics;

- to learn how to apply structural analyses in interpreting tectonically deformed terranes.

 

Textbook(s)

Lecture:  Earth Structure: An Introduction to Structural  Geology and Tectonics, 2nd edition, by van der Pluijm & Marshak, W.W. Norton & Co.

Some lectures will incorporate material on reserve in Geology library, including:

      Fundamentals of Structural Geology, by Pollard & Fletcher

      Structural Geology, by Twiss & Moores

      Mechanics of Earthquakes & Faulting, by Scholz

      Tectonic Geomorphology, by Burbank & Anderson

      Tectonics, by Moores & Twiss

Lab: Structural Analysis and Synthesis: A Laboratory Course in Structural Geology, 3rd edition, by Rowland, Duebendorfer & Schiefelbein, Blackwell.

Some labs may incorporate material from:

      Basic Methods of Structural Geology, by Marshak & Mitra, Prentice-Hall.

 

Prerequisites

- Physical Geology Lecture (EENS111) & Lab (EENS113)

- Physics to meet the Geology BS Degree Program highly recommended

 

Course Grading

- Labs: Lab Exercises 35%

- Lecture Mid-term Exam 30% (Lecture + Lab material)

- Final Exam 35% (Non-cumulative, Lecture + Lab material)

 

Policies

- We will abide by the LAS Honor Code violations will be reported. 

- Please see me about any absences.

- No make-up exams (see DeanŐs Office about extreme family emergencies).

 

Fieldtrip

- Friday-Sunday; weekend will be agreed upon during the first week of class, likely March 30-April 1.

- Appalachian Mountains, NE Alabama field area.

- Plan to camp, of course.  See further info on Blackboard and Course site; more details later.

 

 

Date

Topic

Reading

(T) Jan 16

What is Structural Geology?

See Ch. 1-2

(R) Jan 18

Forces

Ch. 3

(T) Jan 23

Stress in the Lithosphere

Ch. 3

(R) Jan 25

Strain

Ch. 4

(T) Jan 30

Rheology

Ch. 5

(R) Feb 1

Rheology cont.,  Intro to Faulting

Ch. 5;  Field images

(T) Feb 6

Brittle Deformation

Ch. 6, (skip Sect. 6.8)

(R) Feb 8

Tensile Fracturing

Ch. 7

(T) Feb 13

Faulting

Ch. 8, Also Ch. 6, Sect. 6.8

(R) Feb 15

Fracture & Faulting cont.

Field images

(T) Feb 20

Mardi Gras

 

(R) Feb 22

Fault Growth, Interaction & Linkage

TBA from Scholz

(T) Feb 27

Earthquake Slip as a Structural Process

   TBA from Pollard & Fletcher, Scholz

(R) Mar 1

Active faulting

TBA from Burbank & Anderson

(T) Mar 6

Mid-term Exam

Lecture & Lab Material to Date

(R) Mar 8

Fault-related Folds

Ch 8, Sect 8.3.4: TBA

(T) Mar 13

Intro to Folding

Ch. 10; Field images

(R) Mar 15

Folding cont.

Ch. 10

(T) Mar 20

SPRING BREAK

 

(R) Mar 22

SPRING BREAK

 

(T) Mar 27

Fold-Fault Systems

Ch. 18

(R) Mar 29

Ductile Deformation; Fieldtrip Info

Ch. 9

(T) Apr 3

Ductile Deformation Mechanisms

Ch. 9

(R) Apr 5

Microstructures

Ch. 9

(T) Apr 10

Fabric

Ch. 11

(R) Apr 12

Shear Zones

Ch. 12

(T) Apr 17

Textural Analyses

Ch. 12 & 13

(R) Apr 19

Extensional Tectonics

Ch. 16

(T) Apr 24

Strike-Slip Tectonics

Ch. 17

(R) Apr 26

Compressional Tectonics

TBA from Moores & Twiss

(T) May 1

Tectonics of the Americas

Ch. 22

(M) May 7

FINAL EXAM  8:00 - Noon

Non-Cumulative, Lecture & Lab

 

Tentative Lab Topics 

 

Week

 

Lab Topic
Reading

1

Jan 17

Geometric Principles, Lines & Planes

Ch. 1

2

Jan 24

Outcrop Patterns & Structure Contours

Ch. 2

3

Jan 31

Rheology & Strain

Ch. 12 & 14

4

Feb 7

Stereographic Projection

Ch. 5

5

Feb 14

Faults

Ch. 9

6

Feb 21

Analysis of Brittle Deformation

Ch. 10 & 13

7

Feb 28

Geological Map Interpretation

Ch. 3

8

Mar 7

Geological Structure Sections

Ch. 4

9

Mar 14

Folds

Ch. 6

10

Mar 21

Spring Break

 

11

Mar 28

No Lab (NOGS Shortcourse @ Shell)

 

12

Apr 4

Stereonet Analyses of Folding (also using your field data)

Ch. 7

13

Apr 11

Structural Synthesis & Report

Ch. 11

14

Apr 18

Balanced Cross Sections

Ch. 15

15

Apr 25

Plate Tectonic Analyses

Ch. 17

 

 

Lab Policies

 Due at the beginning of the following lab meeting. 

Late labs: 5% penalty/day (weekend considered as 1 day).

Note that we will only be doing selected problems in the chapters listed.  The TA will provide further information.