Advanced Structural Geology

Catalog description

This course introduces field mapping and optical microscopy, the two most commonly used observational methods in geology. the first part of the course will involve field work in sedimentary and metamorphic terrains, including two or three required Friday through Sunday field trips. Students will develop abilities to navigate, identify common rock types, make structural measurements using a geology compass, and produce geologic maps and interpretive cross sections. The second half will introduce techniques for indentifying common minerals, rocks and microstructures using the petrographic microscope. Microscale observations will be used to interpret the geology history of rocks (stress,strain,strain rate, and temperature histories) and linked to theoretical and experimental results describing the mechanisms and physics of rock deformation (rheology).