Geology 302: Structural Geology and Tectonics

Spring 1999

Mike Valentine

OFFICE: Thompson 148, PHONE: 756-3129
Office Hours: M 10-11, Tu 3-4, F 1-2, and by appointment

TEXTS (required):
Structural Geology R.J. Twiss & E.J. Moores
Procedures in Field Geology Tom Freeman
LAB TEXT (required):
Structural Analysis and Synthesis, 2nd ed.,
S.M. Rowland & E.M. Duebendorfer

EXAMS: Three exams covering lecture and reading assignments account for 40% of your course grade. See schedule for approximate exam dates (I'll confirm these as the times approach). Exams may be given, IN PART, as take-home exams. Worst exam grade weighted at 10%, the other two at 15% each- this gives you a little slack for a "bad day".

QUIZZES: A take-home quiz will be given every Monday in lab and be due on Wednesday, IN CLASS. They will cover the previous week's lecture/reading and account for 10% of your course grade. These are designed to keep you "on track" and will help you when it's exam time. We may forego them in weeks when exams are given.

LABS: Labs account for 30% of your course grade. See attached schedule.. A required week-end field trip will count as one lab grade.

HOMEWORK PROBLEMS: A small number of homework problems constitute 5% of your grade. These will generally relate to structural techniques which we may also cover in lab.

PAPER: Everyone will write a 10-12 page paper which accounts for the remaining 15% of your course grade. The topic will be selected by you & me. For those of you going to field camp this summer, your topic may relate to the area of your study. This will be useful in preparing you for your summer adventure in geology! A SHORT (10-12 minutes, MAXIMUM) oral presentation to the class on your topic may be required and will be done in lab in late April. I MUST have approved your topic BY 2/19 and have an annotated bibliography (>3 references) for your research BY 3/12. The paper is DUE 4/23 (see schedule). All are due IN CLASS on the days indicated. This is plenty of advance warning, so for every day (or part of a day) you miss ANY of these due dates, you will lose 5% of the paper's value (eg. a 98% will become a 93%, etc).

EXCUSES: I intend to be very strict concerning times/dates of exams and all due dates. However, if you have a problem with any of these deadlines, come and see me BEFOREHAND; I am not unreasonable.

FINAL NOTES: Everyone will be required to get email and Eudora and check regularly for messages from me!!! All work MUST be completed to receive a passing grade for this course (even if it's late enough that you're getting a zero for it)! REMEMBER, there will be a week-end field trip.


Geology 302 Class Schedule--Spring, 1999

Class When? Topic Text Reading
1 1/20 What's structural geology? Tectonics? How & why we study it. Introduction & Ch. 1
2 1/22 Earth structure & plate tectonics review.
3 1/25 Orientation of features and techniques of structural geology/tectonics Ch. 2
4 1/27 Orientation and techniques (cont.)
5 1/29 BRITTLE DEFORMATION: Joints and extension fractures Ch. 3
6 2/1 Joints (cont.)
7 2/3 Faults and associated structures (general) Ch. 4
8 2/5 Faults (cont.)
9 2/8 Normal faults Ch. 5
10 2/10 Normal faults (cont.)
11 2/12 Reverse faults Ch. 6
12 2/15 Reverse faults (cont.)
13 2/17 Strike-slip faults Ch. 7
14 2/19 Strike-slip faults (cont.) - PAPER TOPIC DUE
15 2/22 Stress Ch. 8
16 2/24 Stress (cont.)
17 2/26 Fault mechanics Ch. 9-10
18 3/1 Fault mechanics (cont.)
19 3/3 EXAM #1 (Brittle deformation)
20 3/5 DUCTILE DEFORMATION: Ch. 11
21 3/8 Folds- description & associated features
22 3/10 Fold generation Ch. 12
23 3/12 Fold generation (cont.) - ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY DUE
3/15-3/19 SPRING BREAK
24 3/22 Lineations & foliations- descriptive Ch. 13
25 3/24 Origins of foliations/lineations Ch. 14
26 3/26 Origins of foliations/lineations (cont.)
27 3/29 Strain in ductile deformation Ch. 15
28 3/31 Strain in ductile deformation (cont.)
29 4/2 Relationship of strain to Ch. 16-17
30 4/5 structures associated
31 4/7 with folding
32 4/9 EXAM #2 (Ductile deformation)
33 4/12 RHEOLOGY: Behavior of rock materials Ch. 18
34 4/14 Experiments & observation
35 4/16 Experiments & observation (cont.)
36 4/19 Behavior on the microscopic scale Ch. 19
37 4/21 Mechanisms of ductile deformation
38 4/23 Models of rock folding- PAPER DUE Ch. 20
39 4/26 Models of rock folding (cont.)
40-43 4/28-5/5 Tectonics & large-scale structural features of planetary surfaces with reference to specific examplesCh. 21-22; Additional papers may be assigned & discussed

***3rd EXAM DURING EXAM WEEK- Thursday May 13, 4-6 P.M. It will emphasize material covered after exam #2

REMEMBER- A field trip will be scheduled for a week-end in late April or early May.



GEOLOGY 302 Lab- Spring, 1999

Required Lab Equipment:
--30°-60° and 45° triangles with at least a 6" short side
--a good protractor
--a good drafting ruler with metric and inches- clear plastic marked in 0.1 inches & cm.
--good quality drafting compass
--pencils, at least 10 colored pencils, sharpener, & erasers
--one fine point drafting/technical pen (recommend 0 point)
--pad of good quality 8"X10" tracing paper (vellum?)
The above items are available as a package from the UPS book store.

--calculator with trigonometric functions
--field notebook w/ waterproof paper (Linda Critchlow has some in the Geology Dept. Office)

Recommended Equipment (especially if you're going to field camp, anyway):
--hand lens & rock hammer
--clip board


Lab schedule

Lab When? Topics Assignments
1 1/20 The Brunton Compass & Measuring angles Measure height of Thompson Tower due 1/25
Construct and color geologic map (in lab manual)
2 1/25 Measurement of Strike, Dip, Trend, Plunge, and Rake (Pitch) Measuring orientations and visualizing attitudes due 2/1
3 1/27 Topographic Map and Profile Review; Outcrop Patterns of Horizontal, Vertical, and Dipping Strata Geologic Maps and Profiles: horizontal & vertical beds due 2/1
4-5 2/1-2/3 Outcrop Pattern of Dipping Beds and 3-point Problems 3-point problem & outcrops of dipping beds due 2/8
6 2/8 Apparent Dip & Thickness True vs. Apparent Dip & Thickness due 2/15
7 2/10 Orthographic Projections
8-9 2/15-2/17 Fault Displacement & Separation from Orthographic Projections Orthographic projections and fault motion solutions due 2/24
10-11 2/22-2/24 Point Defiance Field Exercise- Measuring Fracture/Fold Data (Dress for weather) Summary of data gathered at Pt. Defiance due 2/26
12 3/1 Intro to Stereographic Projections Sample Net problems due 3/8
13-14 3/3-3/8 Contouring & Interpreting Stereonet Data Net/Orthographic Projection Combination due 3/12
15 3/10 Point Defiance Field Exercise- Measuring Fracture/Fold Data (Dress for weather) Summary of data gathered at Pt. Defiance due 3/12
3/15-3/19 SPRING BREAK
16-17 3/22-3/24 Point Defiance Field Exercise-Measuring Fracture/Fold Data (Dress for weather) Summary of data gathered at Pt. Defiance due 3/29
18 3/29 Stress Fields from Fault Data Stress Determination due 4/5
19 3/31 Structure Sections of Folded Beds Structure Sections due 4/7
20 4/5 Pt. Defiance- More Data Summary of data gathered at Pt. Defiance due 4/7
21 4/7 Strain Determination in Ductile Deformation Wellman & Fry Methods due 4/12
22-23 4/12-4/14 More on Structure Sections Balanced Cross Sections Balanced Cross Section due 4/26
24-25 4/19-4/21 Pt. Defiance- More Data
26 4/26 Oral Presentations on Research for Paper (12-15 minutes each)
4/28-5/5 The rest of the labs will be used to work on Pt. Defiance project and your final lab. This last lab will use techniques learned during the semester to synthesize information and interpret the geologic maps in Exercise 11 in your lab manual. A separate instruction sheet for the Pt. Defiance project will describe what you need to turn in. Each of these will be weighted as TWO labs and are due by 5 P.M. on 5/5.
***YOU'LL NEED TO GO TO PT. DEFIANCE ON YOUR OWN AS WELL AS DURING SCHEDULED LABS!
Accompanying this syllabus are tide tables for February-May. Tides should be at 4-5 ft. or lower when you go to Pt. Defiance. If they are near the upper limit, it's best to go when the tides will be going OUT!
NOTE: I suggest setting up a table format for your Point Defiance data after your first lab there. You can then add new data to it easily, making your data summaries EASY TO DO!

***REQUIRED WEEK-END FIELD TRIP TO BE SCHEDULED FOR 4/24 OR 5/1
We will discuss scheduling of this trip and try to make it as convenient as possible for all of us. There will be a paleomagnetic exercise associated with the field trip. Instructions will follow.



PAPER INSTRUCTIONS- STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY (GEOL 302)

Each of you will write a 10-12 page research paper on a structural topic of your choice. You must decide on a topic AND check it with me by class time on February 19th. You will find a minimum of three print references on your topic and turn in an annotated bibliography to me in class on March 12th. This bibliography should consist of the references you have located and a typed, double-spaced, one page summary of each paper as it relates to your topic. You may use more than 3 sources and use web sources, but the bibliography you turn in to me MUST include at least the 3 PRINT references (books, papers from science/geology literature, etc.). If you are unsure whether a source meets this requirement, check with me. See below for the format for citations.

Your paper is due in class on April 23rd. In addition to the written paper, an oral presentation of your research may be required. If so, this will be a 12-15 minute talk to be given IN LAB on April 26th. Use of visual aids to accompany and enhance your presentation is STRONGLY encouraged. Same goes for your paper. If maps or figures will help, USE 'EM! You have plenty of advance warning, so for every day (or part of a day) you miss ANY of these due dates, you will lose 5% of the paper's value (e.g.. a 98% will become a 93%, etc.).

Paper grade breakdown (paper is worth a total of 15% of your final grade):

Written paper 10%
Annotated Bibliography 2%
Oral presentation 3%
TOTAL 15%

Sources of information used in your research should be cited as they are cited in the Geological Society of America Bulletin. An example is given below.

In your paper text:
Oysters are a tasty treat that may be consumed dozens of different ways (Mollusk et al., 1996), but Valentine (1997) feels they are best eaten raw.

In your list of references:
Mollusk, J.J., Lemon, A.D., and Halfshell, O.T., 1996, Forty ways to prepare raw shellfish (second edition): Seattle, WA, Goodfood Publishers, 73 p.

Valentine, M.J., 1997, Raw bars I have known: Gourmet Magazine, v. 14, p. 23-31.

If you have questions about reference format, see me or check out a copy of GSA Bulletin. There are usually a couple issues in Thompson 150.




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Mike Valentine
Contact: mvalentine@ups.edu