Geology 3120 - Structural Geology A capstone course a culminating experience in which students synthesize subject-matter knowledge they have acquired, integrate cross-disciplinary knowledge, and connect theory and application in preparation for entry into a career.
Karl Mueller Structural Geology (Geol. 3120) Fall 2014 Office Hours: MWF 12:00-1:00 PM and by appointment (BESC 322B) Karl.Mueller@colorado.edu TA: Katherine Kravitz (lab instructor) and Maureen Dady (peer assistant). The website for the course is at http://www.colorado.edu/geolsci/courses/ GEOL3120/ Introduction: Welcome to structural geology, a capstone course in undergraduate Earth Science curriculum. Here you will learn how the crust of the Earth deforms, how to recognize geologic structures formed by that deformation, and how to apply that information after you finish your degree. Whether you seek to prepare society for destructive earthquakes, make enormous sums of money working for oil companies, or just want to satisfy your own curiosity about how the Earth works, this class will help you reach those goals.
Textbook: Some of the material for this course is condensed from a series of previous lectures. Much of the curriculum is new however and set out as lecture slides on the website. The textbook for the course is Structural Geology by Haakon Fossen. Easily the most balanced, beautifully illustrated and thoughtful text in structural geology written in the last decade, this is a great resource. The lab for this course is a practical introduction to methods of structural analysis, whereas the lecture is based more on recognition of geologic structures and the theory behind their development. Besides basic structure theory, an important goal of this class is to learn the skills associated with visualizing geologic structures in three dimensions. This is not an easy skill to develop, assuming you aren t a sculptor, architect, or brain surgeon.
Grading: There will be two midterms and a final exam for the lecture portion of the curriculum (all are equally weighted) that will comprise 60% of your grade with addition credit from group exercises and your participation in class. The remaining 40% will come from lab. Final grades are the sum of both lab and lecture grades. Lecture exams will be made up of short answer, analytical and visualization problems. The lab grade will be the sum of weekly exercises and a final exam. The labs are effectively run by the TA, my job is mostly centered on the lecture curriculum. Students are often tempted not to attend class because the lecture notes are available online. This is a bad practice and one that I don t recommend. Teaching Methods: I teach using the Socratic method, a technique that encourages active interaction between professor and student. If you have questions, ask them immediately during lecture. I ll also ask individual students to answer my questions during class. My lectures are pretty freewheeling, you will quickly learn that I try to present material in an integrated fashion while relating it to other fields in geology such as petrology, sedimentology and stratigraphy. It s important therefore that you meet the prerequisites for the course. Physical and historical geology are required, mineralogy helps as well. Trigonometry and algebra is the math used in the course, no calculus is required.
Related Courses: The perfect way to learn structural geology would be to spend a semester traveling the world in a small group examining and learning about mountain belts, rifts and small scale structures while standing on an outcrop or hiking up a mountain. While impossible at a large university, the department offers two field courses that build on this course. The first is Field Methods in Structural Geology, typically taught in the fall in western Utah. The second is Field Methods in Active Tectonics, taught mostly over spring break in Eastern California on the edge of the Pacific-North American plate boundary.
Disabilities: Please contact me if you have any physical or learning disabilities that I need to be aware of. I am most concerned with lack of binocular vision, color blindness, learning disabilities or problems with mobility that would preclude participation on the field trip in one of the lab exercises. Absences: Exam Makeups: In a class of 40+ students, invariably someone will have emergencies that might cause them to miss a test, a lecture or two, or lab. Please inform me as soon as you know a problem has arisen, so that I may accommodate your needs. Excuses have to be valid such as medical problems, family emergencies. Honor Code: As for any academic endeavor at CU-Boulder, you are bound by the university honor code. Evidence of cheating will thus result in review of the infraction and sanctions imposed therein.
So why should you care about structural geology? (besides satisfying a requirement for your degree)
Economic Resources, esp. Petroleum Resources By the way, the average starting, salary for a student with a Master s degree is ~$120,000 per year in 2012.
Natural Hazards, especially earthquake risks Baja Earthquake Rupture!
Basic understanding of Earth Science, geared towards moving to a graduate degree after CU
We use lots of tools to do structural geology but in my world, stratigraphy is the most important. And this includes knowing the Geologic Time Scale and local Boulder stratigraphy.
Stratigraphic Templates: Sediments form a template for unraveling structures; most structural geology is done in sedimentary basins. A stratigraphic succession allows restoration of structures using basic principles such as the age of strata (superposition), original continuity and cross-cutting relationships. Strata deposited on cratons often extend laterally great distances and are very useful in reconstructing structures because the template does not change. Growth strata are strata deposited over active structures as they are forming. These are powerful recorders of structural style and rates of deformation.
Reading for this week is Chapter 1, Fossen! What are the sources of data we use to do structural geology? Measurements we make ourselves as Field Geologists. Images from satellites. Google Earth is a prime example. Measurements from satellites such as GPS and interferometry Records of earthquakes from seismographs. Digital elevation models of Earth s surface, esp Laser Ranging. Oil company data, seismic reflection profiles and boreholes.
Measurements made by field geologists.
Images from satellites. Google Earth is a prime example. Longs Peak!
Measurements from GPS satellites here the velocity field of Asia
Measurements from satellites - radar interferometry Colors denote movement from a magnitude 7.4 earthquake
Measurements from satellites - radar interferometry Colors denote inflation of an active volcano in Japan
Data gathered by oil companies - here boreholes drilled by a oil company.
Digital elevation models of Earth s surface -- here a shaded Relief map of the Front Range (Boulder is at the lower center)
Digital elevation models from Light and Distance Ranging, or LIDAR - here a fault in Death Valley