What-to-Know
Main Aspects to Understand (What to Know and to Know How to Do)
Note: This list covers everything you need to know for the lecture part of the course. Some subjects are not fully covered in the textbook. You need a general understanding of any terms, not a memorized definition. D+R refers to Davis and Reynolds' textbook, and R+A refers to Ragan and Arrowsmith handouts. I will update as we move through the semester in anticipation of each section of the course.
Introduction to Structures (Chapter 1 and III-B and III-C)
- Characteristics of the main geologic structures (pages 9-16, D+R)
- Characteristics and significance of the main types of contacts and how you might recognize them in the field (III-B, D+R)
- Characteristics of the primary structures and how they help in reconstructing geologic history
- Basic elements of Structural Analysis and importance of Plate Tectonics and Geologic Time
Fundamental Principles (Parts of Chapter 2)
- Characteristics of translation, displacement, rotation, and strain (p. 38-53)
- What a strain ellipse represents and how it is expressed mathematically (p. 54-61)
- What stretch is, how you could calculate it, and apply it to real problems (p. 55-61)
Fractures and Stress (parts of Chapter 3, Chapter 5, and III-L)
- Force versus stress (p. 98-109)
- How to calculate stresses on a plane, using trigonometry or Mohr diagram (p. 110-122)
- Character of joints and shear fractures (p. 204-214)
- Ornamentations on joint surfaces and their relationship to propagation direction (p. 214-226)
- Typical geometry of a failure envelope and its significance for the formation of joints (p. 226-245)
- Role of pore fluid in jointing especially as portrayed on a Mohr diagram (p. 245-251)
- Causes of jointing (p. 256-268)
Faults, Strain, and Stress (Ch. 6)
- Characteristics of faults and how you could recognize one in the field (throughout Ch. 6)
- Main types of faults, their chracter, and regional setting (throughout Ch. 6)
- How faults are expressed in maps, on sections, and in geophysics (p. 286-292)
- Slip versus separation along faults (p. 292-296)
- How to determine slip along faults (p. 297-300)
- Geometries of thrust faults and related folds and subsidiary faults (p. 319-335)
- Mechanical models of thrusting (p. 336-339)
- Geometries and tectonic settings of different types of normal faults (p. 340-357)
- Geometries of strike-slip faults (p. 365-370)
- What type of deformation occurs at different arrangements of bends and jogs (p. 368-370)
- Calculating strain across multiple faults (p. 301-303)
- Relationship of stress directions to faulting (p. 304-317)
- Typical geometry of a failure envelope and its significance for the formation or reactivation of faults (p. 304-317)
Cleavage, foliation, lineation (Ch. 8)
- Relationship between cleavage and folding
- Relationship of foliation and lineation to the principle axes of strain (p. 463-472)
- Differentiating foliation and lineation
Shear zones and progressive deformation (Ch. 9)
- Brittle versus ductile shearing: structures and processes
- Geometry of strain in a zone of simple shear and how this is expressed in rocks (p. 537-539)
- The difference between the strain ellipses for progressive simple shear versus pure shear, and how these might be expressed in the field (p. 551-562)
- Determining sense of shear (e.g. S-C fabrics)
- How you would recognize a shear zone in the field or on a map (throughout Chapter 9)
Deformation Mechanisms and Microstructures
- How the crystalline structure of a mineral controls its strength and how the mineral deforms (p. 150--161).
- The main deformation mechanisms, how each permits deformation, the relative Pressure, Temperature, timing, and compositional conditions under which each occurs, and the role of recrystallization (p. 161--193).
Cordilleran Tectonics
- Overview: basic concepts and what makes it noteworthy
- Geologic history overall, especially major processes/events
- Arizona's role in Cordilleran tectonics (What happened where when?)
--Thanks to Steve Reynolds for lots of this.
Last modified: December 2, 2004