Catalog Description: Nature and origin of earth structures.  Geometric and statistical solutions to structural problems.  Introduction to rock mechanics and tectonics.  Lab component.  Lab fee charged.

Course Overview: This is a course in structural geology and plate tectonics.  Structural geology is one of the fundamental sub-disciplines in the earth sciences, and has bearing on many others.  Structural geology involves the characterization of deformational features in rocks, and the interpretation of the processes responsible for deformation.  The study of structural geology is central to unraveling the past tectonic history of the earth.  Structural geology is also important in understanding earthquake risks.  The occurrence and form of geologic structures is also important in exploration for geologic resources, including hydrocarbon deposits, ore deposits, and even ground water.

Course Structure: This class meets three times a week, 1-hour meetings on Mondays and Wednesdays, and a 2-hour meeting on Fridays.  Mondays and Wednesdays are typically lecture days and Friday is a lab day.  Some lectures will be oriented toward preparing students for lab exercises (or even starting into the exercises), and some are on other topics.  Lab exercises in the lab manual will often be supplemented with small related exercises on actual geologic maps.

Required Texts: Rowland, S.M., Duebendorfer, E.M., and Schiefelbein, I.M., 2007, Structural Analysis & Synthesis, Blackwell Publishing, ISBN 1-4051-1652-8.  Additional readings from Structure textbooks on reserve.

Field Trips: There will be two required field trips for this course.  The first will be a one-day field trip to the Sioux Falls area to measure joints in the Sioux Quartzite; this will be scheduled for a weekend day on the first weekend with appropriate weather (high ~50 ºF).  The second field trip will be a 2.5-day trip to the Black Hills later in the spring.

Office Hours: Formal office hours are M 9-11, W 2-3, Th 12-2, but please feel free to swing by my office any time, or set up an appointment.

Attendance: Daily attendance is essential.  Please communicate with me if you are sick or have another reason for an excused absence.  Excused absences are handled differently with respect to late work as outlined below.

Cell Phones: Please turn off your cell phones before entering the classroom.

Grading: There will be a midterm exam and a final exam.  There will also be in-class labs and possibly homework assignments.  Several quizzes will also be offered.  Grading will be based on a conventional scale: A=90-100%; B=80-89.9%; C=70-79.9%; D=60-69.9%; F=<60%. A curve may be applied to some exams at the instructor’s discretion, but don’t count on it.  The weighting of coursework will be as follows:

Tentative Schedule