Key Words: Plate Tectonics, Structural Geology, Orogenesis, Convergent Margin Orogens, Oroclines,
Paleomagnetism.
As a structural geologist / tectonist, I attempt to understand and elucidate the processes that
shape mountain belts, and to define the role of mountains in the evolution of the earth’s atmosphere,
biosphere and continental lithosphere and deep mantle. My research is rooted in field-based
geological mapping of key parts of mountain belts, including the Cordillera of western North
America, the Variscan of Europe, and the circum-Mediterranean belts. Multidisciplinary studies,
including geophyscial investigations (paleomagnetism, geodetic surveys and reflection seismic
studies), and geochemical and geochronological analyses are utilized to further constrain the
geometry and evolution of mountain belts. Models of mountain development and evolution are
tested against tectonically active modern analogues, including the Apennines of southern Italy, and
the Melanesian region of the southwest Pacific.
My main focus at present is to understand the origin of oroclines (map view bends of orogenic
belts) and their role in continental growth and collisional orogenisis. Toward this goal, I am, together
with my students and collaborators, involved in projects mapping and studying oroclines on
Vancouver Island, Alaska, South Africa, the central and western Mediterranean (including the
Western Alpine Orocline), and eastern Australia and Melanesia. Additional interests involve (1) the
origin and tectonic and economic significance of carbonatites, (2) the processes involved in extreme
margin-parallel translations, (3) the significance of orogenic mantle massifs and ultra-high pressure
rocks, (4) the controls on the development of foreland fold and thrust belt hydrocarbon provinces, and
(5) tectonic input to extreme climate events, such as the Snowball Earth.