Structural Geology
310/310L
Spring 2016
Instructor: Paul McBurnett
Meeting Room: Live Oak 1212
Lecture: Tuesday/Thursday 11:00am - 12:15pm
Lab: Thursday 2:00pm - 4:45pm
Office Hours: Live Oak 1214 Tuesdays 10:00am - 11:00 am or by appointment
Contact Email: paul.mcburnett@gmail.com
Office Phone: (818)677-2511
Required Text: Structural Geology of Rocks and Regions by: G.H. Davis, S. Reynolds, C.F. Kluth: J Wiley (3rd
Edition)
Course Objectives: Structural geology is the study of deformation, structures, and distribution of rocks in threedimensions. By the end of the course you should be able to give cogent explanations of:
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Stress and strain relationships
Rheological properties of rocks
Brittle, ductile, and plastic deformation suites
Mechanisms of faults, fractures, folds and their formation
Shear zone development and kinematics
Interpretation of structural features through viewing geologic maps
Like all geoscience courses, the amount of time you put in will directly reflect your grade. But more importantly,
your competency in the subject at hand. Structure geology courses have a reputation for being difficult and time
consuming, you should expect no differently from this course. The lecture and lab portions of this course will be
mostly congruous. However, lecture and lab will be loosely defined in this course, meaning that during lab time may
cross over into lecture time to some degree and and vice versa. This course will be very organic in its use of time as
we progress.
Readings: Reading is an important part of success for this course. It is highly recommended that you do the
readings before lectures to ensure maximum understanding of the material and passing quiz scores.
Quizzes: will be based directly off the assigned reading for that week and can occur at any time.
Exams: You will have three exams, two midterms and a final. Exams will consist almost entirely off of lecture
material and quizzes. Final will be cumulative.
Grading: Your grade will be divided into a Lecture and Lab grade. The plus/minus system will be used. Grading
percentages will be as follows:
100-93%
Lecture Grade
Midterm 1 30%
Midterm 2 30%
Final
30%
Quizzes
10%
Lab Grade
Lab Homework
Lab Final
Final Reports and Maps
50%
25%
25%*
*Orocapia Mnts 15% and Shadow Mnts 10%
A
92-85%
A-
84-81%
B+
80-78%
B
77-75%
B-
74-71%
C+
70-68%
C
67-65%
C-
64-61%
D+
60-58%
57-55%
≤54%
D
DF
Tentative Class Schedule
Week
Beginning
Tuesday
Thursday
January 25th
Chapter 1: Nature of Structural Geology (2-33); Map
interpretation tools; strike lines, Rule of V's, Classification;
terminology, symbols; Cross Sections
Fault Zones and Shear Zones (697-723 to DownStructure Method of Viewing Folds; Faults 249-268 to
Drilling Data; The Naming and Classification of Faults
272-277; Foliations in Mylonitic Rocks 499-501; Using
Orthographic Projection 728-733 to Constructing the line
of Intersection of Two Planes; 3-Point Problem 735;
Shear Zones and Progressive Deformation 530-546;
Determining Sense of shear 556-577)
February 1st
Faults and Slip from outcrops, map relations (Fig. 6.15;
Chatter Marks 258-259; 278-281; 757-759)
Folds: Classification, terminology, symbols (344-348;
Anticlines and Synclines 351-383; Definition of
Foliation 492-493; Table P.I 782)
February 8th
Stereonet Analysis; orthographic analysis tools, Intro to
Stereonets, Basic Operations (Carrying Out Stereographic
Projection 735-747 to Evaluating Preferred Orientations;
Evaluation of Rotation 751-757)
February 15th
Applying Stereonet analysis to fault slip interpretation (Fig.
2.23)
Force Pressure and Stress (Chapter 3 90-147)
February 22nd
Joints, Veins, and Fissures (Chapter 5 Joints 192-225)
Dynamic Analysis of Faulting and Brittle Fractures
(Creation of Joints in the Laboratory 226-248;
Mechanics of Faulting 286-305 to Thrust Fault Systems;
M. Determining the Relationship of Faults to Principal
Stress Directions 767-769)
February 27 or 28
Shadow Mountains Field Trip
February 29th
Midterm 1
Stereonet Analysis to folds and Statistical Analysis
(Stereographic Projection as a Statistical Tool 747-751;
Stereographic Determination of Fold Orientations 366374; Fig. 7.36 and 7.54)
Deformation and its Componenets; Progressive
Deformaiton, Strain in Shear Zones (Displacement and
Strain 34-89; Strain in Shear Zones 548-555)
Strain (Deformation Mechanisms and Microstructures
148-181 to Deformation Experiments; The BrittleDuctile Transition 188-191; Why Shear Zones Form,
Thin, and Thicken 546-548; Preparing Subsurface
Contour Maps 726-728)
March 7th
Ellipses (Inside the Ellipse: Progressive Deformation 586598)
March 10-13
Orocopias Field Trip
Alt April 14-17
March 14th
Strain; Isopach, Isochor, and Structure Contour
Foliations, Lineations, and Tectonites; Their Origins,
Kinematic, and Dynamic Significance (Foliation and
Lineation 463-486; Foliation 492-517 to bottom of page)
March 21st
Spring Break
Spring Break
March 28th
Ductile Deformation Mechanics (The Brittle-Ductile
Tansition 188-191)
March 31 Cesar Chavez Day Campus Closed
Folding Mechanisms (Relationship of Cleavage to Other
Structures 487-492)
April 4th
Rheology of Rocks (Determining Relationships Between
Stress and Strain 120-147)
April 11th
Midterm 2
Thrust/Reverse-Slip faults (Thrust Fault Systems 305320)
April 18th
Normal Faults (Normal Faulting 321-333)
Strike-Slip Faults (Strike-Slip Faulting 334-343)
April 25th
Active Tectonics (Active Tectonics 599-649)
Active Tectonics Cont. (Relation to Cascadia, American
Northwest 649-682; Preparing Balanced Cross-Sections
723-726)
May 2nd
Structural Geology of Intrusions
Continental Rifting and Continental Accretion
May 9th
Wrap-up and Review
Lab Final
May 14th - May
20th
Finals
Finals
Handouts: During the semester you will receive numerous handouts, please keep them organized and in a binder for
ease of reference.
Late Assignment: Late work will only be accepted the next following class from the due date and will be docked
25%.
Program changes: If you decide to drop this course, you must do it yourself. The instructor will not drop you for
nonattendance or for any other reason. You cannot drop the course after the second week under normal
circumstances (Refer to the Schedule of Classes). Only with proof of a serious and compelling reason will a student
be allowed to drop after the second week.
Academic Honesty: This course will adhere strictly to the CSUN Academic Dishonesty policy. If you are
unfamiliar with the Universities policy please review them here: http://www.csun.edu/catalog/policies/academicdishonesty/. Any acts of academic policy will be reported immediately to the proper authorities for further review
and possible disciplinary action.
*This syllabus is tentative and may be adjusted as the semester progresses.