Preface
and a physics course covering mechanics and
heat. We consider these courses to be the essential
mathematical and scientific pre-requisites for a
course using this textbook. Elementary concepts
of vector analysis, matrix theory, linear algebra,
ordinary and partial differential equations, and
computer programming with Matlab® are used
throughout, but are introduced in such a way that
a formal course in these subjects, while helpful,
should not be considered a pre-requisite. The
authors view this textbook as appropriate for a
first course in structural geology, but recognize
that many students will come to a course using
this book after a traditional course that emphasizes the descriptive terminology, geometric techniques, and kinematic concepts of the discipline.
Although designed as a text for students, this
book also should be useful as a reference for
researchers in structural geology, and as an aid for
updating instructors and professionals who have
been exposed only to traditional courses and textbooks on the subject. Furthermore, this book
should be attractive to scientists in related disciplines (geophysics, rock mechanics, tectonics,
geotechnical engineering, and petroleum engineering) who are looking for a modern summary of
the fundamentals of structural geology. We encourage students and professionals from these disciplines to learn about the modern methods and
tools of structural geology so that they can effectively interact with geologists on multi-disciplinary
projects.
One of the opportunities and challenges of
publishing a textbook in the twenty-first century
is the fact that the printed volume is no longer the
only vehicle for communication between authors
and readers. Accordingly, we have prepared a
homepage for Fundamentals of Structural Geology
that is available on the World Wide Web (www.
cambridge.org/0521839270) and provides the following supplementary materials for readers,
instructors, and students:
• Full color images for all outcrop photographs
used in the text
Fundamentals of Structural Geology is a textbook that
emphasizes modern techniques of field data
acquisition and analysis, the principles of continuum mechanics, and the mathematical and computational skills necessary to describe, model,
and explain quantitatively the deformation of
rock in Earth’s lithosphere.
With precise location data now available from
the Global Positioning System (GPS) and powerful
computer systems now transportable in a backpack, the quantity of reproducible field data has
increased dramatically. These new data sets
demand better methods for describing the geometry of structures, and we address this demand by
introducing the basic concepts of differential
geometry, which provide unambiguous descriptions of curved lineations and surfaces in three
dimensions. Data sets from a variety of field areas
are provided via the textbook website to promote
the practice of opening field “notebooks” to the
entire community of researchers, and as input for
student exercises (see below).
Textbooks in structural geology provide elements of continuum mechanics (e.g. separate
chapters on stress and strain), but rarely are these
concepts tied together with constitutive laws or
formulated into equations of motion or equilibrium to solve boundary or initial value problems.
These textbooks largely beg the questions: what
methodology should one adopt to solve the problems of structural geology; and what are the fundamental constructs that must be acknowledged
and honored? These constructs are the conservation laws of mass, momentum, and energy, combined with the constitutive laws for material
behavior and the kinematic relationships for
strain and rate of deformation. We use these constructs to build a rational methodology for the
investigation of tectonic processes and their structural products.
This textbook is designed for senior undergraduate students and graduate students who
have taken an introductory physical geology
course, mathematics courses that include differential and integral calculus in several variables,
and a physics course covering mechanics and
heat. We consider these courses to be the essential
mathematical and scientific pre-requisites for a
course using this textbook. Elementary concepts
of vector analysis, matrix theory, linear algebra,
ordinary and partial differential equations, and
computer programming with Matlab® are used
throughout, but are introduced in such a way that
a formal course in these subjects, while helpful,
should not be considered a pre-requisite. The
authors view this textbook as appropriate for a
first course in structural geology, but recognize
that many students will come to a course using
this book after a traditional course that emphasizes the descriptive terminology, geometric techniques, and kinematic concepts of the discipline.
Although designed as a text for students, this
book also should be useful as a reference for
researchers in structural geology, and as an aid for
updating instructors and professionals who have
been exposed only to traditional courses and textbooks on the subject. Furthermore, this book
should be attractive to scientists in related disciplines (geophysics, rock mechanics, tectonics,
geotechnical engineering, and petroleum engineering) who are looking for a modern summary of
the fundamentals of structural geology. We encourage students and professionals from these disciplines to learn about the modern methods and
tools of structural geology so that they can effectively interact with geologists on multi-disciplinary
projects.
One of the opportunities and challenges of
publishing a textbook in the twenty-first century
is the fact that the printed volume is no longer the
only vehicle for communication between authors
and readers. Accordingly, we have prepared a
homepage for Fundamentals of Structural Geology
that is available on the World Wide Web (www.
cambridge.org/0521839270) and provides the following supplementary materials for readers,
instructors, and students:
• Full color images for all outcrop photographs
used in the text
Fundamentals of Structural Geology is a textbook that
emphasizes modern techniques of field data
acquisition and analysis, the principles of continuum mechanics, and the mathematical and computational skills necessary to describe, model,
and explain quantitatively the deformation of
rock in Earth’s lithosphere.
With precise location data now available from
the Global Positioning System (GPS) and powerful
computer systems now transportable in a backpack, the quantity of reproducible field data has
increased dramatically. These new data sets
demand better methods for describing the geometry of structures, and we address this demand by
introducing the basic concepts of differential
geometry, which provide unambiguous descriptions of curved lineations and surfaces in three
dimensions. Data sets from a variety of field areas
are provided via the textbook website to promote
the practice of opening field “notebooks” to the
entire community of researchers, and as input for
student exercises (see below).
Textbooks in structural geology provide elements of continuum mechanics (e.g. separate
chapters on stress and strain), but rarely are these
concepts tied together with constitutive laws or
formulated into equations of motion or equilibrium to solve boundary or initial value problems.
These textbooks largely beg the questions: what
methodology should one adopt to solve the problems of structural geology; and what are the fundamental constructs that must be acknowledged
and honored? These constructs are the conservation laws of mass, momentum, and energy, combined with the constitutive laws for material
behavior and the kinematic relationships for
strain and rate of deformation. We use these constructs to build a rational methodology for the
investigation of tectonic processes and their structural products.
This textbook is designed for senior undergraduate students and graduate students who
have taken an introductory physical geology
course, mathematics courses that include differential and integral calculus in several variables,