Fundamentals of Structural Geology
working in related disciplines, including geophysics,
rock mechanics, field mapping, hydrogeology, petroleum and geotechnical engineering, and natural
hazard mitigation. The book is supported by a
website (www.cambridge.org/ 0521839270) hosting
images from the book, additional colour images,
student exercises and MATLAB® scripts. Solutions to
the exercises are available to instructors.
david poll ard is the Morris Professor of Earth
Sciences in the Department of Geological and
Environmental Sciences at Stanford University
where he co-directs the program in Structural
Geology and Geomechanics. He and his students are
using quantitative field data and principles of structural geology, combined with laboratory and computer modeling, to address questions about processes
of faulting, fracturing, and rock deformation. The
research aims to understand how faults and fractures
evolve in the Earth’s crust; how they affect the flow
of magma, groundwater, and hydrocarbons; and
what role fractures play in earthquake generation
and volcanic eruption
raymond fletcher is a Research Professor in
the Department of Geosciences at the Pennsylvania
State University. He and his collaborators study the
continuous deformation of rock as in the emplacement of mantled gneiss domes, rock folding, and
basin and range necking. He also works on processes
linking chemical aspects of mineral growth or dissolution in rocks and deformation. Currently he is
studying folding near the base of ice sheets, and the
evolution of structures and rheological behavior of
composite rock masses.
Fundamentals of Structural Geology provides a new
framework for the investigation of geological structures by integrating field mapping and mechanical
analysis. It emphasizes the observational data,
modern mapping technology, principles of continuum mechanics, and the mathematical and computational skills, necessary to map, describe, model,
and explain deformation in the Earth’s lithosphere
quantitatively.
Assuming a basic knowledge of physical geology,
introductory calculus, and physics, this advanced
textbook builds on more traditional courses that
emphasize descriptive terminology, geometric techniques, and kinematics. In a significant departure
from conventional textbooks on the subject, differential geometry is introduced and applied to quantify descriptions of geological structures. Differential
geometry integrates the spatial information conventionally found on maps with orientation data from
stereograms to provide reproducible descriptions of
geological structures. By starting from the fundamental conservation laws of mass and momentum,
the constitutive laws of material behavior, and the
kinematic relationships for strain and rate of deformation, the authors demonstrate the relevance of
solid and fluid mechanics to structural geology.
The constitutive relations used in the book are
sufficiently elementary to enable students to gain
physical insight from analytical solutions, but are
adequately realistic to provide compelling correlations to observational data.
This book offers a modern quantitative approach
to structural geology for advanced undergraduate
and graduate students and researchers in structural
geology and tectonics. It will also interest those
working in related disciplines, including geophysics,
rock mechanics, field mapping, hydrogeology, petroleum and geotechnical engineering, and natural
hazard mitigation. The book is supported by a
website (www.cambridge.org/ 0521839270) hosting
images from the book, additional colour images,
student exercises and MATLAB® scripts. Solutions to
the exercises are available to instructors.
david poll ard is the Morris Professor of Earth
Sciences in the Department of Geological and
Environmental Sciences at Stanford University
where he co-directs the program in Structural
Geology and Geomechanics. He and his students are
using quantitative field data and principles of structural geology, combined with laboratory and computer modeling, to address questions about processes
of faulting, fracturing, and rock deformation. The
research aims to understand how faults and fractures
evolve in the Earth’s crust; how they affect the flow
of magma, groundwater, and hydrocarbons; and
what role fractures play in earthquake generation
and volcanic eruption
raymond fletcher is a Research Professor in
the Department of Geosciences at the Pennsylvania
State University. He and his collaborators study the
continuous deformation of rock as in the emplacement of mantled gneiss domes, rock folding, and
basin and range necking. He also works on processes
linking chemical aspects of mineral growth or dissolution in rocks and deformation. Currently he is
studying folding near the base of ice sheets, and the
evolution of structures and rheological behavior of
composite rock masses.
Fundamentals of Structural Geology provides a new
framework for the investigation of geological structures by integrating field mapping and mechanical
analysis. It emphasizes the observational data,
modern mapping technology, principles of continuum mechanics, and the mathematical and computational skills, necessary to map, describe, model,
and explain deformation in the Earth’s lithosphere
quantitatively.
Assuming a basic knowledge of physical geology,
introductory calculus, and physics, this advanced
textbook builds on more traditional courses that
emphasize descriptive terminology, geometric techniques, and kinematics. In a significant departure
from conventional textbooks on the subject, differential geometry is introduced and applied to quantify descriptions of geological structures. Differential
geometry integrates the spatial information conventionally found on maps with orientation data from
stereograms to provide reproducible descriptions of
geological structures. By starting from the fundamental conservation laws of mass and momentum,
the constitutive laws of material behavior, and the
kinematic relationships for strain and rate of deformation, the authors demonstrate the relevance of
solid and fluid mechanics to structural geology.
The constitutive relations used in the book are
sufficiently elementary to enable students to gain
physical insight from analytical solutions, but are
adequately realistic to provide compelling correlations to observational data.
This book offers a modern quantitative approach
to structural geology for advanced undergraduate
and graduate students and researchers in structural
geology and tectonics. It will also interest those