ES3102 Global Tectonics

Course Description

The word ‘tectonics’ refers to the myriad of deformational processes that have progressively shaped, and continue to shape, Earth’s solid surface and interior. Tectonic processes are fundamentally about motion: rocks move from one place to another as part of a rigid plate, or are squeezed like toothpaste in a collision zone, or erode from regions of uplift and are deposited as sediment in regions of subsidence, or rise toward the surface from regions of mantle melting. The integration of these motions over time has produced the highly complex crust of Earth that we observe today.

This course covers global-scale tectonic processes and systems, with a focus on presently active tectonic environments where rich observational data can be mined for a better understanding of processes.

In this course, students develop fluency with tectonic elements and processes through guided readings, interactive lectures, weekly 5-minute student presentations, and computational laboratory exercises that use real-world data. Each student adopts a different active tectonic region of Earth and progressively develops a deeper understanding of its origin, evolution, and tectonic environments, culminating in a final report and presentation.

Intended Learning Outcomes


By the end of this course, students will be able to:


    1. Name and describe the main elements of tectonic geography and the forces and processes that build them

    2. Explain how primary observations are used to support tectonic models

    3. Use open-source software and public data to create maps, cross sections, 3D models, and graphs to support regional tectonic analyses

    4. Apply basic tectonic principles to analyze a geological region

    5. Communicate fundamental ideas of global tectonics and relate these ideas to other disciplines like hazard assessment and social/environmental studies.

tectoplot

The practical component of this course uses my in-development seismo-tectonic mapping code: tectoplot

Students use tectoplot to integrate and visualize a wide range of data quickly and easily, allowing a highly exploratory and self-motivated approach to learning about global tectonics.

Each week, they learn new tectoplot commands and use their growing skills to explore different types of data related to global tectonics.

Data investigated include:

  • Topography and bathymetry

  • Crustal thickness and seismic velocity structure

  • GPS velocities and global plate motion models

  • Seismicity and focal mechanisms

  • Earthquake slip vector azimuths

  • Gravity data of various flavors

  • Crustal magnetization

  • Geological structures of the oceans and continents

  • Subducted slab geometries (Slab2.0)

Example questions that students grapple with in this class

How do we describe and measure the motion of Earth's tectonic plates?

How do Earth's tectonic plates fit together, and how are they created and destroyed?

What basic physical principles can we use to understand how tectonics works?

Why does Earth's topography have two dominant elevations, and what processes affect elevation both locally and globally?

How can we connect the geophysical data we measure today with long-term geological processes?

How can we 'read' different landscapes to better understand tectonic processes, past and present?