Structural Geology: An Introduction To Geometrical Techniques - 4th Edition

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E-Book Overview

This combination of text and lab book presents an entirely different approach to structural geology. Designed for undergraduate laboratory classes, it provides a step-by-step guide for solving geometric problems arising from structural field observations. The book discusses both traditional methods and cutting-edge approaches, with emphasis given to graphical methods and visualization techniques that support students in tackling challenging two- and three-dimensional problems. Numerous exercises encourage practice in using the techniques, and demonstrate how field observations can be converted into useful information about geological structures and the processes responsible for creating them. This updated fourth edition incorporates new material on stress, deformation, strain and flow, and the underlying mathematics of the subject. With stereonet plots and solutions to the exercises available online at www.cambridge.org/ragan, this book is a key resource for undergraduates, advanced students and researchers wanting to improve their practical skills in structural geology.

E-Book Content

This page intentionally left blank STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY An Introduction to Geometrical Techniques fourth edition Many textbooks describe information and theories about the Earth without training students to utilize real data to answer basic geological questions. This volume – a combination of text and lab book – presents an entirely different approach to structural geology. Designed for undergraduate laboratory classes, it is dedicated to helping students solve many of the geometrical problems that arise from field observations. The basic approach is to supply step-by-step instructions to guide students through the methods, which include well-established techniques as well as more cutting-edge approaches. Particular emphasis is given to graphical methods and visualization techniques, intended to support students in tackling traditionally challenging two- and three-dimensional problems. Exercises at the end of each chapter provide students with practice in using the techniques, and demonstrate how observations and measurements from the field can be converted into useful information about geological structures and the processes responsible for creating them. Building on the success of previous editions, this fourth edition has been brought fully up-to-date and incorporates new material on stress, deformation, strain and flow. Also new to this edition are a chapter on the underlying mathematics and discussions of uncertainties associated with particular types of measurement. With stereonet plots and full solutions to the exercises available online at www.cambridge.org/ragan, this book is a key resource for undergraduate students as well as more advanced students and researchers wanting to improve their practical skills in structural geology. D o n R a g a n was educated at Occidental College, University of Southern California and at the University of Washington in Seattle, receiving his Ph.D. in 1960. He spent a year as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Innsbruck, and later, with a National Science Foundation Fellowship, at Imperial College, London, where he received a Diploma of Membership in Geology (DIC). His teaching career at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, and at Arizona State University has spanned a total of 34 years, and has focused on imbuing students with a thorough understanding of geometrical and analytical techniques in structural geology. His research interests center on the role of structural settings in structure-making processes, including studies of Alpine peridotites, glacial ice and welded tuffs. STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY An Introduction to Geometrical Techniques fourth edition donal m. ragan Arizona State University, USA CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge, New York, Melbo