Undergraduate Course: Structural Analysis of Rocks and Regions (SARR) (EASC09052)
This course will be closed from 31 July 2025
Course Outline
| School | School of Geosciences |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 9 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | Structural geology and rock deformation affect a large number of economic, environmental and societal interfaces with planet Earth, and the response of rocks to plate motions shapes our planet's appearance. This course will teach not only a fundamental knowledge of the parameters that govern the relationship between stress and strain but put the rock response into a perspective that seamlessly ties in with material taught in related courses.
The course introduces key concepts of structural geology and tectonic analyses. Over 10 weeks, a broad range of topics are covered, and the basics of the structural analysis of rocks is being conveyed. The course starts with the driving forces of rock deformation and its fundamental descriptors. It then covers the principal types of deformation structures before demonstrating the most relevant tectonic settings and their typical macro-, meso-, and microstructures. Specialist skills relevant to the topics covered each week are trained in practicals. Students furthermore consolidate and deepen their knowledge on structural geology and tectonics in an independent project. In that project they utilise their new skills and knowledge to summarise the deformation history of one of five deformed regions over seven weeks. The course follows entry level textbooks on Structural Geology. |
| Course description |
The course exposes you to multi-scale data sets from a wide range of structural settings. The course runs over ten weeks, with lectures, practicals and tutorials each week. Each week is dedicated to a particular structural topic, which is introduced in the lectures and illustrated through well-chosen examples. The course covers a wide range of deformation processes and styles.
In preparation for the thematic lectures and practicals, students are referred to selected chapters in textbooks to pick up the fundamental ideas of structural geology and tectonics, which are then applied in the classroom. Weekly practicals train skills relevant to the topic.
In an independent project between weeks 3 and 10, you will engage with a topic of your choice that is relevant to structural geology. You will explore the topic using a selection of research papers and data. You will combine all of these materials in the preparation for your talks, which you will give in week 10.
The learning materials are coordinated through LEARN, which also hosts a discussion forum that is monitored and moderated by academic staff.
The course is delivered by two academic staff; Mikael Attal & Auriol Rae.
Syllabus
Week 1: Deformation and strain (kinematics): How do we describe deformation?
Week 2: Stress & Stress in the lithosphere
Week 3: Fracturing, faults, paleostress
Week 4: Rheology & Deformation at the microscale: How to best deal with stress under varying circumstances.
Week 5: Shear zones, strain localization, mylonites
Week 6: Foliations and Lineations
Week 7: Folding & Boudinage
Week 8: Contractional Regimes
Week 9: Extensional Regimes
Week 10: Strike-slip, transtension, transpression
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Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Develop an in-depth understanding of the link between plate motions and rock response along plate boundaries both in terms of mineralogy, rock fabrics and fluid transport properties
- Recognize, describe and conduct simple analyses on deformed rocks
- Develop skills in synthesizing the geology of an area through the integrated use of maps, cross-sections, diagrams and accompanying reports
- Develop skills in visualizing map and related field data in three dimensions using appropriate graphical techniques
- Get to know tectonically active regions of our planet and get a feel for the frontiers of research in tectonics and structural geology
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Reading List
Recommended Reading
A comprehensive selection of papers that relate regions with deformation processes and present the datasets discussed in the lectures. Most of the resources will be available on Learn. The following textbook is recommended:
Fossen, H., 2016. Structural Geology. Cambridge University Press, 2nd Edition, ISBN 9781107057647.
http://www.docs.is.ed.ac.uk/docs/library/ResourceLists/Resource_Lists_and_the_Accesible_and_Inclusive_Learning_Policy.pdf
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Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Mikael Attal
Tel: (0131 6)50 8533
Email: mikael.attal@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mr Johan De Klerk
Tel: (0131 6)50 7010
Email: johan.deklerk@ed.ac.uk |
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