Undergraduate Course: Structural Geology and Tectonics (EASC09062)
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 Tectonics (SGT) explores the principles and processes governing rock deformation across scales, from microstructures to regional tectonics. Through a combination of lectures, practical sessions, and student-led exercises, students will develop foundational skills in recording, representing, and analysing structural data. The course is organized into three sections, covering fundamental structural geology concepts, the mechanisms of rock deformation, and the application of these principles to different tectonic settings. Practical exercises emphasize the use of modern tools, including QGIS and Python, as well as traditional methods, to analyse data from diverse tectonic environments. By the end of the course, students will be able to synthesize multi-scale geological observations and apply their understanding to tectonic problems, preparing them for advanced studies and research in Earth Sciences. |
| Course description |
Structural Geology and Tectonics (SGT) is delivered over ten weeks and arranged around three sections that form an introduction to structural geology, rock deformation and major tectonic settings. SGT highlights how structural geology and tectonics link to other Earth sciences disciplines and the societal interfaces with the deforming planet. The course is designed to transition from a traditional teacher-led format of lectures and practicals, providing students with the fundamental principles of structural geology, towards student-led learning through exercises that allow them to apply their knowledge and integrate multi-scale observations to understand the geology of regions.
Practicals will focus on key skills used in the analysis of tectonic data from deformed rocks and regions, and plate tectonics with an emphasis on working with maps and cross sections (both manually and digitally), as well as rock specimen, outcrop data, and geophysical data. Emphasis will be placed on combining information from different sources and scales.
The three sections of the course are:
S1 (W1-2) - Fundamentals of Structural Geology:
This section of the course will introduce the students to the fundamental concepts of structural geology. First, students will understand how structural data is recorded, represented, and analysed. Then, students will be introduced to the mathematics that quantify deformation, and the forces responsible for that deformation. In this section of the course, learning objectives are primarily addressed through lecture material, and practical material is used to support and reinforce the learning outcomes.
L1: What is structural geology and why does it matter?
Components of a Geological Map, modern and traditional data collection, stereonets and their interpretation.
P1: Representation of data in structural geology
Measuring lines and planes, plotting and interpreting stereonets. Manual and digital recording of structural data and manual and digital (Stereonet 11) plotting of data and interpretation.
L2: Vector and Tensor Calculus in Structural Geology
Stress and its representation (stress tensor, principal stresses), strain and its representation (finite vs. infinitesimal strain, the strain ellipsoid, pure and simple shear, coaxial strain and vorticity), introduction to rheology.
P2: Stress and strain tensors
Manipulation of the stress tensor and determining principal stresses manually and using software (EigenCalc). Measuring strain in two- and three-dimensions. Conduct strain analysis on deformed rocks using image analysis (ScikitImage-Python).
S2 (W3-6) - Deformation in Rocks:
This section of the course will address how and why rocks deform, and how that deformation is expressed from the micro- to regional-scale. This section is structured by the mechanisms by which deformation occurs. In this section of the course, the learning objectives are primarily addressed through the practical material, which will provide the students with the skills required to independently analyse structural and tectonic datasets. The lecture material supports the practical exercises through the introduction of key concepts.
L3: Brittle deformation
Earthquakes, fractures (tensile and shear), triaxial rock mechanics, Mohr's circles, failure envelopes, Byerlee's Law, pore-fluids and hydrofracture, joints and mechanics, fractures and permeability.
P3: Mohr's circles and rock failure
Plotting Mohr's circles (MohrPlotter3), understanding rock failure in compression and tension, pore-fluid pressure, and application to engineering.
L4: Ductile deformation
Fold descriptors, fold mechanisms (buckling, bending, and passive folding), folds in multi-layers, fold interference, rock fabrics (foliations and lineations).
P4: Stereographic analysis of folds
Plotting stereonents (manual and Stereonet 11), determining fold axis and shape from a stereonet, bedding-cleavage intersections, unravelling a deformation history.
L5: The brittle-ductile continuum
Fault-rock classification, brittle fault zones (R, P, T, and M fractures), ductile shear zones and their evolution (S-C-C- fabrics), brittle-ductile shear (e.g., en-echelon tension gashes), boudinage.
P5: Strength of the lithosphere
Brittle failure, power-law creep (Python), relation to seismogenic thickness, relating structures to P-T- conditions.
L6: Deformation mechanisms and microstructures
Brittle deformation (fracturing and sliding) and flow (granular and cataclastic), plastic flow (crystal plasticity and creep), shear-sense indicatiors, introduction to EBSD.
P6: Microstructures under the microscope
Observing deformation structures and microstructures in hand-specimen and thin-section. Quantitative link between microstructures and stress and strain.
S3 (W7-10) - Structural Geology in Context:
Each week of this section is dedicated to a particular tectonic setting. The settings are introduced by pairing case studies on deformational events from the geological record with studies from actively deforming regions on the planet. In that way, students will combine different kinds of information and data, and practice thinking about how the past informs the present and vice versa. The case studies are chosen so that in sum, they represent all important deformation processes and styles, excellent (teaching) material is available to allow for a true multi-scale and integrated assessment using a wide range of data.
In this section, students will have access to a carefully curated collection of research papers, from which lecture material is also drawn. Where possible, we provide maps, cross sections, specimen, and other relevant data to explore. The learning materials are coordinated through LEARN, which also hosts a discussion forum that is moderated by demonstrators and monitored by academic staff.
L7: Convergent tectonic settings
Fold and thrust belts, Subduction zones, the modern-day seismic record, aseismic deformation, thick skinned tectonics, thin-skinned tectonics.
P7: The anatomy of subduction zones
Analyse seismic and other structural data from an active, convergent tectonic region (e.g. the Nankai Trough).
L8: Divergent tectonic settings
Extension in the oceans and continents, rifts, metamorphic core complexes.
P8: The anatomy of a rift
Plot and interpret bathymetric/elevation datasets from oceanic core complexes (QGIS). Analyse seismic and sedimentological datasets from an active rift zone (ObsPy, e.g. Corinth).
L9: Conservative plate boundaries
The seismic cycle, fault structure and plate boundaries across the lithosphere, transform faults and their role in orogens, triple junctions.
P9: The anatomy of a strike-slip fault
Plate motions with GPS data and the seismic record at the San Andreas Fault. Analyse borehole data and samples from a scientific drill hole.
L10: Planetary tectonics
Rheological structure of planets, one- and multiple-plate planets, sources of tectonic stress, heat sources and heat transfer in planets, folds and faults on other planets.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | At the discretion of the CO. |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2025/26, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 20,
Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 30,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
146 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
50 %,
Coursework
50 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
50% of the course is assessed through a 2-hour examination. Part A (40 mins) will be a calculation or map question. Part B (1 hr 20 mins) will provide a choice of 4 questions: the students must answer 2 of the 4 questions. Overall, the examination will focus on assessing Learning Outcome 1 and 2, and may incorporate elements of structural analysis as it pertains to Learning Outcome 3. «br /»
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50% of the course is assessed through an independently produced, professional oral presentation (unchanged from original SARR and TARR proposals), where students explore pre-formulated research questions on either: a) the topics contained in Section 2 of the course; or b) field areas contained within Section 3 of the course. The presentation topics will be focussed on the tectonic history of regions, addressing Learning Objective 4, and will reward students who produce original analysis and representation of structural and geospatial datasets (Learning Outcome 3), and who are able to relate the geological record of deformation to the fundamental forces and deformation processes that occur during tectonism (Learning Outcome 2). «br /»
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Formative Assessment «br /»
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Every two weeks (5 exercises in total), a ~1-2 hour map and calculation-based exercise sheet will be given to the students. During the tutorial, formative feedback will be provided on the exercise. «br /»
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Additionally, students will be assigned short (~3 minute) multiple-choice quizzes at the beginning of each lecture session. Answers will be provided immediately in the session. These quizzes will be used by the teaching staff to assess student understanding of the previous week's material, and provide feedback to the students, allowing the student to understand what material they need to revise in further detail. |
| Feedback |
Students will be given feedback in weekly practicals and tutorials, including formative assessment on the biweekly exercises. Additionally, students will set short, multiple choice quizzes each week that they will receive immediate feedback from. These quizzes will be used to guide the content of tutorial sessions. Later, as students prepare their independent presentations, they will receive progress feedback from the course team during tutorials. They will be actively encouraged to ask questions and engage in online discussion forums. The practicals will be organised as group work where there is the opportunity to receive peer feedback. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Independently recognize and quantitatively describe deformed rocks and tectonic structures.
- Explain the links between stress, the response of geological materials, and the geological record of rock deformation at all scales.
- Record, represent, and analyse structural and geospatial datasets using a range of techniques for data visualisation and interpretation.
- Critically evaluate, synthesize, and present the tectonic history of an area through the integrated use of maps and cross-sections, outcrop data, hand-specimen, thin-sections, and geophysical data.
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Reading List
Course textbooks will include a range of research papers and selected text book chapters. Key textbook reading will be selected from:
Structural Geology by Haakon Fossen (2016)
Structural Geology Algorithms by Richard Allmendinger et al. (2011)
Global Tectonics by Phillip Kearey et al. (2009)
All software used within the course is freely and openly available. Many of these software packages will already be familiar to the students from earlier data analysis courses. Key software packages include:
QGIS, Stereonet 11, Python (with modules including numpy, scipy, matplotlib, and Obspy), and MohrPlotter3. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
The course builds on skills and knowledge acquired in Rock-forming Processes and other courses across the Earth Science, Geophysics, and ESPG degree programmes: Geology and Landscapes, Earth Materials, Introduction to Geophysics, and Field Skills for Earth Sciences (and Physical Geography).
It consolidates and expands on the following aspects:
By integrating spatial and temporal information, SGT trains 3D/4D visualisation and thinking.
The complex coupling of processes across length scales leads to a multi-scale understanding of global tectonics.
By working with real-life data from past and active tectonic settings, students will train in model building from limited datasets and abstraction.
The complex data analysed develops pattern-recognition skills.
Our limited and incomplete means to document and describe the record of rock deformation will develop student¿s skills in dealing with uncertainties.
Consolidate and advance quantitative data analysis skills.
Through its delivery, SGT will furthermore consolidate a range of transferable skills, including independent research, critical thinking, synthesizing information from different sources and presentation skills. |
| Keywords | structural geology,tectonics,rock deformation |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Auriol Rae
Tel:
Email: auriol.rae@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mr Johan De Klerk
Tel: (0131 6)50 7010
Email: johan.deklerk@ed.ac.uk |
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