Structural Analysis and Synthesis ebook is available to be downloaded here now.
- Title: Structural Analysis and Synthesis – A Laboratory Course In Structural Geology
- Authors: Stephen M. Rowland (Author), Ernest M. Duebendorfer (Author), Ilsa M. Schiefelbein (Author)
- Publisher: Blackwell
- Pages: 322
This book is intended for use in the laboratory portion of a first course in structural geology. Structural geology, like all courses, is taught differently by different people. We have tried to strike a balance between an orderly sequence of topics and a collection of independent chapters that can be flexibly shuffled about to suit the instructor. Chapter 5 on stereographic projection, for example, may be moved up by those instructors who like to engage their students with stereonets as early as possible, and Chapter 12 on rheologic models may be moved up by those who start with an introduction to stress and strain.
There is, however, an underlying strategy and continuity in the organization of the material. As is explicit in the title, this book is concerned with both the analysis and synthesis of structural features. There is a strong emphasis on geologic maps throughout, and most of the first 10 chapters in volve some interaction with a contrived geologic map of the mythical Bree Creek Quadrangle. The folded Bree Creek map will be found in an envelope at the back of the book. Before beginning work on Chapter 3 the student is asked to color the Bree Creek Quadrangle map. More than mere busy work, this map coloring requires the student to look carefully at the distribution of each rock unit.
The Bree Creek Quadrangle becomes the student’s ‘‘map area’’ for the remainder of the course. Various aspects of the map are analyzed in Chapters 2 through 10 (except for Chapter 6); in Chapter 11 these are synthesized into a written summary of the structural history of the quadrangle. Some instructors will choose to skip this synthesis, but we hope that most do not—students need all the writing practice they can get. We have placed the synthesis report in Chapter 11 so that it would not be at the very end of the semester, to allow some writing time. Chapters 12 through 17, in any case, contain material that is less conducive to this teaching approach.