GEOL 5670 - Tectonophysics

• Graduate students are expected to perform at a higher level than their undergraduate counterparts. They are expected to have a more sophisticated grasp of current debates regarding the course topics.
• Graduate students are expected to write a paper describing case studies of applications of tectonophysics modeling and to prepare and lead discussions of these applications for 20% of their grade.
• Be able to apply heat flow theory to cooling problems including the cooling of oceanic lithosphere and the solidification of igneous intrusions.
• Be able to apply the theory of thermal stresses to derive ocean floor topography and the subsidence histories of sedimentary basins.
• Be familiar with tensor descriptions of stress and strain (and strain rates) in mechanics problems involving earth materials.
• Be familiar with the Anderson theory of friction in faults and be able to apply it to thrust sheets and the elastic rebound model of strike-slip faulting.
• Be familiar with the diffusional and dislocation creep mechanisms of typical mantle rocks and their influence on styles of mantle convection.
• Determine lithospheric plate deformation in problems involving loading by volcanic islands, flexure caused by subduction, subsidence in sedimentary basins and buckling in zones of continental convergence.
• Know representative values of elastic moduli for the primary rocks and minerals in the Earth’s crust and mantle.
• Know representative values of thermal conductivity, diffusivity and thermal expansion coefficients for the primary rocks and minerals in the Earth’s crust and mantle.
• Know the basic laws of steady-state heat conduction in three dimensions and the governing equation for heat diffusion under time-varying conditions.
• Know the two-dimensional governing equation for elastic plate deformation and common boundary conditions used for applications to lithospheric deformation.
• Understand the means of radioactive heat production and its effect on continental geotherms.