Structural Geology: Basic Concepts to Integrated Analyses

George H. Davis
Department of Geosciences, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA

Abstract

Structural geology is the study of the architecture of the earth's crust, insofar as that architecture is expressed in deformation fashioned by tectonic and/or gravitational loading. For industry geoscientists, a grasp of faults, folds, fractures, and their interrelationships is especially important in rendering viable subsurface interpretations. Given the fact that subsurface data and information are always incomplete, development of enhanced 3D spatial skills is essential to visualizing the 3D nature of structures and structural systems. Enhanced 3D visualization is more than "seeing" geometries. Mastering geometric analysis is essential, but not sufficient. Enhanced 3D visualization grows from grounding in the interplay of geometry, kinematics, mechanics, dynamics, and rheology.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #120140© 2014 AAPG Hedberg Conference 3D Structural Geologic Interpretation: Earth, Mind and Machine, June 23-27, 2013, Reno, Nevada