GEOS 477/577 ACTIVE TECTONICS

COURSE SYLLABUS

Geos 477/577, Active Tectonics, Spring 2005
Wednesdays, 2:30–5:00 pm, GS-209, 3 credits
Office Hours: Wednesday, 11:00–12:00 noon or by appointment

Instructors:  Susan L. Beck, Gould-Simpson Room 208

Course Description: Active tectonics is a diverse field that can be broadly defined as tectonic movements and processes that are expected to occur within a future time span and of concern to society. Each class will be a combination of lecture and discussion. Attendance is required.

Prequisites: Introduction to Geophysics (Geos. 322) and Structural Geology (Geos. 321) or equivalent background.

Books and Readings

• Living on an Active Earth, Perspectives on Earthquake Science, 2001, National Research Council of the National Academies. (Required, available from the National Academy Press, hardcover or pdf versions available or read it free on line, http://lab.nap.edu
• The Geology of Earthquakes, 1997, Yeats, Sieh and Allen (Recommended)
• The Mechanics of Earthquakes and Faulting, 2002, Chris Scholz, Cambridge Press. (Optional)
• Active tectonics literature (average of 2-3 papers per week)

Grading will be based on the following:

Geos 477 (Undergraduate students): Exam = 40%, Final project /website and presentation = 40%, Class participation & homework = 20%
Geos 577 (Graduate students): Exam = 30%, Final project /website and presentation = 40%, Class participation and homework = 30%
Graduate students will be required to give one or two presentations during the semester.

Useful Web Sites for Earthquake and Active Tectonics Information

USGS National Earthquake Information Center (they have a good page with answers to lots of questions about earthquakes, as well as good, up to date global earthquake information):
http://wwwneic.cr.usgs.gov/
Seismosurfing the Internet (Steve Malone):
http://www.geophys.washington.edu/seismosurfing.html
IRIS Data Management Center (collects data from the Global Seismic Network):
http://www.iris.washington.edu/
USGS Geological hazards: http://geohazards.cr.usgs.gov
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/
International Data Center (monitoring of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty):
http://www.pidc.org/
Harvard Seismology ("CMT catalog search" or "On-line data" will take you to search form for moderate-large earthquake parameters, including focal mechanisms):
http://www.seismology.harvard.edu/
Stress triggering:
http://quake.wr.usgs.gov/research/deformation/modeling/index.html
USGS Western Region (has maps and info for recent earthquakes in the Western US):
http://quake.wr.usgs.gov/
Information on various earthquake-related research (recent papers online as well):
http://quake.wr.usgs.gov/study/
http://quake.wr.usgs.gov/research/index.html
U.S.G.S. The Paleoseismology Page: http://geohazards.cr.usgs.gov/paleosei/PPMain.htm
U.S.G.S. Northridge Earthquake Home Page: http://geohazards.cr.usgs.gov/northridge/index.html
Southern California Earthquake Center: http://www.scec.org
Northern California Earthquake Data Center: http://quake.geo.berkeley.edu
Plate Motion Calculator: http://manbow.ori.u-tokyo.ac.jp/tamaki-html/plate_motion.html
Active tectonics: http://www.activetectonics.com

Websites for the Dec. 26, 2004 Sumatra Earthquake and Tsunami

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqinthenews/2004/usslav/
http://www.iris.iris.edu/sumatra/
http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/spotlight/tsunami/tsunami.html
http://www.asiantsunamivideos.com/
http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/visualization/collections/tsunami.html
http://temp.water.usgs.gov/tsunami/research1.html
http://www.tectonics.caltech.edu/sumatra/main/paleo.html
http://www.eri.u-tokyo.ac.jp/sanchu/Seismo_Note/2004/EIC161e.html
http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/tsunami/
http://www.digitalglobe.com/
http://tsun.sscc.ru/tsulab/20041226wave_h.htm

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