Peter DeCelles
Professor, Tectonics, Stratigraphy and Sedimentology
My research focuses on the origins of major mountain belts and associated sedimentary basins. I combine stratigraphy and sedimentology with field mapping and regional structural geology to understand the structure and kinematic history of major thrust belts in the Himalaya, Tibet, central Andes, western USA, and the central Mediterranean. I have also worked extensively on the sedimentology of foreland, extensional, strike-slip successor, and forearc basins. My students and I spend several months per year in the field, mapping, measuring sections, and collecting samples for various types of analyses. The collaborative nature of our Department allows us to work closely with other scientists in various fields, including radiogenic and stable isotope geochemistry, geochronology, seismology, petrology, thermochronology, and geodynamics. My current and recent PhD students are working on projects all over the world, including basin analysis, structural geology, stable isotope geochemistry, and geochronology.
Courses
Geosciences 456/556, Thrust Belts
- Reading List
- Movies
Research Projects
Some ongoing and recent projects are described below.
- Kinematic history of the Himalayan thrust belt and foreland basin system, Nepal
- Paleogene foreland basin history and tectonics of the central Andes
- Kinematic history of the Cordilleran thrust belt and foreland basin system, western USA
- Cretaceous-Tertiary tectonic history of the Lhasa terrane, southern Tibet
Photo Gallery
- 2004 Sedimentary Basin Analysis fieldtrip description and slide show
- 2005 Summer Field Camp slide show
- 2007 Summer Field Camp slide show
Recent CV
Recent Publications
Videos
Office: Gould-Simpson Bldg. 331
Phone: 520-621-4910
Fax: 520-621-2672
Email: decelles@email.arizona.edu