Teaching and Research Interests
- Kinematics of ductile shear zones
- Tectonics and regional geology of the
Southern Appalachian Mountains - Applied geophysics
- Online and non-traditional experiential
geosciences education
Education
- Ph.D. (1983), Geological Sciences, Albany State
- M.S. (1977), Geological Sciences, Virginia Tech
- B.S. (1974), Geology, Birmingham-Southern College
Profile
My long-term research interests include the tectonics and regional geology of the Southern Appalachian Mountains, particularly within the eastern crystalline core of the chain. Numerous embedded orogen-parallel ductile shear zones in this area contain kinematic indicators for strike- or oblique-slip during mid- to late-Paleozoic deformation that is more characteristically compressional in the western part of the mountain belt. In addition to the Paleozoic kinematic significance of these structures, many shear zones were also reactivated to nucleate Mesozoic rift basins. I have continued to evaluate all of these relationships in field sites throughout North Carolina and Virginia.
Part of my research on continuous deformation is theoretical. It is clear in many ductile shear zones that deformation cannot be purely or simple shear. This recognition underscores the need to establish models for shear that incorporate the vorticity components of pure and simple shearing. The result of this analysis is the kinematic vorticity number, a measure of the balance between shearing components that can be verified through field studies. This line of research is intermittent but remains of interest.
I am also involved in studies of neo-tectonics. In the Appalachians, “neo-tectonics” often refers to the identification of structures that could be related to Tertiary and/or Quaternary activity. I have previously studied potential neotectonic areas along the Fall Line in eastern Virginia and possible Quaternary faulting in the western Virginia Piedmont, specifically in the Mountain Run fault zone, which lies at the physiographic boundary between the Blue Ridge and Piedmont provinces. My current research is in the Uwharrie Mountains of central North Carolina, where I study the deformation associated with accretion of peri-Gondwanan arcs to the eastern Laurentian margin, fracture mechanics of mechanical weathering in felsic volcanic rocks, and Holocene geomorphology.
I have taught a range of courses, including structural geology, applied geophysics, tectonics, Appalachian geology, geodynamics, and general curriculum courses in liberal studies and physical geology.
At this time, I am not accepting new graduate students.