After completing the course, the student will be able to:
- Locate him or herself accurately on a map or airphoto, using resection, topography, and other information
- Measure and/or estimate
- attitudes of planar features
- bedding
- foliation
- axial planes
- slopes
- including when those features dip < 10°
- including when those features are not physically accessible
- attitudes of linear features
- lineation
- fold axes
- moraine crests and other linear geomorphic features
- elevation differences
- horizontal distances
- thickness of geologic units
- Identify geologic units
- define a set of criteria to distinguish units in the field
- describe units accurately in map legends and written reports
- Define, identify and locate contacts between map units or other features in the field and accurately represent them on a map
- Distinguish between different types of contacts (depositional, fault, intrusive, etc.)
- Infer or project contact locations underneath cover based on attitudes, presence of float, and weathering profiles
- Represent degree of certainty of contact locations with varying line types
- Use the "rule of Vs" to extrapolate contact locations based on attitude and topography
- Measure thicknesses of geologic units using a variety of techniques
- Produce both "contact maps" and "outcrop maps" and know when to use each type.
- Understand the relationship between apparent dip and true dip
- Produce reasonable interpretive cross-sections from map data to describe structures and interpretations in 3-dimensions
- Produce professional scientific reports that summarize the geology and interpretations of the student’s map and cross sections, with reference to previous work and to the regional geologic setting.
- take neat, accurate field notes, including sketches
- Map in structurally complex settings
- recognize, measure, and interpret small- to medium-scale structures
- folds
- faults
- foliation
- lineation
- Use stereonets to infer structural orientations
- gather and tabulate appropriate data to address the given problem
- accurately plot data on stereonets
- draw appropriate inferences from data sets
- Infer large-scale structures based on field data
- Use geologic information on air photos and topographic maps to extrapolate mapping between ground control points, and to improve field-mapping efficiency
- Perform fieldwork in a variety of geologic settings
- Map and interpret stratified (e.g., volcanic, sedimentary) rocks
- Map and interpret non-stratified (e.g., plutonic, some metamorphic) rocks
- Map and interpret geomorphic (e.g., glacial, fluvial, alluvial) deposits