Research in Structure and Tectonics

Virginia Elswick (MS student), under the Brook Mountain Granite, York Mountains, Alaska, 2002

Active Research

• Tectonic Evolution of Chukotka (NE Russia)
  • Collaborative Project with Elizabeth Miller (Stanford), Marinna Tushkova (Russsian Academy of Sciences, Moscow), and Sergey Sokolov (Russsian Academy of Sciences, Moscow)
  • Does the Brooks Range Fold-and-Thrust Belt Continue into Arctic Russia? Pending proposal to NSF Polar Programs (Download pdf)
  • AGU 2004 Presentation
  • Deformation History of Central Chukotka (Alarmaut Uplift) Northeastern Arctic Russia
    *S M Katkov, E E Miller, I I Podgorny, J Toro AGU 2004 [Abstract]
  • Triassic terrigeneous deposits of Western Chukotka: sedimentation, mineral composition, deformations (NE Russia) *M I Tuchkova, G Y Bondarenko, E L Miller, S M Katkov [Abstract]

   

• Intelligent Systems Approach to Reservoir Characterization
  • Collaborative Project with Shahab Mohaghegh (Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering) and Tom Wilson.
  • Funded by DOE NETL
  • M.S. Thesis- Alejandro Sanchez (asanchez@geo.wvu.edu)- 3D SEISMIC INTERPRETATION AND SYNTHETIC MODELING OF THE ATOKA AND MORROW FORMATIONS, IN THE BUFFALO VALLEY FIELD (DELAWARE BASIN, N.M, CHAVES CO.) FOR RESERVOIR CHARACTERIZATION USING NEURAL NETWORKS
  • AAPG 2004 Eastern Section Abstract (pdf)

   

• Fault-related gas reservoirs in the Appalachian Foreland
  • M.S. Thesis -Craig A. Edmonds (Craig_Edmonds@DOM.com) - NATURAL GAS EXPLORATION ASSOCIATED WITH FRACTURE SYSTEMS IN ALLEGHENIAN THRUST FAULTS IN THE GREENBRIER FORMATION, SOUTHERN WEST VIRGINIA
  • Sponsored by Dominion Exploration and Production
  • AAPG 2004 Eastern Section Abstract

   

• Extensional Deformation in the York Mountains, Seward Peninsula, Alaska.

  EDMAP project funded by the USGS and WVU Senate Grant.

• M.S. Project -Laura Burnette (lburnette@geo.wvu.edu)
• North to Alaska - Sept. 2003 story in the Mountaineer Spirit
• 2004 Northeastern GSA Presentation
  • Abstract
  • Poster pdf (18Mb)
  •  
• 3D Structural and Kinematic Model of the Hope Basin, Alaska
  • M.S. Project- Virginia Elswick (vaelswick@hotmail.com)
  • See abstract and download PDF files of Virginia's Thesis (2003)

• 2003 GSA Presentation in Seattle:SEISMIC INTERPRETATION AND STRUCTURAL EVALUATION OF THE HOPE BASIN, ALASKA
  • Abstract
  • Download our 2003 GSA poster in PDF format
• Virginia Elswick is currently working for Schlumberger in Oklahoma.

   

• Mesozoic rifting in the Middle Magdalena Basin, Colombia

• M.S. Project- Luisa Rolon Vidal (lrolon@geo.wvu.edu)
  • See abstract and download PDF files of Luisa's Thesis (2004)
  • Download PDF of abstract submited to the VIII Congress on Petroleum Exploration in the Subandean Basins, Cartagena, Sep. 2003.

     

• Kinematic and Thermal History of the Verkhoyansk Fold and Thrust Belt (Eastern Siberia)
  • Funded by EXXON-Mobil

• Read a story about our 1999 field seasons in the Verkhoyansk
• 2001 GSA- PowerPoint presentation on the South Verkhoyansk
• 2004 AGU- PowerPoint presentation

   

• SHRIMP-RG and Partial Dissolution U-Pb Geochronology of the Brooks Range Orthogneisses (Alaska)

• See a webpage on our results

Recent Projects

• Kinematics of detachment folding, Appalachian Valley and Ridge, West Virginia Appalachians (M.S. Project - Matt Giffels)
  • See abstract and download PDF files of Matt's Thesis (2002)
  • Matt is now working on a Ph D on the Bighorn Uplift (WY) with Dr. Eric Erslev at Colorado State Univ.
• Kinematic and thermal evolution of the Eastern Cordillera thrust belt (Colombia)
• Structure and thermochronology of the metamorphic core of the Brooks Range (Alaska)
  • Download PDF of paper in GSA Special Paper 360, 2002
• Structural Evolution the Koolen metamorphic complex, Chukotka Peninsula (North Eastern Russia)
  • Download PDF of Tectonics, 2003 paper
  • Download PDF of Tectonics, 1999 paper

Cretaceous(?) detachment fault in the York Mountains, Seward Peninsula, Alaska. Unmetamorphosed Ordovician limestone on the hanging wall. Polydefromed marble, slate, and quartzite in the footwall. Photo looking west.