Channel Title: Rob Butler Channel Description: Welcome to "the Shear Zone" - a hub for educational videos on geology, developed by Rob Butler of the University of Aberdeen. The materials focus on the interpretation of the geometry and relationships found in and between rocks - topics embraced by the term "structural geology". This involves the study of rock deformation - describing and understanding how rocks are broken, folded and distorted. And this links through the scales, from grains to plates. But it also includes broader ideas on how rock formations are organised - which is fundamental to stratigraphic understanding, deducing earth history and the processes that have shaped it. You can find videos on the interpretation of geological maps, 2D seismic profiles of the subsurface alongside developing ideas on how deformation structures, sedimentary basins, mountain belts and tectonic plates work. Supporting materials (maps, images, course notes) will go up on the companion website: . <video> Aberdeenshire geo-tour Description: A quick look at geology, landscapes and some heritage in NE Scotland - a film made to promote Scotland bid, on behalf of the UK, to host the 38th International Geological Congress in 2028. </video> <video> Faults in the landscape - a peek at the Piqiang Fault Description: Part of the Shear Zone Channel. This is a look at a much-seen but little-visited structure evident on Google Earth - the Piqiang Fault. It illustrates the need to place tectonic faults in their geological context to avoid mis-interpretation (or at least being over-confident in interpretation). #geology #tectonics #strikeslip #piqiang #tarim #googlearth </video> <video> Recognising basin inversion.... by sketch restoration Description: Part of The Shear Zone Channel. Rob goes through a rapid technique for assessing fault reactivation - the inversion of sedimentary basins - via a quick-pass restoration. The commentary explains the reasoning. You can find other films on inversion tectonics in the "sedimentary basins" playlist. The exercise itself is available on The Shear Zone website, linked from the channel banner. https://theshearzone.wordpress.com/exercises-in-structural-geology/ #geology #tectonics #sedimentarybasins #structuralgeology #faults </video> <video> Basic map interpretation - Lycoming County sheet Description: From The Shear Zone Channel. Follow along as Rob goes through the interpretation of the geological map of Lycoming County in #pennsylvania. We explore how outcrop patterns for sub-horizontal strata incised by river valleys contrast with those of folded strata. These insights are used to construct a sketch geological cross-section that is used to establish the stratigraphic succession in the area. #geology #stratigraphy #structuralgeology #crosssection </video> <video> The Highlands Controversy - revisited: geo-interpretation lessons from history Description: Part of The Shear Zone Channel. Join Rob as he visits key locations, guided by the writings and illustrations of the key players in one of the great arguments in early geology. Together we can see how fieldwork in NW Scotland in the 1850s and 60s created confusion about the geological structure, eventually resolved with the recognition of the Moine Thrust. But this is a prequel - contrasting the interpretations of Murchison with his team-mate Archibald Geikie as they argued with James Nicol... And how these arguments, assumptions and approaches taken by the protagonists offer warnings to those creating geological interpretations - even today.... </video> <video> Dating rocks - an intro to geochronology Description: Part of The Shear Zone Channel. Getting a robust timescale is important not only for establishing Earth history but also for getting a rates of geological processes. This is a short introduction to radiometric dating, building to some classic studies that use the Rb-Sr system - to date the formation of the solar system, some basalts from the Moon and from old granites on Earth. #geology #radiometricdating #solarsystem #geochronology #tectonics #rbsr #isotopes </video> <video> Ups and downs in the French Alps - a tectonic geo-hike in Champsaur Description: Part of The Shear Zone Channel. Join Rob on a hike in the Ecrins National Park, investigating the geology and tectonic evolution revealed in this stunning landscape. There are some great rock-sequences, including sandstones deposited under deep water just 35 million years ago that are now folded and uplifted to be over two kilometres high in the Alps. But these mountains didn't just go up once..... #tectonics #geology #alps #ecrins #tectonique #geologie </video> <video> Cap de Creus - exploring a structural wonderland Description: Part of The Shear Zone Channel. Rob heads to a world-famous set of outcrops on the coast of Catalunya to explore its stunning tectonic structures and to develop some ideas about the deformation of continental crust. #geology #tectonics #shearzone </video> <video> Raising eclogites - reconstructing the Alpine subduction channel Description: Part of the Shear Zone Channel. This is the concluding part of a trilogy of films on metamorphism and tectonics in the Italian Alps - a wonderful natural laboratory to investigate mountain building processes in geology. Join Rob as he visits classic ground in Alpine geology, developing a model that explains how rocks have returned back from subduction zones. #tectonics #mountains #alps #eclogite #subduction </video> <video> Faults - some lessons from little ones Description: Part of The Shear Zone Channel. Faults are key components of the geological world and interpreting them in the subsurface carries inherent uncertainties. Follow Rob as he looks a small-scale examples of faults found in some real rocks to explore the natural variability of faults - an important step for evaluating uncertainty when interpreting structures in the subsurface. These examples are preserved in boulders used as sea-defences at the port village of Ullapool in NW Scotland - and show it's always worth looking in unlikely places when seeking inspiration... #tectonics #geology #interpretation #structuralgeology #faults #subsurface </video> <video> Iceland's Reykjanes volcanism - tectonic setting Description: Fissure eruptions - while making dramatic fire-shows - threaten to overwhelm the town of Grindavik, on Iceland's Reykjanes peninsula. They testify to active splitting apart of the crust - part of a process that has opened the Atlantic ocean over the past 55-60 million years. Find out a about the tectonics, how tectonics makes the magma that erupts and how Icaland, and the World lives with these volcanoes. Part of The Shear Zone Channel. #tectonics #Iceland #volcanoes #geohazards #geology </video> <video> Eclogites at Cignana - a walk into a subducted ocean Description: Part of The Shear Zone Channel. Follow Rob on a hike in the Italian Alps to visit a famous set of outcrops at Lago di Cignana. These are eclogites - metamorphosed basalts, gabbros and sedimentary rocks that once former the floor of a now-vanished ocean. It was the closure of this ocean that led to the formation of the Alps. And the metamorphism records not just the subduction of the ocean floor but also its return towards the surface. It's a story that makes some stunning rocks, in the dramatic scenery of the Western Alps. This is the first film in a trilogy that looks at metamorphism and tectonics in the NW Italian Alps. #geology #tectonics #alps #cervinia #metamorphism #eclogite </video> <video> A kinematic conundrum - deformation at Roses lighthouse Description: Part of the Shear Zone Channel. The Roses granodiorite on the Costa Brava has exceptional deformation structures. Join Rob as he tries to make sense of them. #geology #tectonics #costabrava #shearzone #strain </video> <video> NW Scotland geo-highlights - in two and half minutes Description: NW Scotland is a geological paradise - fantastic rocks and great scenery. Check it out in this short film - which promotes Scotland's bid to host the 38th International Geological Congress in 2028. #geology #tectonics #Scotland #igc #IUGS #geosite #lewisian </video> <video> Tectonics at the Matterhorn (Cervino)- Alpine kinematics Description: Part of The Shear Zone Channel. Rob visits a classic site in the NW Alps, where basic concepts of nappe tectonics were first proposed. We'll look at outcrops to interpret the relative movement senses recorded at the base of the Dent Blanche klippe - part of the far-travelled Alpine lid - nicely exposed along the lower slopes of te Matterhorn (Monte Cervino). And some surprises await... This is the second film in a trilogy on Alpine metamorphism and tectonics in the NW Italian Alps. #geology #tectonics #alps #mountains #matterhorn </video>

Contacts and Links

Description

Welcome to "the Shear Zone" - a hub for educational videos on geology, developed by Rob Butler of the University of Aberdeen. The materials focus on the interpretation of the geometry and relationships found in and between rocks - topics embraced by the term "structural geology". This involves the study of rock deformation - describing and understanding how rocks are broken, folded and distorted. And this links through the scales, from grains to plates. But it also includes broader ideas on how rock formations are organised - which is fundamental to stratigraphic understanding, deducing earth history and the processes that have shaped it. You can find videos on the interpretation of geological maps, 2D seismic profiles of the subsurface alongside developing ideas on how deformation structures, sedimentary basins, mountain belts and tectonic plates work. Supporting materials (maps, images, course notes) will go up on the companion website: .

Videos from channel