CELEBRATING THE FEEDBACKS BETWEEN HISTORICAL-BASED AND PROCESS-BASED APPROACHES IN THE EMERGENCE OF MODERN STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY

Structural geology has emerged as an integrative, synthetic science focused on deciphering the history preserved in the rock record and determining the processes of rock deformation. Due to the nature of lithospheric deformation, structural geologists analyze and interpret historical elements, such as structural inheritance and tectonic history, and increasingly utilize theoretical, process-based approaches. A strength of structural geology is that the field uses these historical- and process-based approaches simultaneously in order to determine the three-dimensional architecture, kinematic evolution, and dynamic conditions of lithospheric deformation over a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. These approaches have been supplemented by: 1) Geochronological techniques that have allowed age determinations to be linked to rock microstructure and deformational fabrics; 2) Geodetic measurements that record displacements and strains in areas of active deformation; and 3) Experimental deformation, with microstructural analyses providing the connection between naturally deformed rocks and results of experiments. In addition, during the last 50 years, the entire field of active tectonics has developed. Active tectonics combines new approaches (e.g., trenching and analyses of cosmogenic radio-nuclides) with established tools of geomorphology and geodesy to the study of developing, surficial geological structures. Integration of field-based observations, laboratory-derived rheological information, and numerical models – combined with increased integration with other subfields within and outside of the geological sciences - provides significant opportunities for future work.