The word ‘tectonics’ refers to the myriad of deformational processes that have progressively shaped, and continue to shape, Earth’s solid surface and interior. Tectonic processes are fundamentally about motion: rocks move from one place to another as part of a rigid plate, or are squeezed like toothpaste in a collision zone, or erode from regions of uplift and are deposited as sediment in regions of subsidence, or rise toward the surface from regions of mantle melting. The integration of these motions over time has produced the highly complex crust of Earth that we observe today.

This course covers global-scale tectonic processes and systems, with a focus on presently active tectonic environments where rich observational data can be mined for a better understanding of processes.

In this course, students develop fluency with tectonic elements and processes through guided readings, interactive lectures, weekly 5-minute student presentations, and computational laboratory exercises that use real-world data. Each student adopts a different active tectonic region of Earth and progressively develops a deeper understanding of its origin, evolution, and tectonic environments, culminating in a final report and presentation.