Research Interests
My interests are
focused on trying to understand the processes by which deformation
is accommodated in rocks and in the mechanisms of deformation
that result in the development of structures and fabrics. I
am also interested in using structures and fabric to decipher
tectonic history. My projects typically involve field analysis,
analysis in the laboratory, and numerical or physical modeling.
I have devoted much
time over the years to the study of folds, first with an emphasis
on trying to determine folding mechanisms from fold geometry
and strain patterns, and later to gain information about rheological
conditions from a study of fold shape and strain. This work
has led me to look at folds in many different environments,
including the Ôhigh gradeÕ environments of folding in glacier
ice, which simulates nicely conditions in basement nappes in
orogenic belts.
A specific theme
I have focused on is deformation in ductile shear zones, or
deformation localization. Shear zones provide excellent opportunities
to study deformation mechanisms under conditions of non-coaxial
flow, and they are key to understanding how deformation is accommodated
in much of the crust. I am particularly interested at present
in trying to understand how shear zones develop as networks
and how the strain that may be measured in individual zones
is related to the bulk strain of the rocks.
It has always been
a challenge to understand how rocks can behave simultaneously
in ductile and brittle fashions, and I have, with my students,
focused attention on studying the mechanisms by which brittle
and ductile processes contribute to fault-related folds in fold-and-thrust
belts. This is in contrast to much of the work on these structures
that addresses only fold and fault geometry. We have found that
a particularly fruitful approach is provided by numerical analysis,
using codes that account for combined brittle and ductile behavior.
I have long had
an interest in the tectonics and structures of the very old
rocks of the Canadian Shield, and I have carried out a number
of projects, with colleagues in the Minnesota Geological Survey
and elsewhere, studying the Archean rocks of the Superior Province
of the shield. In term of tectonics, these rocks appear to be
both strikingly similar to and strikingly different from younger
rocks deformed as a result of plate tectonics.
Professional Society Memberships
- Geological Society of America
- American Geophysical Union
- Geological Association of Canada
- American Association of Petroleum Geologists
- National Association of Geology Teachers
- Sigma Xi
- American Society of Engineering Education
Courses Taught
- Tectonic Styles
- Advanced Structural Geology
- Seminar: Structural Geology
- Advanced Field Geology (a special course for Icelandic students
as part of the University of Minnesota-University of Iceland
exchange program)
Selected Publications
- Lan, L. and Hudleston, P.J., 1997, The effect of anisotropy on the shape of fault-bend folds. Proceedings of the 30th International Geological Congress, Beijing, 1996, v. 14, p. 106-118.
- Mailloux, B., Person, M., Kelly, S., Cather, S., Dunbar, N., Strayer, L., and Hudleston, P., 1999. Tectonic controls on the hydrogeology of the Rio Grande rift, New Mexico. Water Resources Research, v. 35, p. 2641-2659
- Hudleston, P.J., 1999. Strain compatibility and shear zones: is there a problem? J. Structural Geology, v. 21, p. 923-932.
- Kusky, T. and Hudleston, P.J., 1999 Growth and demise of an Archean carbonate platform, Steep Rock Lake, Ontario, Canada. Canadian J. Earth Sci., v. 36, p. 565-584.
- Strayer, L.M., Hudleston, P.J. and Lorig, L.J., 2001. A numerical model of deformation and fluid-flow in an evolving thrust wedge. Tectonophysics, v. 335, p. 121-145.
- Bhattacharyya, P. and Hudleston, P.J., 2001. Strain in ductile shear zones in the Caledonides of northern sweden: a three-dimensional puzzle. J. Structural Geology, v. 23, p.1549-1565.
- Czeck, D.M. and Hudleston, P.J., 2003. Testing models for obliquely plunging lineations in transpression: a natural example and theoretical discussion. J. Structural Geology, v. 25, p. 959-982.
- Ormand, C. and Hudleston, P.J., 2003. Strain paths of three small folds from the Appalachian Valley and Ridge, Maryland. J. Structural Geology, v. 25, p. 1841-1854.
- Czeck, D.M. and Hudleston, P.J., 2004. Physical experiments of vertical transpression with localized nonvertical extrusion. J. Structural Geology, v. 26, p. 573-581.
- Ormand, C. and Hudleston, P.J. (in press). Analogue models of fault-bend folding: effects of oblique ramps and tear faults on hanging-wall structures. American Ass. Pet. Geol. Bull.
Recent Research Support
- 3M, 3M Foundation Engineering Retention Initiative Grant
- NSF, Shear zone geometry, strain and fabrics in high-grade
rocks, northern Sweden.
- NSF, Anisotropy and fold development in rocks.
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