Introductory Field Structural Geology | EveryEng

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Introductory Field Structural Geology

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614 min

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English

250 views

Oil & Gas Upstream

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Certificate of completion
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Volume pricing for groups of 5+

Why enroll

This course is highly valuable for civil engineers, geologists, and geotechnical professionals who want to strengthen their understanding of subsurface conditions. Learning directly from IIT Kanpur faculty through NPTEL’s structured video lectures, students gain practical insight into rock behavior, faulting, and folding, which are critical for foundations, tunnels, slopes, and dam projects.

Your instructor

anjali rana

NA

India

Is this course for you?

You should take this if

You work in Agriculture or Oil & Gas Upstream
You're a Civil & Structural / Geoscience professional
You have 3+ years of hands-on experience in this field
You prefer self-paced learning you can revisit

You should skip if

You're new to this field with no prior experience
You need a different specialisation outside Civil & Structural
You need live interaction with an instructor

Course details

The Introductory Field Structural Geology course introduces the principles of structural geology with a strong emphasis on field observations and real geological formations. The course helps learners understand how rocks deform under stress and how geological structures are identified, measured, and interpreted in the field—skills essential for geotechnical, mining, and infrastructure projects.

SOURCE- YouTube [IIT Kanpur NPTEL]

Course suitable for

Key topics covered

Introduction to structural geology and field methods
Stress, strain, and rock deformation
Geological maps and structural data collection
Folds: types, geometry, and field recognition
Faults and joints: classification and mechanics
Measurement of geological structures (strike & dip)
Interpretation of field data and case examples
Engineering relevance of structural geology

Course content

The course is readily available, allowing learners to start and complete it at their own pace.

17 lectures10 hr 14 min

Introduction
36 min
Field area and locations
42 min
Structural elements
43 min
Stereographic projection
31 min
Primary structures 1
29 min
Primary structures -2
36 min
Secondary structures -1
30 min
Secondary structures -2
27 min
Basic litho-structural mapping
26 min
Ductile deformation
56 min
Folds and folding
34 min
Ductile deformation- superposed folding
45 min
Superposed foldings
33 min
Superposition of folds in Tenduldanga, Ghatshila
28 min
Brittle deformation
33 min
strain measurement
33 min
Summary
52 min

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Questions and Answers

Q: You're mapping a steep roadcut and need to decide how to measure true bed thickness when exposure is limited; you actually typed "how to measure true bed thickness in steeply dipping strata field" into Google five minutes ago. Given beds dip ~70° and the cut face is oblique, which field method gets you closest to true thickness without post-processing?

A: It gets a measurement orthogonal to bedding, so geometry doesn't need correction; pacing plus trigonometry assumes the face is parallel to strike, the vertical correction mixes apparent and true thickness at high dip, and visual cycle averaging explains trends but not thickness.

Q: Dusk is coming fast and your lead wants confidence on fold orientation; you searched "field check fold plunge from hinge line before dark". What's the right on-site sequence to verify plunge using limited exposure?

A: It directly measures the hinge geometry that defines plunge; limb bisection imports a symmetry assumption, cleavage-based axial planes can be non-coaxial, and a single reading ignores local noise right where exposure is worst.

Q: You're standing below a jointed cliff and typed "what does rock bolting not protect against jointed rockfall" while waiting for the crew. If systematic rock bolts are installed normal to the face, what hazard remains least mitigated?

A: It leaves large-scale rotational instability essentially untouched; sliding and toppling are what bolts target, and raveling persists but is partially constrained by confinement.

Q: After a fresh cut, slickensides show rake ~10° on a near-vertical fault plane; you searched "interpret slickenside rake low angle strike slip or dip slip". What root kinematics best explains this observation?

A: Low rake on a steep plane indicates motion nearly parallel to strike; pure normal would give high rake, dip-dominant oblique slip contradicts the angle, and post-rotation can't selectively lower rake without other markers.