Riggs Group
Field-Based Fracture Studies

The Riggs Group is also engaged in field-based structural geology research, collaborating with other reserachers who make this their full-time pursuit. With a background in mineral physics, rock deformation and field structural geology, Riggs likes to pursue geologic research questions that require insights at the intersection of field geology and geophysical approaches to fracture and fault mechanics.

This site is under continuous development and new materials, references, extended abstracts, and articles will be added as they are ready. Updated March, 2010.

Fractured Clasts of the Titus Canyon Formation

Riggs was an active collaborator and researcher on a field project completed in May 2009 by Christie Lindemann, who was under the supervision of Dr. Ken Ridgway in the Basin Analysis group in Purdue EAS. A Master's project was completed on this topic, and the research was presented at the 2009 GSA meeting in Portland, OR. The thesis and talk can be found below.

FRACTURED CONGLOMERATES: IMPLICATIONS OF BRITTLE DEFORMATION IN THE TITUS CANYON FORMATION, SOUTHWESTERN NEVADA AND SOUTHEASTERN CALIFORNIA, (PDF) by Christie D. Lindemann, MS Purdue EAS, 2009

and

SYSTEMATICALLY FRACTURED CLASTS IN THE TITUS CANYON FORMATION: EVIDENCE FOR LATE-STAGE BRITTLE DEFORMATION IN THE BOUNDARY CANYON DETACHMENT SYSTEM, (WARNING, VERY large PowerPoint file = >40 MB) by Christie D. Lindemann and Eric M. Riggs, 2009 Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, Portland, OR - Abstract and session details

Our goal is to have this submitted for publication in some form over the summer of 2010 - stay tuned!