James A. Spotila
I am a
faculty member of the Virginia Tech Department of Geosciences, with a focus on
geomorphic and tectonic research.
My research group is known as AT&G - for the Active Tectonics and Geomorphology
group. We are situated in Derring
Hall, with offices and working labs in rooms 4060 and 4064, as well as a
(U-Th)/He lab on the first floor.
Over the past six years, my group has produced significant research on
the processes that build and erode mountains and deform continental crust. Below you will find background on
research accomplishments and interests, as well as links to specific projects
and to my teaching activities. If
you have any questions regarding this information, would like to know more
about specific projects or to use images shown here, or are interested in
pursuing an exciting graduate program in active tectonics and geomorphology,
please contact me by e-mail. Thanks for visiting!
Professional
background
May, 2004 to present: Associate Professor in the Department of Geosciences
at Virginia Tech.
October, 1998 to May, 2004: Assistant Professor in the Department of Geosciences at Virginia Tech.
August, 1998:
Ph.D. in geology from Caltech.
·
neotectonics of the San Bernardino Mountains
(advised by Kerry Sieh)
(Spotila et al., 1998; Spotila and Sieh, 2000).
·
fault interaction along
the 1992 Landers earthquake surface rupture
(Spotila and Sieh, 1995).
·
extension in the
southern Basin and
Range (advised by Brian
Wernicke)
June, 1992:
B.S. in geology from Boston College.
·
intraplate seismicity of
the Northeast United States (advised by John Ebel)
Graduate students supervised at Virginia Tech:
·
Aaron Berger: Exhumation and strain partitioning of
the Chugach/St. Elias Range, Alaska (active Ph.D. candidate, expected
completion in 2008).
·
Jamie Buscher: Transpression along the San Andreas
fault in the northern San Gabriel Mountains (active Ph.D. candidate, expected
completion in 2007).
·
Ryan McAleer: Exhumation of the Fairweather Range,
Alaska (active M.S. candidate, expected completion in 2006).
·
Dylan Ward: New constraints on the late Cenozoic incision history
of the New River, Virginia (M.S.,
2004). This research has been
submitted for publication at the journal Geomorphology. Dylan is now a Ph.D. candidate at U.C. Boulder.
·
Laura Lukes (co-advised): Analysis of model-driven vs.
data-driven approaches to engaging student learning in introductory geoscience
laboratories (M.S.,
2004). This project
incorporated data from AT&G research on the San Andreas fault. Results have been submitted for
publication at the Journal of Geoscience Education. Laura is now enrolled in an graduate education (K-12)
program at Ohio State. Barbara Bekken was the
primary advisor on this project.
·
Jamie Buscher: The impact of long-term glacial erosion on the active
Chugach-St. Elias mountains, southern Alaska
(M.S.,
2003). This work has been
published in Geology (Spotila et al., 2004), and will be further
explored in an additional publication (Buscher et al., in prep.).
·
Kevin Anderson: Neotectonics and Paleoseismology of the North Frontal
Thrust System, southern California (M.S.,
2002). This research has been
published in Tectonophysics (Anderson et al., 2003; Spotila and
Anderson, 2003). Kevin is now a
geologist at Exxon-Mobil in Houston, TX.
·
Rebecca Kavage Adams: The form and function of headwater
streams based on field and modeling investigations in the southern Appalachian
Mountains (M.S.,
2002). This research has been
published in Earth Surface Processes and Landforms (Adams and Spotila,
2005). Rebecca is now an
instructor at the College of
Charleston.
·
Greg Bank: Testing the origins of the Blue Ridge Escarpment (M.S.,
2001). This research has been
published in Basin Research (Spotila et al., 2004). Greg is now a geologist working for Advanced Resources, Inc.
Complete
publication list (click here)
Teaching activities (click
here)
Research activities
Research Interests
My study of active tectonics has three main concerns: the
behavior of continental deformational systems, the interaction of tectonics and
surficial processes, and the impact of tectonics on society. The first of
these answers how simple, far-field plate motions are transformed into complex
deformations (faults, folds) and bears directly on our understanding of the mechanical
behavior of continental crust. I am particularly interested in studying
the long-term evolution and interaction of components in complex strike-slip
systems (e.g. San Andreas fault, Eastern California shear zone) and
transpressive mountain belts (Transverse Ranges of California). This
typically involves acquiring quantitative constraints on the architecture and
kinematics of structural systems. The second major interest links my
research efforts to the field of geomorphology. This interest is partly driven
by the obvious interplay between geomorphic processes and active structures,
but is also motivated by a separate curiosity to understand how erosion and
weathering work to shape landforms. What better place to study
destructional landforms than locations that are experiencing active tectonic
construction (e.g. Chugach/St. Elias Range of Alaska, the Himalayas)? Of
course, ancient, extinct orogens have a story to tell as well, which has
brought much of my research focus to the Appalachian Mountains. One
common way that I study these mountain systems is with radiogenic helium dating
([U-Th]/He), which is relatively new but offers important constraints on the
recent exhumation history of rocks. The third aspect of my interest in
active tectonics involves being responsible to the well being of society.
Earthquakes are devastating to human life and economy, and thus part of my
research focuses on characterizing and understanding seismogenic
structures. This work involves characterization of particular seismogenic
sources (e.g. faults in California, possible sources in the eastern US) as well
as attempts to better understand the faulting and earthquake process. In
addition, I consider my interests in the landscape evolution of mountain belts
to be partly motivated by societal relevance, given the tremendous human
curiosity for what shapes the landscape around us. All in all, these
research interests lead my research group and myself to a variety of locations
and modes of research, many of which are field-based or lab-based (radiogenic
helium dating), but some of which involve manipulation of digital topography
and remotely-sensed imagery. In addition, I'm always on the look-out for
new techniques that will help me answer the problems I'm interested in. The
links below will take you to detailed descriptions of several of my current or
very recently completed projects.
Current Research Projects (follow each link for more
information)
1) Role of glaciers in
the development of the active Chugach-St. Elias Range, Alaska
2) San Andreas
fault transpression
3) Origin of the Blue Ridge
Escarpment, southern Appalachians
4) Development of the
radiogenic helium dating technique
5) Fault interaction along
the North Frontal thrust system, southern California
6) Behavior of
ephemeral streams in humid, moderate-relief drainage basins
7) Controls on the
long-term erosion of active mountain belts
Comments to: spotila@vt.edu