Forum Program

Sunday June 23 - Optional check in day

1:00-7:00 Housing Check-in, Higginson Hall. (If you arrive after 7 pm, phone the number posted on the door to Higginson for assistance.) Check your e-mail for information from WWU Conference Services if you registered for on-campus lodging.

5:30-7:00 Viking Dining Commons open for dinner.

Suggestions for Sunday afternoon/evening: Hike to the Sehome Hill observation tower on the forested hillside adjacent to campus (~1 mi). Walk downtown and sample the inspired ice cream flavors at Mallard Ice Cream. Try a microbrew at a Bellingham favorite (Bellingham Bay, Aslan, or Stones Throw). Browse the excellent selection at Village Books in Fairhaven.

Monday June 24 - Field trips, workshops, mentoring

7:00 Dining Commons opens for breakfast.

7:45 Field trip check in: Parking Lot 9G, on the west side of campus behind the Interdisciplinary Science Building. Pick up your boxed lunch; turn in your Acknowledgment of Risk form: HH Form.pdf (Acrobat (PDF) 47kB Jun17 24)

8:00 Field trip departs: Structural and tectonic evolution of accreted oceanic rocks in the San Juan Islands, WA (all day)

Trip leaders: Liz Schermer, Sean Mulcahy (WWU). This trip will focus on deformed oceanic rocks that were subducted and accreted to the margin of North America during Cretaceous time. We will examine the different styles of deformation in accretionary wedge and ophiolitic rocks, and the contractional and strike-slip deformation recorded in the Lopez structural complex along a major terrane boundary. The trip will involve a ferry ride to Lopez Island, several short walks (up to 1.5 mi RT) on trails, optional walking on rocky tideland outcrops, and roadside stops. Depart 8 a.m. Boxed lunch provided. Return ~ 6:30 p.m. Limited to 26 participants. This trip is currently full.

Field safety information, Lopez Island trip FieldSafety_plan_LopezIsland_24June24.pdf (Acrobat (PDF) 119kB Jun17 24) Please check your email for information from WWU Conference Services about this trip.

8:00 Field trip departs: Ultramafic extravaganza part 1: An accessible field trip to the Twin Sisters dunite quarry (half day)

Trip lead: Basil Tikoff (UWisc). The quarry on the north side of the Twin Sisters massif is generally not available to the public. We will examine relatively fresh ultramafic rocks and discuss fabrics throughout the Twin Sisters ultramafic body. We will drive right up to the outcrop. Limited to 30 participants. This trip is currently full.

Field safety information, Twin Sisters quarry trip FieldSafety_plan_DuniteQuarry_24June24.pdf (Acrobat (PDF) 107kB Jun17 24) Please check your email for information from WWU Conference Services about this trip.

11:30-1:30 Conference check-in: Environmental Studies atrium. Confirm your arrival. Pick up a map or a program. Make a name tag. Ask questions about accommodations or dining.

12:00-1:00 Viking Dining Commons open for lunch.

1:30-4:30 Workshop: Ultramafic extravaganza, part 2: An informal hands-on workshop for studying ultramafic rocks. Environmental Studies (ES), room 223.

Workshop lead: Julie Newman (TAMU). We will provide ultramafic rock hand samples and thin sections from around the world, including ultramafic ultramylonite zones. Others are invited to bring their own samples, thin sections, and/or images, and share your observations in the discussion. Magnetic fabrics of samples can be measured. Participants are encouraged to share thin section images and associated data using the StraboMicro app.

1:30-4:30 Workshop: Magnetic Fabrics. Environmental Studies (ES), room 218.

Workshop leads: Cristina Garcia-Lasanta (WWU), Bernie Housen (WWU), Peter Selkin (UWT). The anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) and other anisotropic rock magnetic characteristics are useful proxies for petrofabric with a variety of structural applications, from determining strain histories in deformed rocks and sediments to reconstructing pluton emplacement. In this workshop, we will introduce you to the rock magnetic techniques commonly used to evaluate fabric, with an emphasis on fabrics of ultramafic rocks. The workshop will include an opportunity to collect and process magnetic fabric measurements and discussion of the benefits and limits of AMS and rock magnetism as structural tools.

5:30-7:00 Dining commons open for dinner.

7:30-9:00 Monday Mentoring Meeting: Environmental Studies (ES), room 213. Everyone is invited to join this informal mentoring event. Ask questions or share your perspective on graduate school, postdoctoral positions, faculty jobs, non-faculty jobs, or the transition to mid-career. Small group conversations and light refreshments. Check your e-mail to RSVP (but join us even if you forgot to respond!)

Alternate evening activity: Self-guided walking tour of WWU's outdoor sculptures, described as one of the most important university collections in the country. WWU hosts more than 30 sculptures by prominent late-20th century artists, including Richard Serra, Isamu Noguchi, Tom Otterness, and Magdalena Abakanowicz. Link to map.

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Tuesday June 25 - Talks, posters, discussion, reception, sunset hike

We will aim to stay approximately on time, but please forgive ± 10 min. Abstracts are searchable here.

7:30 Dining commons open for breakfast

Plenary sessions meet in Communications Facility (CF) 115, at the south end of campus. Look for the "stairs" sculpture on the lawn in front of CF.

8:30 Tuesday poster presenters, please hang your posters in the CF atrium. Tuesday speakers, please load your presentation to the podium computer in CF, if possible.

8:30-10:00 Conference check-in (CF atrium). Confirm your arrival. Pick up a map or a program. Make a name tag. Ask questions about accommodations or dining.

8:45 Welcoming Remarks (Crider & Housen)
Goals and history of SGT Forum, announcements, logistics

Session 1: Deformation of mafic & ultramafic rocks

9:00 J Newman & B Tikoff: Finding strength where it lies in the lithospheric mantle: An exposed extensional plate boundary shear zone, Turon de Tecouere, France

9:15 C Tewksbury-Christle: Sodic Amphibole Deformation Mechanisms: Comparing the Condrey Mountain Schist Rock Record with Experimental Data

9:30 morning poster highlights (3 min each)

J Ott: Microstructural evidence of dislocation creep and diffusion accommodated deformation of glaucophane in a naturally deformed lawsonite blueschist

P Lindquist: Metamorphic Dehydration of Subducted Metabasalts in the Catalina Schist and Fluid Flow through Localized Zones of Deformation recorded by Epidote Minerals

E Villegas: Frictional Properties of Pelagic Sediments from the Northern Hikurangi Margin: Possible Implication for Fault Slip and Slip Cycles

A Ledeczi: Investigating Seismogenic Zone Processes via a Candidate Exhumed Cascadia Paleomegathrust Fault in the Olympic Subduction Complex

G Humphreys: The Rupture Process of Subduction Zone Earthquakes

K Walowski: Disentangling the roles of subducted volatile contributions and mantle source heterogeneity in the production of magmas beneath the Washington Cascades

9:45 Coffee break & Poster session (CF Atrium)

Session 2: Subduction zone geology

11:00 Community update: SZ4D GeoArray (C Condit)

11:10 M French: Strength profiles of subduction megathrusts and implications for the seismogenic zone

11:25 W Hoover: Deformation of a metasomatized subduction interface at the depths of episodic tremor and slip

11:40 T-W Chen: Quantifying interseismic volume strain from chemical mass‐balance analysis in tectonic mélanges

12:00- 1:00 Lunch in the Viking Commons

Session 3: Deformation fabrics, structural geology techniques

1:20 Community update: Strabo

1:30 N Roberts: Combining AMS and EBSD to unravel kinematic histories in granitic plutons

1:45 B Frieman: Unraveling Shear-Related Mineralization Processes and Tectonic Overprint from Investigations in the Dipilto Block of NW Nicaragua

2:00 M Needle: Measuring late-stage fold flattening by brittle faults at the Whaleback anticline using 3D models and digital simulation tools

2:15 afternoon poster previews (3 min. each)

G Solar: Using the Immersive Theater (the Planetarium) to Understand Stereographic Projection and Develop Visual Penetration Ability in Geosciences

S Titus: Why you should not use net tectonic rotation to restore paleomagnetic data from dikes

E Nelson: Salience as a tool for communicating the weight of observational data in a model: Application to emplacement of the Sage Hen Flat pluton, California

E G Meyer: Anisotropy of Magnetic Susceptibility (AMS) Fabrics from the Pulo do Lobo formation affected by the Southern Iberian Shear Zone

D Czeck: Rheological and inherited structural effects on kinematic partitioning in the Southern Iberian shear zone in the Pulo do Lobo metasedimentary rocks

S Kidder: Tectonic and Rheologic Implications of Quartz Grain Size Variations in the Alpine Fault, New Zealand

2:30 Snack break & Poster session (CF Atrium)

Session 4: Teaching structural geology and tectonics

3:45 Community update: NAGT (PowerPoint 2007 (.pptx) 16MB Jun25 24) (A Egger)

4:00 Community conversation: A guided conversation about challenges and opportunities in teaching structural geology & tectonics in 2024, including in the field.
5:00 Wrap up & adjourn

Evening events

5:00-7:00 Reception & WWU Geology Open House (Environmental Studies Atrium): light refreshments.

5:30-7:00 Dinner at Viking Commons

7:45-10:00 Sunset walk. Take a neighborhood hike together to Bellingham Bay and Taylor Avenue dock (3.6 miles round trip.) Meet at the plaza south of Viking Dining Commons, near the big red sculpture (see map above). Our route is paved, but includes several sets of stairs and a steep hill climb near the end. Restrooms are available at about the halfway point. Bring a sweater. We will plan to be at the top of Taylor Ave for sunset at 9:15 to be back at our starting point before while it is still dusk.

Alternate evening activity: Meet us at Boulevard Park (free parking) and join us for the (flat) boardwalk segment along the water. (We should be there around 8:20.) Or simply enjoy the sunset from the plaza.

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Wednesday June 26 - Talks, posters, discussions, closing event

We will aim to stay approximately on time, but please forgive ± 10 min. Abstracts are searchable here.

7:30 Dining commons open for breakfast

Plenary sessions meet in Communications Facility (CF) 115

8:30 Wednesday poster presenters, please hang your posters in the CF atrium.

8:30-10:00 Conference check-in (CF atrium). Confirm your arrival. Pick up a map or a program. Make a name tag. Ask questions about accommodations or dining.

Session 5: SGT Strategic directions

8:45 Community Conversation: How to support and guide the work of NSF Tectonics program?

9:00 Update from NSF Tectonics program and Q&A, Colin Shaw (via Zoom)

9:20 Community White Paper recap, K. Huntington

9:30 further conversation, breakout groups

10:15 Short Coffee break

Session 6: Neotectonics

10:30 Community update: CRESCENT, CFM (Amos)

10:45 T Finley: Geomorphic Evidence of Quaternary Surface Rupture along the Rocky Mountain-Tintina Trench

11:00 F Kolowale: The Structure and Frictional Behavior of Seismogenic Faults along the Northern US East Coast: Insights from the 2024 M4.8 New Jersey Earthquake

11:15 morning poster highlights (3 min. each)

C Amos: Rates and Kinematics of Strike-slip Faults bounding the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State

J Crider: What fraction of interseismic uplift at subduction zones becomes permanent? Observations from southwestern Washington

D Lao-Davila (OK State): Spatial Characterization of the Isla de Mona Fault in the NE Caribbean from High-Resolution Topography

11:30 Short poster session

12:00- 1:00 Lunch

Session 7: Cordilleran tectonics, constraints from the field

1:30 Community update: GSA Cordilleran section meeting 2025 (Wakabayashi);

1:35 Community update: GSA Structural Geology & Tectoincs Div.

1:45 J Wang: Structural Architecture and Kinematic History of the Coast Mountains Orogen, southern British Columbia and northern Washington

2:00    S Mulcahy: The rock record of east-dipping Jurassic subduction along the western Cordilleran margin

2:15     afternoon poster highlights (Tectonics & contractional orogens)

C Garcia-Lasanta: Paleomagnetism and the Terranes Puzzle in Western North America: How it Started vs. How it is Going

B Housen: Jurassic and Early Cretaceous Apparent Polar Wander paths for North America and implications for Jura-Cretaceous tectonic reconstructions

I Therriault: Characterization of the Southern Contact of the Eastern Kovik Domain Tectonic Window: Preliminary Results

S Roy: Strain Signature of The Main Central Thrust: Okhaldunga Region, East-Central Nepal Himalaya

P Davis: New perspectives on subduction processing east of, and correlations across the Straight Creek-Fraser River fault, Central Cascades of Washington State

A Richardson: The important role of ductile strain for accommodating mass transfer and exhumation in contractional orogens: Case studies from the Salmon River suture zone fold-thrust system and the transpressional western Idaho shear zone

R Morris: Age relations and assembly of an intraoceanic arc crustal section in Wrangellia: The Jurassic Bonanza arc, Vancouver Island, Canada

N Aikin: In-situ constraints on timescales of orogenesis: monazite EMPA petrochronology of the Grand Canyon's Upper Granite Gorge

2:45 Snack break & Poster session

Session 8: Tectonics (Cordilleran and beyond), geophysical & plate-scale perspectives

3:50 Community update: McColl Penrose recap (S Gordon)

4:00 Y Kuiper: Do continental lithospheric discontinuities control tectonic plate motion directions?

4:15 J Wu: A Discussion of Uncertainty and Assumptions in North American Cordilleran Plate Tectonic Reconstructions using Lower Mantle Slabs

4:30 G Humphries: Reconciling Baja-BC and Flat Shatsky Conjugate Subduction beneath Western U.S.

4:45 Closing remarks (Crider, Housen & Titus)
5:00 adjourn

Evening events

5:30-7:00 Dinner at Viking Commons

7:00-9:30 Informal closing event: Kulshan Trackside Beer (and other beverages) Garden. Enjoy the Bellingham scene and scenery while conversing with your colleagues. Walk (~1 mile, 20 min from Vikiing Commons) or carpool. Sunset at 9:15, dusk until 10 pm.

Alternate evening activity: Skip the beer garden, but see the scene. Grab an ice cream cone and enjoy the sunset from Waypoint Park.

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Thursday June 27 - Field trip and workshop

7:00 Dining Commons opens for breakfast.

7:45 Field trip check in: ~~Parking Lot 9G, on the west side of campus behind the Interdisciplinary Science Building~~ Meet in the Environmental Studies building, ground floor (see map at top of page). Pick up your boxed lunch; turn in your Acknowledgment of Risk form: HH Form.pdf (Acrobat (PDF) 47kB Jun17 24)

8:00 Field trip departs: Structure and Rheology of a Deep-Crustal Arc During Two Magmatic Flare-Ups: Skagit Gneiss Complex, North Cascades.

Trip leaders: Stacia Gordon (UNR), Bob Miller (SJSU). We will focus on the partially migmatitic Skagit Gneiss Complex, examining its structural and rheological response during partial melting and two magmatic flare-ups, one coincident with transpression and the other with transtension. Most of the planned stops are along a scenic highway in the North Cascades National Park Complex with one <500 m walk on mostly pavement. Depart 8 a.m. Boxed lunch provided. Retun ~ 8 p.m. Plan to have dinner on your own. Limited to 35 participants. This trip is currently full.

Field safety information North Cascades trip FieldSafety_plan_NorthCascadesHwy_27June24.pdf (Acrobat (PDF) 107kB Jun17 24) Please check your email for information from WWU Conference Services about this trip.

9:00-3:00 Workshop: StraboSpot community input session. Environmental Studies (ES) 213

Workshop leaders: Julie Newman (TAMU) & Basil Tikofff (UWisc). Be part of framing our collective digital future. We need community input on how we want to use digital data systems to enhance our future scientific goals. Topics include StraboMicro (including how to organize a search), Expert rules to automate Quality Assessment/Quality Control on projects, and Group Workflows (How do people want to work collaboratively in the field and the lab?). Note: We have NSF funds to cover lodging for two nights (Wed & Thu, June 26, 27) and all meals on June 27 for participants in the Strabo Workshop.

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