Structural Geology and Tectonics Modeling Lab

Saad S. B Haq face

Assistant Professor
Purdue University
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Science

Ph.D. Geophysics, December 2004
Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York.

550 Stadium Mall Drive
West Lafayette, IN 47907
Email: shaq(at)purdue.edu
Phone (765) 496-7206


Research Statement

Using numerical and scale modeling I study how the mechanical properties of mountain belts affect their fundamental attributes, including size, shape, and the rate, style, and distribution of strain. My work focuses on understanding the roles of such factors as bulk rheology of the crust, the presence of basement structures, and the role of margin geometry, on the localization of deformation. By testing these factors independently I can understand the role that each plays in complex geologic settings like the Sulaiman fold and thrust belts of Pakistan. Much of my current research focuses on understanding how and when extension will be localized, in normal and oblique convergence, as patterns of faulting. Analog modeling is accomplished in a uniquely large apparatus in conjunction with automated quantitative analysis of digital images of experiments. With this new analysis technique I can quantify the strains occurring in analog models due to variations in obliquity, rheology, and boundary conditions in relation to the development of topography and the structures that accommodate deformation. When these techniques are integrated with 3D numerical modeling methods it provides a powerful set of tools to address problems in active tectonics.