|
Faculty |
Barquero-Molina Miriam Barquero-Molina Assistant Teaching Professor email: BarqueroMolinaM@missouri.edu TeachingAs a Teaching Professor, my role in the Department of Geological Sciences is teaching-related. I teach introductory-level, large enrollment courses such as Principles of Geology and Environmental Geology, a topical introductory-level course about the Moon, as well as upper-level undergraduate courses in geology, such as Sedimentology. I am passionate about teaching. When I teach I strive to promote students learning of the fundamentals of the course materials while fostering independent and critical thinking, improving their communication, team-work ability, and problem solving skills. I believe that teaching is my responsibility, while students should take ownership of the learning experience. Ultimately, I believe that as humans we are lifelong learners, and I aspire to instill that desire in my students, regardless of the path they take in their professional lives. Because of my interest on “all things Earth” I am also passionate about teaching Geology, and teaching Geology in the field. I believe that field geology should be a fundamental part of Geoscience undergraduate programs. Even with the development of new technologies and the diversification of the Earth Sciences in the past few years, I think that an important component of the evaluation of geological problems must be based in field observations. As a field geologist I believe that basic rock relationships must be understood correctly before we can apply sophisticated new technology to answer any geological question. Field geology courses teach students the basics of problem solving: how to utilize observations and descriptions of rock types, structures and relationships to make interpretations that can be tested. I have no doubt, from being a student and my later extensive experience teaching field courses, that learning how to construct geological maps that accurate display field observations and data is essential in the learning process of geology students, and it will benefit them throughout their professional careers. I am also the director of the University's Branson Field Laboratory in the Wind River Range near Lander, Wyoming. Research InterestsI am a field structural geologist, particularly interested in deformation processes that take place in mid- to lower-crustal levels during orogenesis and orogenic collapse. For my PhD dissertation I worked on Mesoproterozoic mid to lower crustal granulite-facies orthogneisses of the Biranup Complex of the Albany-Fraser Orogen in the locality of Bremer Bay, Western Australia. The Albany-Fraser Orogen is a Grenville-aged orogenic belt that resulted from the collision of the Western Australian Craton and the Mawson Craton of Eastern Antarctica ca. 1.3 Ga. My research showed that rocks in Bremer Bay have undergone at least three phases of bidirectional orthogonal extension, which took place during overall orogenic contraction ca. 1180 Ma. Each of phases of bidirectional extension resulted in the formation of simultaneous NW and NE-trending boudins of different scales: small, centimeter-scale boudins in the first, meter scale in the second, and decameter scale in the third phase. Extension alternated with contraction/shear related folding phases, also of different scales, from small, meter-scale to kilometer-scale folds, commonly NW-verging. Melting of the country rock took place during all stages of deformation, and possibly continued afterwards. Structural style, high metamorphic grade, and ubiquitous melting suggest possible delamination of gravitationally unstable continental lithosphere as a result of crustal thickening during orogenic contraction in the Albany-Fraser Orogeny. Other interestsWhen I am not working , I enjoy running around, quite literarily, although not in circles. I am a runner, a long distance runner, and like to run marathons. I also enjoy cycling. I am also an avid reader, and a rather horrific guitar player. |
|
Department of Geological Sciences | 101 Geology Building | Columbia, MO 65211-1380 Department of Geological Sciences | College of Arts and Science | University of Missouri Last modified: September 2009
| |
