Dr. J. Douglas Walker

My research interests are in integration of Tectonics, Geochronology, and GIS to better understand the geologic development of contractile and extensional systems. The main problems I am pursuing are 1) The development of contractile belts in a backarc setting. This research focuses on the interaction of plutons with faulting along the backarc margin of arcs. 2) Response of the lithosphere to extensional deformation. This work is multifaceted in that it approaches lithospheric deformation from a field point of view as well as using isotope geochemistry to better understand the coupling of crustal deformation with responses of mantle melting in the subcrustal lithosphere and mantle. 3) GIS techniques in geology. My research in this area spans the gamut from developing software/hardware combinations for geologic mapping on laptops in the field to regional database development to solve tectonic problems.