245 Rock Deformation and the Dynamics of Mountain Building: A Session Honoring the Scientific Contributions of John P. Platt, Part I
We welcome contributions inspired by the diverse research of John Platt in structural geology and tectonics showing how the rock record can be used to illuminate the fundamental processes of crustal deformation and mountain building.
Wednesday, 22 October 2025
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
HBGCC, 217D
Rock deformation and the dynamics of mountain building : a celebration of John Platt’s legacy
Paper number: 245-1
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 8:05 AM – 8:20 AM
Authors
Abstract
Over his long and distinguished career John Platt has made major contributions to an impressively wide range of topics in structural geology and continental tectonics. John’s series of studies on exhumation of subduction-type metamorphic belts largely solved the long-standing problem of how regional terranes of high-pressure, high-density metamorphic rocks are able to move against both the pull of gravity and the forces of subduction to return to the Earth’s surface. This body of work is an excellent example of how John is able to weave together original insights into rock structure, an impressively detailed knowledge of multiple orogenic belts, and rigorous mechanical analysis to further our understanding of large-scale tectonic processes. Some of John’s main field areas are the Betic Rif arc of southern Spain and Morocco, the European Alps, the Franciscan Complex, and the Basin and Range province of the western USA. His work in these areas sets a benchmark for how data from fields as diverse as structural geology, metamorphic petrology, thermal modeling, paleomagnetism, and sedimentology can be synthesized to develop geodynamic models of mountain belts on the lithospheric scale. The latest chapter in John’s illustrious career has focused on the microstructure of deformed rocks and rock rheology. John continues to shine in the originality and clarity he brings to this area of study and his work has made major contributions to our understanding of the strength of rocks. I will share some highlights of John's geological journey and examine what lessons we might learn.
Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 57, No. 6
doi: 10.1130/abs/2025AM-412535
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