Ronald B. Chase

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Ronald B. Chase

Professor
Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology, Geotechnical Analysis

1139 Rood Hall
(269) 387-5500
FAX (269) 387-5513

Education

Ph.D - University of Montana, 1968
M.A. - University of Montana, 1961
B.A. - DePauw University, 1958
Curriculum Vitae

Courses Taught

GEOS 3360 - Optical Mineralogy
GEOS 4400 - Petrology and Petrography
GEOS 5020/6500 - Slope Stability Analysis

Field Geology in Michigan's Upper Peninsula
Field Geology in the northern Rocky Mountains
Field Geology in Colorado

A variety related to the content and presentation of geology in the K-12 classrooms.

Research

Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology

All of my research has evolved around displacements of materials and how they can be predicted or measured based on field data. In earlier days, I investigated the emplacement mechanisms for the northeastern sector of the Idaho batholith and how that emplacement affected the tectonic evolution of west-central Montana. This study involved field mapping in beautiful and rugged terrane, chemical and petrographic analyses, statistical structural analysis, and radiometric dating using U-Pb and Rb-Sr techniques. Funding came from three NSF Grants and two WMU Faculty Grants. I also studied for several years the effects of Precambrian basement-rock compositions and fabrics on the development of Mesozoic/Cenozoic, Rocky Mountain foreland folds. This study involved largely field investigations at a number of locations between Montana and New Mexico. Funding came from two NSF Grants.

Geotechnical Analysis

Most recently, I am applying techniques of structural analysis and rock/soil mechanics to landslide problems. Current projects involve the application of new measuring and geometric reconstruction techniques, strength analysis of rocks and soil layers, and computer simulations of landslides and their structural evolution. Ongoing funding is from grants provided by the U.S. Army Research Office and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Projects

Structural evolution of mass movements in Great Lakes coastal environments.
Development of slow slumps in ductile soils by processes of fault propagation folding.
Basement-rock controls on the structural evolution of the eastern Rocky Mountains
The relationships among igneous intrusion, fault movements, and crust-mantle evolution in the northern Rocky Mountains.

Six Recent Publications

Glynn , M.E., Chase, R.B., Kehew, A.E., Selegean, J.P., Ferrick, M.G., and Hansen, C.M., in press, Lake Michigan bluff dewatering and stabilization study, Allegan County, MI: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Special Publication,146 pp.

Kaunda , R.B., Chase, R.B., Kehew, A.E., Kaugars, K., and Selegean, J.P., 2008, Interpretation of a progressive slope movement using balanced cross sections and numerical integration: Environmental and Engineering Geoscience, Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 121-131.

Chase, R.B., Kehew, A.E., Kaunda, R.B., and Glynn, M.E., 2007, Mitigation of slope failures in a freeze/thaw environment by removal of ground water: 1 st North American Landslide Conference: Association of Engineering Geologists Special Publication 23 , pp. 1582-1594.

Chase, R.B., Kehew, A.E., Glynn, M.E., and Selegean, J.P., 2007, Modeling debris slide geometry with balanced cross-sections: a rigorous field test: Environmental and Engineering Geoscience, Vol. 13, pp.

Clarey, T.L., Chase, R.B., and Schmidt, C.J., 2004, Precambrian influences on the development of the Royal Gorgearch, Colorado: A thick-skinned fault-propagation fold: The Mountain Geologist, Vol. 41, No. 1, p. 17-32

Chase, R.B., and Kehew, A.E., 2003, Ground water and slope stability contributions in, Keillor, J.P., Living on the Coast: Protecting Investments in Shore Property on the Great Lakes, University of Wisconsin, Sea Grant Advisory Services, 49 pp.

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