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Rock Structure (Wallis) Lab
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The lab investigates how mountains form through field surveys and the study of rock textures.
AboutAbout the lab
Using the Earth as a natural laboratory for geological processes that unfold over long periods of time.
The Rock Structure and Tectonics Group combines the methods of structural geology and petrology to study how mountains form (orogenesis) in subduction zones and continental collision zones.
The lab pays particular attention to the relationship between rock deformation and metamorphism, in which rocks are transformed by heat and pressure.
Drawing also on results from other fields such as seismology, the lab is interested in clarifying mantle flow and the mechanisms by which slow earthquakes occur.
The lab conducts field surveys in the Sanbagawa belt of Japan, as well as in the western United States, the Andes, the Tibetan Plateau, and the European Alps.
Key terms
- Subduction zone
- A place where an oceanic plate sinks beneath another plate. There are subduction zones around the Japanese archipelago as well.
- Metamorphism
- A process in which rocks exposed to high temperatures and pressures underground change into different minerals and textures without melting.
- Slow earthquake
- A phenomenon in which a fault slips much more slowly than in an ordinary earthquake.
NewsLab news
A paper on the "aseismic slip" of serpentinite, written in collaboration with researchers at Waseda University, was published
A student's paper was published in Lithos
A new paper by Prof. Wallis and colleagues was published
A paper by a graduate of the lab was selected as an Editors' Highlight in Eos
New papers by doctoral students and graduates were published
ResearchResearch themes
Under the principle of "using the Earth as a natural laboratory for investigating geological processes that unfold over long periods of time," the lab studies phenomena that occur in subduction zones and in the continental crust. It combines structural geology fieldwork and mapping, quantitative analysis of microstructures including electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), thermal modeling, estimation of temperature and pressure using minerals, and geochronology.
*Illustrative imagePlate boundaries in subduction zones
The lab investigates fluid flow and rock deformation (including their relationship to slow earthquakes), thermal structure, and the distribution of stress and strain. Field surveys are conducted in the Sanbagawa belt of southwest Japan, the Franciscan Complex in the western United States, Guatemala in Central America, and other areas.
*Illustrative imageContinental crust and mountain building
In regions where mountains form and the crust thickens on the continents, the lab investigates flow in the middle crust and the formation of plateaus, partial melting and exhumation of ultrahigh-pressure rocks, and magma migration and the growth of plutons. Field surveys are conducted in the Andes, the Tibetan Plateau, the European Alps, and central Japan.
*Illustrative imageTechniques for analyzing rock fabrics
The lab analyzes rock structures at scales ranging from what is visible to the naked eye to what is visible under a microscope. Its work includes how the preferred alignment of mineral crystals (crystallographic preferred orientation) develops, the relationship between rock anisotropy and seismic anisotropy, and the estimation of stress, strain, and volume change.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Rock Structure and Tectonics Group include faculty, visiting research collaborators, postdoctoral researchers, and doctoral and master's students.As of 2026
- Professorウォリス サイモン
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Folded Schist near Errislannan in County Galway in Ireland - geograph 4654567” Jonathan Wilkins (https://www.geograph.org.uk/profile/7090) / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Plate boundaries in subduction zones: “Serpentinite mélange Bentley” PVCCgeology / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Continental crust and mountain building: “Southern Tibetan Plateau ESA361951” European Space Agency / CC BY-SA 3.0 igo (cropped)
- Techniques for analyzing rock fabrics: “Folding in Moine Schist - geograph.org.uk - 911206” Jonathan Wilkins / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Ando Lab): “Chelongpu Fault rupture as it crosses Dakeng” MiNe / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Araya Lab): “Interferenz-michelson” FL0 / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Mochizuki Lab (Marine Seismology)): “Test des sismomètres OBS (Ocean Bottom Seismometer) en bassin d'essais (Ifremer )” Olivier Dugornay (Ifremer) / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Tanaka Lab): “Swiss GPS reference station SARG (Sargans) ( )” Kecko from Switzerland (Rheintal SG, the border valley between Switzerland and Austria) / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
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