构造地质学是地球科学中十分重要的基础学科，随着科学技术的发展，学科的交叉渗透、新方法、新技术的应用，构造地质学的研究从理论到方法均取得了飞跃发展，展现出全方位、多层次的发展态势。本学科点面向能源地质国民经济的主战场，系统研究构造演化对能源矿产的形成、改造和保存的控制作用，不断充实和完善构造地质理论和方法，并为能源矿产的开采、大型工程的稳定性评价等提供技术服务。
构造地质学是研究固体地球及表层物质结构构造、形成演化过程及规律，并为维持充足的能源、固体矿产，减轻地震等地质灾害和评估工程地质环境提供构造地质学依据的学科。构造地质学是以固体地球特别是地壳和岩石圈物质结构、构造演化为中心，以构造地质、地球物理、地球化学、岩石学、古生物地层学、同位素地质年代学的基本原理和方法为基础，在宏观至微观不同尺度上研究大陆地壳、岩石圈的组成，地质构造现象和地球系统的演变规律。
本学科点以现代构造地质学理论为基础，面向海底和大陆边缘能源资源的寻找、勘探和开发的主战场，建立了一套完善的海底和大陆边缘能源构造地质理论和方法体系为显著的特色。包括了3个优势和特色研究方向为：（1）中国东部前寒武纪地壳形成与演化及其大陆岩石圈结构与构造方向，以板块构造理论为指导，综合各种技术手段，对我国东部复杂构造地区，特别是该区存在不同类型构造普遍发育以及不同期次、不同类型构造的相互叠加，极为复杂的东部地区的前寒武纪基底构造和克拉通破坏过程中的盖层构造等，对该区构造地质开展研究进行油气勘探和地震灾害相关研究，为寻找新的能源接替基地和防灾减灾提供科学保障；（2）秦岭-大别-苏鲁造山带及其两侧盆地构造方向，研究造山带和能源盆地的形成机制、盆－岭的耦合以及构造对沉积和矿产的控制作用，进而建立造山带和盆地演化的动力学模式，是构造地质学与地层学、沉积学和沉积矿产学的结合点；（3）中国东部大陆边缘构造及西太平洋海底构造方向，侧重中国东部渤海湾盆地、陆架盆地（如东海陆架盆地、南黄海盆地等）、边缘海盆地（冲绳海槽盆地和南海海盆）和西北太平洋深海盆地构造的研究，为油气勘探和我国深海大洋的海底构造地质学研究提供科学支撑。
Powerful forces in the Earth deform rocks into folds and faults, push up mountain ranges and make ocean basins. These deformation processes have a profound effect on humankind, most obviously via earthquakes, landslides, etc. But there are many more mundane reasons to be interested in deformation: hydrocarbons are trapped by folds and sealed by fault rocks; water and contaminants flow through cracks in rocks; and the strength of the rock mass is critical to any construction project, not only mining and quarrying, but also any bridge, highway, or other edifice.
This major will teach you how to understand and analyze rock deformation using basic principals of mechanics as well as classical description and classification. By the end of the major, you should know why rocks break at different angles under different conditions and how to use those angles to determine the orientations of stresses that deformed rocks millions of years ago. You will be able to describe quantitatively the how progressive strain can produce the apparent juxtaposition of unlike geologic features even though they formed during a single deformation event. You will know how to use a geologic map to extract information about deformation in four dimensions by clearly defining the relations of fold and fault geometry, unconformities, and stratigraphic sequences. And finally, you will be able to calculate the nature of buoyant masses the make mountains higher than the surrounding plains. During the first half of the major, we will lay the mechanical groundwork for understanding structures. After we have that background we will be able to describe structures and understand why they form. Lecture and lab are complementary: in lab you will learn practical, mostly graphical techniques for how to describe structures whereas lecture provides a broader, more theoretical perspective. Some field trips every year will provide some exceptional opportunities to see structures “in the wild” rather than crude blackboard sketches and static photographs.
The major in Ocean University of China has three research interests: (1) Precambrian Formation and Meso-Cenozoic destruction of North and South China Cratons in East China, which are realted to coupling of shallow-deep structural processes, oil-gas exploration and large earthquake harzard; (2) The Qinling-Dabie-Sulu orogen and its sorrounding basins, which are related to research of continental dynamics such as exhumation of HP-UHP rocks, and oil-gas exploration; (3) Tectonic evolution of continental margin of east China, especially formation of the East China Sea and South China Sea basins, Okinawa trough, and marine geodynamics of northwest Pacific ocean.
