G.

Aulacogens and hot spots o Isostasy: the concept that Earth’s crust is floating in gravitational
● Aulacogen: a failed arm of a triple junction of a plate tectonics rift system balance upon the material of the mantle.
● A triple junction initiates a three way breakup of the continental plate, and
as the continental break develops, one of the three spreading regions
typically fails or stops spreading
● The resulting failed rift is called an aulacogen and becomes a filled graben
system (depressed blocks of land bordered by parallel faults) within the
continental lithosphere
● After rifting is complete and a new ocean basin forms, aulacogens exist
like a gash cutting into the continent almost at right angles from the edge.
Many ancient aulacogens are known, although most have now filled with
sediment and are not observable at the surface. They are good evidence that
a hot spot once existed. The sediment and volcanics filling an aulacogen
are similar to the processes operating in the active rifts.
● Hot spot: volcanic regions fed by underlying mantle that is unusually hot
compared with the surrounding mantle (ex. Hawaii, Yellowstone, Reunion
island off of Madagascar, Galapagos, Iceland)
● Hot spots can be on, near, or far from adjoining plate boundaries
● Theory 1: Hotspots are formed from mantle plumes that rise as thermal o The crust is composed of low density rock, while the mantle is
diapirs (malleable rock rising over brittle, hard rock) from the core-mantle composed of high density rocks that are deformable.
boundary o Continental crust is less dense than oceanic crust, so continental crust
● Theory 2: Lithospheric extension allows the rise of melted magma from is elevated above oceanic crust, creating land
shallow depths o When continental ice sheets occupied portions of North America
● Most hotspot volcanoes are basaltic, less explosive than subduction zone during the Preistocene epoch, the added weight of 3 km think masses
volcanoes of ice caused downwarping of Earth’s crust by hundreds of meters.
● In continental regions, basaltic magma rises to the surface of the In the 8, 000 years since this last ice sheet melted, gradual uplift of as
continental crust and melts to form rhyolites (igneous rocks made of quartz, much as 330 meters has occurred in Canada’s Hudson bay region,
sanidine, and plagioclase) which can form violent eruptions, ex. where the thickest ice had accumulated.
Yellowstone Caldera, followed by basaltic lava flow through cracks in the o Hypsometry: measurement of land elevation relative to sea level
continental crust ▪ On earth: bimodal distribution. On other planets:
● Geologists try to predict movement of Earth’s crust using hotspots, islands momodal distribution
in island chain older and more eroded at northwest, but many do not follow ▪ Hypsometry curve: 2d graph of elevation
specific time or orientation constraints ▪ Bathymetry: underwater version of
● As the hot spot dome swells its upper surface stretches until the brittle crust hypsometry/topography
cracks (faults) along a series of three rift valleys radiating away from the H. Mass Wasting
center of the hot spot. These 3 rift valleys are a triple junction. Ideally the ● When gravitational force exceeds resisting force
three rift valleys radiate from the center of the hot spot at 120o, but often ● Shear strength = slope’s stability
the triple junction is not symmetrical and arms may diverge at odd angles. ● Slow in dry areas
● An isolated hot spot may go through all these processes and then die. The ● Change in slope angle, weakening of material by weathering, increased
mantle plume dissipates, the continent cools and sinks again, the volcanic water content, changes in vegetation, and overloading affect potential of
activity stops, and sediments fill in the rift valleys. Nothing would be
mass wasting
visible at the surface to indicate that the rifts and volcanoes lie buried below ● Small amount of water increases shear strength becauses of surface tension
the surface. and cohesion, allows soil to resist erosion better
● In other situations, however, when several hot spots are closely associated,
● Creep = long-term process, directed by gravity downslope
they may join to form a very long rift valley.
● Landslide = rapid movement or rocks and earth down a mountainside
● 5% of Earth’s volcanoes are classified as hot spots
● Flow = movement of soil and rock that resembles flow and viscosity
● Hot spots are the product of mantle diapirs or plumes that rise through the
● Slump = slipping of coherent rock material down the curved surface of a
mantle as finger-shaped hot currents and penetrate the crust
decline
● Are responsible for about 5-10% of the melts and energy emitted by the
● Fall = regolith cascades down a slope, not enough volume to be a flow
Earth
● A similar event happens in mass wasting. As one removes a large amount
● 50 hot spots currently identified
of rock and other surface material, uplift occurs as a result of isostatic
● Some in middle of plate, i.e. Hawaii, some corresponding with mid-ocean
rebound.
ridges, i.e. Iceland, some near, i.e. Azores
● Hypsometry = the measurement of land elevation relative to sea level
● Mantle plumes and the resulting hot spots are responsible for the formation
(altitude), bathymetry is its underwater equivalent
of large, volcanic complexes, which include volcanic chains several ● Hypsometer = instrument that estimates water elevation by boiling water
thousands of kilometers long and huge flood extrusions called large
(water boils at different temperatures depending on air pressure at a
igneous provinces that consist of basaltic lavas
specific altitude
● Significance of hot spots first established by J. Tuzo Wilson
● Elevations can be positive or negative relative to sea level, graph is bimodal
● Isostatic Adjustment
(two local maxima and minima) due to effect of continents and oceans
o Compensation of the lithosphere when weight is added or removed.
When weight is added, the lithosphere responds by subsiding, and
when weight is lowered, it will uplift. I. Natural Hazards Due to Plate Tectonics

● Earthquakes: three different fault types, normal, thrust, and strike-slip

○ Oblique-slip when strike-slip and dip-slip
○ Magnitude: reverse faults > 8, strike-slip 7-8, normal faults < 7
○ Energy released during an earthquake is proportional to the area
of the fault that ruptures
○ Most important parameter controlling maximum earthquake
magnitude is the available width of the fault
○ Stress levels: thrust highest, strike slip intermediate, normal
lowest, greatest principal stress equals the weight of the rock
mass
○ Deformation is spread over much larger area than plate
boundary itself, i.e. San Andreas Fault
○ Shallow-focus = < 70 meters deep, intermediate = 70-300,
deep-focus = 300-700
 ○ Aftershock occurs after the mainshock, always smaller in  MW can be calculated from geologic
magnitude fieldwork by measuring average amount of
○ Measured using observations from seismometers, moment slip on the fault. The area of the fault plane can
magnitude scale most commonly used for earthquakes over be roughly calculated by multiplying the
magnitude of 5 surface rupture length by the depth of the
○ Stress stays the same while strain decreases aftershocks. It can also be calculated using
 Result from rupture and slippage along faults seismogram data.
 Focus: origin of an earthquake, typically at a depth of 5-700km ● Tsunamis: long-wavelength, long-period waves caused by abrupt
 Epicenter: point at the surface directly above focus movement of the crust
 Thousands of earthquakes occur every day, but only 75 strong ones are recorded ○ Wavelength can exceed 100 kilometers, wave periods can vary
yearly from 5 minutes to 1 hour, can travel 600-800 kilometers per
 Earthquakes can cause liquefaction, and rupture power/gas lines resulting in fires hour depending on water depth
 Formation ○ Most destructive tsunamis are caused by magnitude 7.5 or more
o Tectonic stresses acting over many years slowly deform crustal rocks o Most tsunami are caused by the vertical displacement of a slab
on both sides of a fault of seafloor along a fault on the ocean floor, or less often by a
o Rocks bend and store elastic energy due to differential stress submarine landslide trigerred Earthquake
o When frictional resistance is overcome, the rock snaps back in elastic o Open ocean tsunamis can pass undetected because their height
rebound, causing an earthquake is usually less than 1 meter and the distance between wave
o Foreshocks can often precede a major earthquake by a few days or a crests is 100km-700km
few years. They are not very good at determining when an earthquake o Upon entering shallow waters, the waves slow down and pile
will occur up.
o Tsunami warnings
▪ 1. Rapid withdrawal of water from beaches
▪ 2. Surge occurs 5-30 minutes after water retreat
▪ 3. Successive surges are followed by a rapid
oceanward retreat of the sea
● Landslides
○ Earthquakes and movement of the crust can lead to slope
instability, with extensive property damage and loss of life for
people living on homes on steep slopes
 Usually the greatest source of damage from an earthquake
 Occur when a slope changes from a stable to unstable condition. This can
be caused by:
o Groundwater pressure
o Loss of vegetation
o Erosion at the foot by rivers/ocean waves
o Erosion by ice or water or precipitation
o Earthquakes or volcanoes
● Volcanoes
o Magma that produces mafic rocks like basalt contain about 50%
 Seismology Silica (SiO2)
o Seismogram: records obtained from seismographs o Magma that produces felsic rocks like granite contain >70% Silica
o Surface waves: seismic waves that travel near Earth’s surface o Intermediate rocks (andesite/diorite) are about 60% silica
o Body waves: seismic waves that travel through Earth’s interior o Greater silica = greater viscosity
▪ P(primary) waves: push pull waves, they squeeze/stretch o Volatiles: gaseous components of magma(mostly water) This also
rocks in the direction the wave is travelling. They change effects magma mobility
the volume of intervening material o Buoyant magma rises to a level where the rocks above become less
▪ P waves can travel through solids, liquids, and gas dense than the magma. When this occurs, molten material begons to
▪ P waves: 6km/s through granite, increases to 13km/s at collect/pond, forming a magma chamber. As the magma body cools,
base of mantle minerals with high melting temperature crystallize first, leaving the
▪ S(secondary) waves: shake the particles at right angles to remaining melt enriched in silica and other less dense components.
their direction of travel. They change the shape of Some of this molten material may ascend to the surface to produce a
intervening material volcanic eruption. Only a fraction of magma generated at depth ever
▪ Fluids do not transmit S waves because they do not resist reaches the surface
stresses causing changes in shape o Hawaiian type basaltic eruptions: triggered by the arrival of
▪ In solids, P waves are 1.7 times faster than S waves, and a new batch of melt into a near surface magma reservoir. It can be
surface waves are 10% slower than S waves traced by inflation of the volcano summit. A fresh supply of melt
▪ Time of arrival: P ======> S ===> Surface causes the chamber to swell/fracture the rock above. This mobilizes
▪ Amplitude: Surface > S > P the magma so it quickly moves upward and generates long durations
o Earthquake location is measured with triangulation: three of lava outpouring
seismograms measure time of arrival, then use the intersection of the o For basaltic magmas, pressurized gases can escape with relative ease.
distance circles However, highly viscous magmas produce explosive clouds of hot
ash and gases that evolve into buoyant plumes called eruption
o Earthquake scales columns that extend thousands of meters into the atmosphere
▪ Modified Mercalli Scale: based on observational effects o >90% of lavas are basaltic; they can be as fast as 30km/hour, but 10-
▪ Richter scale(ML): based on amplitude of largest seismic 300m/hour is more common
wave. Accounts for decrease in wave amplitude with
o Aa flow: jagged rocks
increasing distance. This should theoretically mean that
the richter magnitude will be constant at any location. o Pahoehoe flows: smooth surfaces
▪ Logarithmic scale: tenford increase in wave amplitude = o Lava tubes: created by hardened basaltic flow. Allows lava to flow
increase of 1 on magnitude scale great distances from its source
▪ Each unit of richter magnitude is also a 32 fold energy o Pyroclastic materials: pulverized rock, lava, and glass fragments
increase produced from an energetic eruption
▪ Moment Magnitude(MW): determines strain energy ▪ Welded tuff: hot ash fusing together after it falls from an
relase along the entire fault surface eruption
 It is better than richter at determining large ▪ Lapilli/cinders: 2-64mm diameter pyroclasts
earthquakes. 1964 alaskan earthquake: 8.3 ML ▪ Blocks: hardened lava >64mm in diameter
-> 9.2 MW, 1906 SF: 8.3 ML-> 7.9 MW.
 ▪ Bombs: incandescent lava >64mm in diameter o A consequence is the production of magma with a higher silica
 Types of volcanoes content than the original rock because basaltic/mafic rocks have
o Shield volcano: low pyroclastic ejecta, large, steep walled
caldera, sporadic/pyroclastic ejections are more common in the final
stage of growth
o Cinder cone(scoria cone): composed mostly of loose
pyroclastic material.
▪ High angle of repose creates 30-40 degree slopes
▪ Mostly produced by a single short eruptive event
o Composite cone(stratovolcano): created with association to
subduction zones
▪ Coarse materials contribute to high angle of repose at the
summit (40+ degrees)
▪ Pyroclastic flow (nuee ardentes): hot gas infused with
incandescent ash and larger lava fragments
▪ Move similarly to snow avalanches. Strong turbulent flow
also aids in frictionless transportation of ash and pumice
downslope
▪ Occurs from powerful eruptions and collapse of tall
eruption columns
▪ Lahar(Indonesian name): fluid mudflow generated by
large composite cones
 Caused by melting of ice and snow (could be higher melting temperatures than felsic rocks
by an eruption) or heavy rains

J. Magma Formation

● Eight elements (most to least): O (50), Si (25), Al, Fe, Ca, Na, Mg, K
● Partial melting determines composition
● Decompression felting: pressure reduced due to surface directed movement
● Flux Melting: adding flux (ie water) reduces melting temperature causing
partial melting
● Only about 10% of rock melts
● Silica chains make magma more viscous
● More gas= less viscous
● Bingham fluid behavior: shear stress vs shear strain doesnt pass origin
 Geothermal gradient: increase in temperature with depth. Averages
+25˚C/km in the upper crust
 Pressure increases with depth, preventing earth from becoming too liquidy
 Melting occurs at higher temperatures at depth because of greater confining
pressure. An increase in confining pressure increases the rock’s melting
temperature
 When confining pressure drops sufficiently, decompression melting is
triggered.
 Decompression melting: hot solid mantle rock ascends in zones of
convective upwelling, moving into regions of lower pressure. This
generates magma along divergent plate boundaries
 Volatiles: water content also affects melting tempearature of rock
o Water and other volatiles act as salt does to melt ice
o Volatiles cause rock to melt at lower temperatures
o They play an important role in generating magma at convergent
plate boundaries where cool slabs of oceanic subducting crustal
rocks
o Water lowers melting point sufficiently to generate some melt
o The addition of 0.1% water can lower melting point as much as
100˚C
 Magma generation TL;DR
o Increase in temperature causes a rock to exceed melting point
o A decrease in pressure in zones of upwelling results in
decompression melting
o Introduction of volatiles lowers melting temperature
sufficiently to generate magma
 Partial melting: minerals with lower melting points melt first, followed by
minerals with higher melting points. This makes melting not complete very
often
 interactions with the thick continental mass above it. Tremendous thrusts
piled sheets of crust on top of each other, building the extraordinarily
broad, high Rocky Mountain range.
● The current southern Rockies were forced upwards through the layers of
Pennsylvanian and Permian sedimentary remnants of the Ancestral Rocky
Mountains. Such sedimentary remnants were often tilted at steep angles
along the flanks of the modern range; they are now visible in many places
throughout the Rockies, and are prominently shown along the Dakota
Hogback, an early Cretaceous sandstone formation that runs along the
eastern flank of the modern Rockies.
● Immediately after the Laramide orogeny, the Rockies were like Tibet: a
high plateau, probably 6,000 metres (20,000 ft) above sea level. In the last
60 million years, erosionstripped away the high rocks, revealing the
ancestral rocks beneath, and forming the current landscape of the Rockies.
● Periods of glaciation occurred from the Pleistocene Epoch (1.8 million -
70,000 years ago) to the Holocene Epoch (fewer than 11,000 years ago).
These ice ages left their mark on the Rockies, forming extensive glacial
landforms, such as U-shaped valleys and cirques. Recent glacial episodes
included the Bull Lake Glaciation that began about 150,000 years ago and
the Pinedale Glaciation that probably remained at full glaciation until
15,000-20,000 years ago.
Appalachian Mountains
● The birth of the Appalachian ranges, some 480 Ma, marks the first of
several mountain-building plate collisions that culminated in the
construction of the supercontinent Pangaea with the Appalachians near the
center. Because North America and Africa were connected, the
Appalachians formed part of the same mountain chain as the Little Atlas in
Morocco. This mountain range, known as the Central Pangean Mountains,
extended into Scotland, from the North America/Europe collision
● During the middle Ordovician Period (about 496–440 Ma), a change in
plate motions set the stage for the first Paleozoic mountain-building event
(Taconic orogeny) in North America. The once-quiet Appalachian passive
margin changed to a very active plate boundary when a neighboring
oceanic plate, the Iapetus, collided with and began sinking beneath the
North American craton. With the birth of this new subduction zone, the
early Appalachians were born. Along the continental margin, volcanoes
grew, coincident with the initiation of subduction. Thrust faulting uplifted
and warped older sedimentary rock laid down on the passive margin. As
mountains rose, erosion began to wear them down. Streams carried rock
K. Geologic history of North America
debris down slope to be deposited in nearby lowlands. The Taconic
Laurentia (North American Craton)
Orogeny was just the first of a series of mountain building plate collisions
● Continental craton (section of lithospheric crust consisting of crust and
that contributed to the formation of the Appalachians, culminating in the
upper mantle) that forms the ancient geologic core of North America,
collision of North America and Africa
originally included present-day Greenland and Scotland in Hebridean
● By the end of the Mesozoic era, the Appalachian Mountains had been
Terrace, has been part of larger continents and subcontinents,
eroded to an almost flat plain.[16] It was not until the region was uplifted
microcontinents and islands collided with Laurentia to form the
during the Cenozoic Erathat the distinctive topography of the present
Precambrian craton seen today
formed.[17] Uplift rejuvenated the streams, which rapidly responded by
Rocky Mountains
cutting downward into the ancient bedrock. Some streams flowed along
● The rocks in the Rocky Mountains were formed before the mountains were
weak layers that define the folds and faults created many millions of years
raised by tectonic forces. The oldest rock is Precambrian metamorphic rock
earlier. Other streams downcut so rapidly that they cut right across the
that forms the core of the North American continent. There is also
resistant folded rocks of the mountain core, carving canyons across rock
Precambrian sedimentary argillite, dating back to 1.7 billion years ago.
layers and geologic structures.
During the Paleozoic, western North America lay underneath a shallow sea,
Yellowstone Hotspot
which deposited many kilometers of limestone and dolomite.
● The youngest silicic volcanic centers correspond to the Yellowstone
● In the southern Rocky Mountains, near present-day Colorado, these
volcanic field that are less than 2.0 Ma and are followed by a sequence of
ancestral rocks were disturbed by mountain building approximately 300
silicic centers at about 6 Ma, southwest of Yellowstone. A third group, near
Ma, during the Pennsylvanian. This mountain building produced the
~10 Ma, is centered near Pocatello, Idaho. The oldest mapped silicic rocks
Ancestral Rocky Mountains. They consisted largely of Precambrian
of the SRP are ~16 Ma, are distributed across a 150 km-wide zone in
metamorphic rock forced upward through layers of the limestone laid down
southwestern Idaho and northern Nevada, the suspected origin of the
in the shallow sea.[6] The mountains eroded throughout the late Paleozoic
YSRP.
and early Mesozoic, leaving extensive deposits of sedimentary rock.
● The systematic topographic features of the eastern SRP have been
● Terranes started to collide with the western edge of North America in the
suggested as the result of general topographic collapse of the eastern Snake
Mississippian (approximately 350 million years ago), causing the Antler
River Plain (Smith and others, 1985) and Smith and Braile (1994) in their
orogeny.[7] For 270 million years, the effects of plate collisions were
assessments of the seismotectonics of the Yellowstone hotspot, by Anders
focused very near the edge of the North American plate boundary, far to
and others (1989, 1992) who ascribed the systematic parabolic-shaped
the west of the Rocky Mountain region.[7] It was not until 80 Ma that these
topography of the YSRP to the Yellowstone hotspot, and by Pierce and
effects began to reach the Rockies.[8]
Morgan (1990, 1992) who attributed the topography and fault patterns of
● The current Rocky Mountains were raised in the Laramide orogeny from
this region also to the Yellowstone hotspot.
between 80 and 55 Ma.[8] For the Canadian Rockies, the mountain building
● Lithospheric deformation on the scale of Yellowstone's hotspot is
is analogous to a rug being pushed on a hardwood floor:[5] the rug bunches
associated with large-scale mantle processes generally have an observable
up and forms wrinkles (mountains). In Canada, the terranes and subduction
response in river drainage systems. The resulting deformation of the
are the foot pushing the rug, the ancestral rocks are the rug, and the
topography reveals the high topographic divides surrounding the SRP
Canadian Shield in the middle of the continent is the hardwood floor.
which separate the Snake River and the Salmon River drainages to the
● Further south, the growth of the Rocky Mountains in the United States was
northwest and the Great Basin and ancestral Snake River drainages to the
probably caused by an unusual subduction, where the Farallon plate dove southeast. The highest elevations are associated with the topographic
at a shallow angle below the North American plate. This low angle moved
divides at 1,500 to 2,000 m in elevation and the bordering topographic
the focus of melting and mountain building much farther inland than the
shoulders extend southwestward from Yellowstone for 400 km wrapping
normal 200 to 300 miles (300 to 500 km). It is postulated that the shallow around the SRP in the characteristic parabolic pattern.
angle of the subducting plate greatly increased the friction and other
 developed to overcome resistance. Success stories, computer models, and
simulations should be components of such a program. Real experiences can
M. Engineering and Societal Practices to Reduce Hazards in Tectonically Active Areas provide both insight into the factors that contribute to successful mitigation
● Awareness, education, preparedness, and prediction and warning systems programs and the means for communities to capitalize on opportunities that
can reduce the disruptive impacts of a natural disaster on communities. follow a disaster.
● Avoiding development in landslide- and flood-prone areas through A. History of the Theory of Plate Tectonics
planning and zoning ordinances, for example, may save money in ● Into the 1900s, many scientists believed that as Earth cooled after its
construction and reduce the loss of life and damage to property and natural formation, the planet's surfacecontracted and wrinkled like the skin of an
resources. apple, subjected to the sun and drying out over time. The contraction
● The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) projects a theory, independently proposed by two prominent scientists in the late
national investment of $4 trillion during the 1990s in new construction and 1800s and early 1900s, implied that mountain ranges like the Himalayas
infrastructure. were forced up by the wrinkling process. This theory assumed that all of
● Mitigation may involve solutions that are technically sound but politically the features on Earth had formed during one cooling event and that the
unpopular. In this context, elected officials are often reluctant to pursue planet was relatively static, changing little as the cooling (and wrinkling)
mitigation programs vigorously. slowed to a halt over millions of years.
● To be effective, mitigation requires a multidisciplinary team approach free ● Alfred Wegener, a German geophysicist and meteorologist, was not
from domination by any one special interest group; each discipline has a satisfied by this explanation. His ideas drew on the widely recognized fact
role and contribution to make. that Africa and South America appeared to fit together like jigsaw puzzle
● incorporate both structural and nonstructural mitigation measures in new pieces. He collected paleoclimate data, or information about what the
development climate was like in the geologic past as recorded in rocks, from the
● examine ways to reduce the vulnerability of existing structures continents on both sides of the Atlantic. He recognized that belts of coal,
● take steps to reduce the vulnerability of natural resources which forms in tropical regions, crossed from North America in Europe
● undertake mitigation training with support from state and federal and Asia, far north of the modern tropics. He also found evidence that an
governments ice sheet had once advanced from southern Africa and India, a phenomenon
Examples of Procedures to Mitigate National Disaster Hazards: that was impossible to explain in the modern arrangement of the continents.
● 1. Protection of schools and hospitals. All new schools and hospitals should ● To explain these data, Wegener proposed the theory of continental drift in
be located and constructed to ensure that high-hazard areas are avoided and his book The Origins of the Continents and the Oceans, published in
that special provisions are made to reduce the potential for damage by German in 1915 and in English in 1924 . His theory stated that all of the
natural hazards. In addition, existing school and hospital buildings should continents had originally been joined together during the time period called
be surveyed to determine their levels of resistance to relevant hazards. the Carboniferous in Pangaea. By the Eocene. when new fossil species
Strenuous efforts should be made to strengthen facilities that would fail in were present that were not as widely distributed, the continents as we know
a disaster. In some instances, legislation may be required to ensure that them today had broken apart and were far enough apart that species could
mitigation actions are taken. not easily migrate from one to the other.
● 2. Adoption of nonstructural measures. Businesses and homes should ● Wegener was ridiculed when his book was translated because he did not
incorporate nonstructural mitigation measures to minimize injuries and know the major driving force behind plate tectonics and could not explain
property damage from natural disasters. Furniture and equipment, for it to the scientific community. Mapping the ocean floor with advancements
example, can be easily secured to reduce injuries and damage from in technology and measuring the magnetism of sea floor rocks provided
earthquakes. Other nonstructural measures are management of vegetation later evidence for his theory.
to reduce damage from wildfires and location of structures away from high- ● Before the 1920s, the crust below the seas was thought to be flat and
hazard areas. featureless. During World War I, however, ships equipped with sonar
● 3. Incorporation of mitigation into new development. Local jurisdictions began to produce data about the topography of the seafloor. These sonar
should ensure that new development is located, designed, and constructed maps showed the seafloor to be anything but featureless.In a 1962 paper
to withstand natural hazards. They should use information from hazard and entitled "History of Ocean Basins," Harry Hess, a geologist at Princeton
risk assessments, land-use plans, and zoning regulations to limit University, proposed that the mid-ocean ridges marked regions where hot
development of hazard-prone areas. magma rose close to the surface. Further, he suggested that the extrusion
● 4. Protection of cultural properties. Protection of libraries, monuments, of magma at the ridges pushed the ocean floor away from the ridges like a
historic buildings, works of art, and other cultural resources should be conveyor belt. In deep trenches like those found off the coast of South
incorporated into mitigation planning and action. America and Japan, the spreading ocean floor was forced down below the
● Mitigation training should include the issue of preservation to promote thick continents in regions he called subduction zones.
informed decision-making and community involvement. ● The same year that Hess proposed his theory, the US Navy published a
● 5. Protection of natural resources. Particularly valuable natural resources report that summarized its findings concerning seafloor magnetism. During
such as endangered species of wildlife, fish, and plants should be identified World War II, ships dragged magnetometers, which are devices to measure
in mitigation plans and protection measures included in disaster response magnetism, in order to locate submarines. The magnetometers were on and
plans. Such natural resources are found not only in the wild, but in zoos measuring at all times while the ships traveled back and forth across the
and parks as well. Atlantic and Pacific, and they found a lot more than submarines. When
● Mitigation plans might include particular attention to the location and Navy scientists examined the data, they found bands of alternating strong
design of facilities so that a fire or windstorm does not act as a conduit for and weak magnetism in the rocks of the seafloor. The magnetism was
unexpected damage to important natural resources. For example, pipelines caused by the presence of magnetic minerals in the rocks, primarily one
and power lines frequently traverse important natural resources areas. In called magnetite, which is common in the basalt that makes up the rocks of
such cases, it is possible to anticipate probable damage to adjacent natural the ocean floor. When magma cools and crystallizes, the magnetite crystals
resources caused by rupture of a pipeline or a broken power line. are locked into alignment with Earth's magnetic field like the needle of a
● 6. Government leadership of mitigation implementation. Government at all compass.The existence of Earth's magnetic field had been known since
levels should set an example by requiring that new facilities that it funds, ancient times, but only after World War II did scientists realize that the
regulates, or leases be designed, built, and located in accordance with magnetic field is not constant - it fluctuates in intensity and frequently
modern building codes and sound land-use practices reverses itself. At various times in the past, the polarity has been reversed
● 7. Mitigation training. Training programs that focus on contemporary - any compass needles would have instead pointed to the South Pole. This
challenges associated with implementing mitigation should be developed phenomenon of magnetic reversals had previously been observed in
and offered. A national training program, supported by the federal continental rocks, and was clearly the case for oceanic rocks as well.
government and fully integrated with the preparedness training proposed ● In 1963, Fred Vine and Drummond Matthews, two British geologists,
here, should be developed for this purpose. Its curriculum would include joined the topographic map of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge with the symmetric
land-use planning, zoning, building codes and regulations, tax incentives, bands of magnetism on the seafloor. Where the navy ships mapped strong
and nonstructural mitigation measures. Mitigation training should be magnetism, rocks showed normal polarity; where they mapped bands of
highly interactive, reflecting real problems and issues. weak magnetism, the rocks showed reversed polarity. The bands not only
● 8. Hazard-specific research. Recent disasters have demonstrated the paralleled the mid-ocean ridges, but were patterned symmetrically about
benefits of mitigation efforts while pointing out the need for research to the crest of those ridges.
improve mitigation practice. ● At the crests, the magnetism was strong; therefore, the polarity was normal.
● 9. Overcoming resistance to mitigation. Barriers to the adoption of But moving in either direction away from the ridge, the magnetism would
mitigation measures need to be clearly identified and innovative strategies drop suddenly at about the same distance from the crest – the polarity was
 reversed. Continue away from the ridge in both directions, and magnetism The Mantle:
would suddenly be strong again – back into rocks with normal polarity.  The mantle makes up 80% of the Earth’s volume and is almost 2900
The symmetry suggested that magma was rising at the ridges and cooling kilometers thick.
to lock in the magnetic field at the time, then being pushed away from the  This layer is mostly composed of peridotite which is denser than basalt and
ridge in both directions, preserving a record of paleomagnetic reversals and granite and dark in color.
the generation of new crust over time.  Temperature is near 1000 degrees C, and the inner mantle is 3300 degrees
● These strongly patterned paleomagnetic reversals recorded on the seafloor C Rocks expand about 10% when liquid/melted, so high pressures prevent
provided the necessary proof of Hess's seafloor spreading. Specifically, rocks from melting in the mantle; rocks in the mantle ooze slowly, and are
they proved that new crust was continuously being generated at the mid- weak and plastic
ocean ridges, where magma cooled and magnetite crystals "locked in"  The strength of rocks in the mantle are very different
according to the orientation of Earth's magnetic field at that time. The The Lithosphere:
continents no longer had to "drift" to their present locations – they could  100 km in thickness, but can vary up to 25 kilometers either way
be driven by slow and steady magma "conveyor belts" that originated at  This layer includes the crust and upper mantle
the mid-ocean ridges. The Asthenosphere
Robert Dietz:  This layer is right under the lithosphere and is extremely weak and plastic
 A scientist with the US Coast and Geodetic Survey. Dietz was a marine  1-2% of rock melts, 98-99% is still solid
geologist, geophysicist and oceanographer who conducted pioneering
 Extends from 100-350 km deep
research along with Harry Hammond Hess concerning seafloor spreading,
 The average temperature is about 1800 degrees C
published as early as 1960–1961.
 Pressure rises about 35 kilobars to about 120 kilobars
 While at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography he observed the nature of
the Emperor chain of seamounts that extended from the northwest end of  The lithosphere floats on top of this layer
the Hawaiian Island–Midway chain and speculated over lunch with Robert The Core:
Fisher in 1953 that something must be carrying these old volcanic  Has a radius of about 3740 km
mountains northward like a conveyor belt.  About the size of Mars
Jason Morgan:  Largely composed of iron and nickel
 After reading a paper by H. W. Menard, Morgan recognized a pattern he  It’s nearly 7000 degrees C at the center of the core, hotter than the sun’s
had seen on the ocean floor previously while in the Navy. surface
 He used his mathematical skills to explain how these patterns formed the  The pressure is nearly 3.5 million times earth’s surface
fracture zones seen on the ocean floor. At the time, scientists thought that  It’s solid because of the high high high pressure
the crust deformed and did not understand the motions of the crust. As C. Types of plates, boundaries, and margins
Morgan continued to research the great faults along the ocean floor, his ● Types of Plate Boundaries:
idea was that the crust consisted of a dozen rigid plates, which were moving ● Convergent: occurs when two plates come together
relative to each other. The use of plate rotation vectors and geometry along ● Two colliding plates buckles the edge of one or both into a rugged
a spherical Earth allowed Morgan to calculate the motions of these tectonic mountain range, sometimes bends the other into a deep seafloor trench
plates. In 1967 at an American Geophysical Union meeting, in lieu of the ● A chain of volcanoes often forms parallel to the trench, mountain range,
paper he was supposed to present on the Puerto Rico Trench,
 Morgan presented his paper, "Rises, Trenches, Great Faults, and Crustal
Blocks". In the paper, he identified three types of plate boundaries he had
found by studying the rotation of the rigid plates around an Euler pole.
Years later GPS technology showed that Morgan's predicted plate motions
depicted Earth's crustal movement indeed. This study has helped scientists
explain many aspects of geological history as well as earthquake movement
and has become part of the foundation of plate tectonic theory.
Plate Tectonics:
 Plate tectonics is a scientific theory describing the large-scale motion of 7
large plates and the movements of a larger number of smaller plates of the
Earth's lithosphere
 The theoretical model builds on the concept of continental drift developed
during the first few decades of the 20th century. The geoscientific
community accepted plate-tectonic theory after seafloor spreading was

and plate boundary

● Powerful earthquakes on both sides of the boundary; wide area
● If one of the plates is topped with oceanic crust, it is forced down into the
mantle where it begins to melt
● Magma rises into and through the other plate, solidifying new crust
● Magma formed from melting plates solidifies into granite, a low-colored,
low-density rock that makes up continents
● Continental crust created; oceanic crust destroyed
● I.e. West Coast of South America (Nazca Plate and South American Plate;
Andes Mountains), North American Plate and Pacific Plate (Aleutian
Islands)
● Divergent: occurs when two tectonic plates move away from each other
validated in the late 1950s and early 1960s. ● Along these boundaries, lava spews from long fissures and geysers release
superheated water
B. Identification of Earth’s Layers ● Frequent earthquakes strike along the rift valley
The Crust: ● Beneath the rift, magma rises from the mantle, oozes up into the gap, and
 The outermost and thinnest layer. Oceanic crust is between 4 and 7 hardens into solid rock, forming new crust on the torn edges of the plates
kilometers and is composed mostly of basalt. Continental crust is about 20 ● Magma from the mantle solidifies into basalt,a dense rock that underlies
to 40 kilometers thick but can be up to 70 kilometers thick at mountain the ocean floor, and therefore oceanic crust made of basalt is created
ranges and is composed mostly of granite. ● Divergent boundaries form mid-ocean ridges
 It is cool relative to the other layers.
 ● During rifting, as the crust is thinned, the Earth's surface subsides and the
Moho becomes correspondingly raised. At the same time, the mantle
lithosphere becomes thinned, causing a rise of the top of the asthenosphere.
Once rifting ceases, the mantle beneath the rift cools and this is
accompanied by a broad area of post-rift subsidence. The amount of
subsidence is directly related to the amount of thinning during the rifting
phase calculated as the beta factor (initial crustal thickness divided by final
crustal thickness), but is also affected by the degree to which the rift basin
is filled at each stage, due to the greater density of sediments in contrast to
water. The simple 'McKenzie model' of rifting, which considers the rifting
stage to be instantaneous, provides a good first order estimate of the
amount of crustal thinning from observations of the amount of post-rift
subsidence.[7][8] This has generally been replaced by the 'flexural cantilever
model', which takes into account the geometry of the rift faults and the
flexural isostasy of the upper part of the crust.
● Back-arc basins: Are geologic basins, submarine features associated
with island arcs and subduction zones. They are found at some convergent
plate boundaries, presently concentrated in the western Pacific Ocean.
● I.e. Iceland, Mid-Atlantic Ridge (Eurasian Plate and North American Most of them result from tensional forces caused by oceanic trench
Plate), East Africa Rift Valley, East Pacific Rise rollback (the oceanic trench is wandering in the seafloor direction) and the
● Transform: occurs when two plates slide past each other collapse of the edge of the continent. The arc crust is under extension or
● Natural or human-made structures that cross a transform boundary are rifting as a result of the sinking of the subducting slab. Back-arc basins
offset—split into pieces and carried in opposite directions. were initially a surprising result for plate tectonics theorists, who expected
● Rocks that line the boundary are pulverized as the plates grind along, convergent boundaries to be zones of compression, rather than major
creating a linear fault valley or undersea canyon. extension. However, they are now recognized as consistent with this model
● As the plates alternately jam and jump against each other, earthquakes in explaining how the interior of Earth loses heat. Back-arc basins are
rattle through a wide boundary zone. hypothesized to form as a result of trench rollback (also, hinge rollback).
● In contrast to convergent and divergent boundaries, no magma is formed. This is the backward motion of the subduction zone relative to the motion
Thus, crust is cracked and broken at transform margins, but is not created of the plate which is being subducted. As the subduction zone and its
or destroyed. associated trench pull backward, the overriding plate is stretched, thinning
● I.e. San Andreas Fault, Alpine Fault of New Zealand the crust which is manifest in the back-arc basin. Sedimentation is strongly
● Types of Margins: asymmetric, with most of the sediment supplied from the active magmatic
● Constructive Margin: newly created lithosphere is being added to arc which regresses in step with the rollback of the trench.
plates which are moving apart at oceanic ridges ● Foreland Basin:
● ● A foreland basin is a structural basin that develops adjacent and parallel to
● Convergent Margins : a mountain belt. Foreland basins form because the immense mass created
○ Destructive Margins: one plate is carried down into the mantle, by crustal thickening associated with the evolution of a mountain belt
beneath a bordering plate, at a subduction zone causes the lithosphere to bend, by a process known as lithospheric flexure.
○ Collision Zone: where two island arcs and continents, or an The width and depth of the foreland basin is determined by the flexural
island arc and continent are colliding rigidity of the underlying lithosphere, and the characteristics of the
● Conservative Margins: two plates are moving in opposite directions to each mountain belt. The foreland basin receives sediment that is eroded off the
other along a transform fault, no new crust is created or destroyed adjacent mountain belt, filling with thick sedimentary successions that thin
● All three margins are seismically active, with volcanic activity at away from the mountain belt. Foreland basins represent an endmember
constructive and destructive margins. If plates exhibit characteristics of basin type, the other being rift basins. Space for sediments
more than one type, they are combined plate margins. (accommodation space) is provided by loading and downflexure to form
foreland basins, in contrast to rift basins, where accommodation space is
D. Types of Tectonic Basins generated by lithospheric extension. Foreland basins form because as the
mountain belt grows, it exerts a significant mass on the Earth’s crust, which
● Rift Basins: are found on all passive (Atlantic-type) continental margins
and provide a record of the early stages of continental breakup.
● The architecture of these basins and the basin fill are strongly influenced
by the displacement geometry on the bounding normal fault systems . Thus,
aspects of the evolution of these fault systems, including their nucleation,
propagation and linkage, can be extracted from the sedimentary record.
Many modern and ancient extensional basins contain lacustrine deposits
that are sensitive recorders of climate.
● Milankovitch cycles recorded in these strata provide a quantitative test of
the predictions of basin-filling models that can, in turn, be used to infer
aspects of crustal rheology during rifting Many of the major petroleum
provinces of the world are associated with rift basins.
● A typical rift basin is a fault-bounded feature known as a half graben. In a
cross section oriented perpendicular to the boundary fault (transverse
section), the half graben has a triangular geometry . The three sides of the
triangle are the border fault, the rift-onset unconformity between prerift and
synrift rocks, and the postrift unconformity between synrift and postrift
rocks (or, for modern rifts, the present-day depositional surface).
● At the onset of rifting, the upper part of the lithosphere starts to extend on
a series of initially unconnected normal faults, leading to the development
of isolated basins.[6] In subaerial rifts, drainage at this stage is generally
internal, with no element of through drainage. causes it to bend, or flex, downwards. This occurs so that the weight of the
● As the rift evolves, some of the individual fault segments grow, eventually mountain belt can be compensated by isostasy at the upflex of the
becoming linked together to form the larger bounding faults. Subsequent forebulge.
extension becomes concentrated on these faults. ● The plate tectonic evolution of a peripheral foreland basin involves three
● The longer faults and wider fault spacing leads to more continuous areas general stages. First, the passive margin stage with orogenic loading of
of fault-related subsidence along the rift axis. previously stretched continental margin during the early stages of
● Significant uplift of the rift shoulders develops at this stage, strongly convergence. Second, the "early convergence stage defined by deep water
influencing drainage and sedimentation in the rift basins. conditions", and lastly a "later convergent stage during which a subaerial
 wedge is flanked with terrestrial or shallow marine foreland basins" (Allen theory of plate tectonics.[2]Some such volcanic regions lie far from tectonic
& Allen 2005). plate boundaries, for example, Hawaii. Others represent unusually large-
● The temperature underneath the orogen is much higher and weakens the volume volcanism, whether on plate boundaries, e.g. Iceland, or basalt
lithosphere. Thus, the thrust belt is mobile and the foreland basin system floods such as the Deccan or Siberian traps.
becomes deformed over time. Syntectonic unconformities demonstrate ● A mantle plume is posited to exist where hot rock nucleates at the core-
simultaneous subsidence and tectonic activity. mantle boundary and rises through the Earth's mantle becoming a diapir in
● Foreland basins are filled with sediments which erode from the adjacent the Earth's crust.[3] The currently active volcanic centers are known as "hot
mountain belt. In the early stages, the foreland basin is said to be spots". In particular, the concept that mantle plumes are fixed relative to
underfilled. During this stage, deep water and commonly marine one another, and anchored at the core-mantle boundary, was thought to
sediments, known as flysch, are deposited. Eventually, the basin becomes provide a natural explanation for the time-progressive chains of older
completely filled. At this point, the basin enters the overfilled stage and volcanoes seen extending out from some such hot spots, such as the
deposition of terrestrial clastic sediments occurs. These are known as Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain.
molasse. Sediment fill within the foredeep acts as an additional load on the ● The hypothesis of mantle plumes from depth is not universally accepted as
continental lithosphere explaining all such volcanism. It has required progressive hypothesis-
● Intermontane Basin: elaboration leading to variant propositions such as mini-plumes and
● An alluvium-filled valley between mountain ranges, often formed over a pulsing plumes. Another hypothesis for unusual volcanic regions is the
graben, i.e. New Zealand’s Mackenzie Basin "Plate model". This proposes shallower, passive leakage of magma from
● Unconsolidated deposits that overlie rocks of pre-Miocene age generally the mantle onto the Earth's surface where extension of the lithosphere
form the major aquifers in the intermontane basins. These deposits provide permits it, attributing most volcanism to plate tectonic processes, with
base flow to the stream that typically drains each intermontane basin. volcanoes far from plate boundaries resulting from intraplate extension
E. Driving Forces of Plate Tectonics: ● Subduction:
● Mantle Convection: ● Subduction is a geological process that takes place at convergent
● Mantle convection is the slow creeping motion of Earth's solid silicate boundaries of tectonic plates where one plate moves under another and is
mantle caused by convection currents carrying heat from the interior of the forced or sinks due to gravity into the mantle. Regions where this process
Earth to the surface.[3][4]The Earth's surface lithosphere, which rides atop occurs are known as subduction zones. Rates of subduction are typically in
the asthenosphere (the two components of the upper mantle), is divided centimeters per year, with the average rate of convergence being
into a number of plates that are continuously being created and consumed approximately two to eight centimeters per year along most plate
at their opposite plate boundaries. Accretion occurs as mantle is added to boundaries.[1]
the growing edges of a plate, associated with seafloor spreading. This hot  Subduction zones are sites of convective downwelling of Earth's
added material cools down by conduction and convection of heat. At the lithosphere (the crust plus the top non-convecting portion of the
consumption edges of the plate, the material has thermally contracted to upper mantle). Subduction zones exist at convergent plate
become dense, and it sinks under its own weight in the process of boundaries where one plate of oceanic lithosphere converges with
subduction usually at an ocean trench.[5]
another plate. The descending slab, the subducting plate, is over-
● This subducted material sinks through the Earth's interior. Some subducted
material appears to reach the lower mantle,[6] while in other regions, this ridden by the leading edge of the other plate. The slab sinks at an
material is impeded from sinking further, possibly due to a phase transition angle of approximately twenty-five to forty-five degrees to Earth's
from spinel to silicate perovskite and magnesiowustite, an endothermic surface. This sinking is driven by the temperature difference
reaction.[7] between the subducting oceanic lithosphere and the surrounding
● The subducted oceanic crust triggers volcanism, although the basic mantle asthenosphere, as the colder oceanic lithosphere is, on
mechanisms are varied. Volcanism may occur due to processes that add
average, denser. At a depth of approximately 80–120 kilometers,
buoyancy to partially melted mantle causing an upward flow due to a
decrease in density of the partial melt. the basalt of the oceanic crust is converted to a metamorphic rock
● Secondary forms of convection that may result in surface volcanism are called eclogite. At that point, the density of the oceanic crust
postulated to occur as a consequence of intraplate extension[8] and mantle increases and provides additional negative buoyancy (downwards
plumes.[1] force). It is at subduction zones that Earth's lithosphere, oceanic
● It is because the mantle can convect that the tectonic plates are able to move crust, sedimentary layers and some trapped water are recycled into
around the Earth's surface.[9] the deep mantle.
● Mantle convection seems to have been much more active during the ● Plates include both oceanic crust and continental crust. Stable subduction
Hadean period, resulting in gravitational sorting of heavier molten iron, zones involve the oceanic lithosphere of one plate sliding beneath the
and nickel elements and sulphides in the core, and lighter silicate minerals continental or oceanic lithosphere of another plate due to the higher density
in the mantle. of the oceanic lithosphere. That is, the subducted lithosphere is always
oceanic while the overriding lithosphere may or may not be oceanic.
Subduction zones are sites that have a high rate of volcanism,
earthquakes,[2] and mountain building.
● Orogenesis, or mountain-building, occurs when large pieces of material on
the subducting plate (such as island arcs) are pressed into the over-riding
plate or when subhorizontal contraction occurs in the over-riding plate.
These areas are subject to many earthquakes, which are caused by the
interactions between the subducting slab and the mantle, the volcanoes, and
(when applicable) the mountain-building related to island arc collisions.

Glacial Rebound:
F. Plate Movement and Impacts of Plate Movement
● Wilson cycle:
● The cyclical opening and closing of ocean basins caused by movement of
the Earth's plates. The Wilson cycle begins with a rising plume of magma
and the thinning of the overlying crust. As the crust continues to thin due
to extensional tectonic forces, an ocean basin forms and sediments
accumulate along its margins. Subsequently subduction is initiated on one
of the ocean basin's margins and the ocean basin closes up. When the crust
begins to thin again, another cycle begins. The Wilson cycle is named after
the Canadian geophysicist J. Tuzo Wilson (1908-1993).
● Mantle Plume:
● A mantle plume is a mechanism proposed in 1971 to explain volcanic ● Terranes:
regions of the Earth that were not thought to be explicable by the then-new
 ● A terrane in geology, in full a tectonostratigraphic terrane is a fragment of
crustal material formed on, or broken off from, one tectonic plate and
accreted or "sutured" to crust lying on another plate. The crustal block or
fragment preserves its own distinctive geologic history, which is different
from that of the surrounding areas — hence the term "exotic" terrane. The
suture zone between a terrane and the crust it attaches to is usually
identifiable as a fault.
● Orogenic Belts:
● Orogeny refers to forces and events leading to a large structural
deformation of the Earth's lithosphere (crust and uppermost mantle) due to
the interaction between tectonic plates. Orogens or orogenic belts develop
when a continental plate is crumpled and is pushed upwards to form
mountain ranges, and involve a great range of geological processes
collectively called orogenesis.

● Two Most Abundant Minerals in Earth’s Crust: Pyroxene and Olivine

● Oxygen, Iron, Magnesium, and Silicon make up 90% of Earth’s crust
● Shields, formed in the Precambrian Era, are the center and seed of a
continent.
● Platforms grow around shields
● Orogeny: mountain-building processes vs Epeirogeny: continent-building
processes
● Tectonic uplift is the portion of the total geologic uplift of the Earg’s
surface that is not a result of the isostatic response to unloading.
● Earth’s magnetic field is caused by convection in the inner core.

Relative Dating
 Law of superposition: In undeformed sedimentary rocks, higher layers are
younger.
o Fragmentation begain along western margin of Laurentia
 Principle of Original Horizontality: layers are generally deposited
horizontally. Flat layers are undisturbed. Folded layers have been folded o Fragments make up the core of Laurentia, Baltica, Ukrainian Shield, Amazonian
after deposition. Shield, Australia, and possibly Siberia, North China, and Kalaharia as well.
 Principle of Cross Cutting Relationships: A fault or intrusion is younger
than the rocks affected.
 Rock masses adjacent to that with the inclusion must have been there first
Rodinia (1300-650mya): Neoproterozoic era
to provide the rock fragments
o Formed by accretion and collisions of fragments of Columbia
 Conformable: layers of rock deposited without interruption.
 Unconformity: long period during which deposition ceased, erosion o The extreme cooling of the global climate around 700 million years ago (the so-
removed previously formed rocks, then deposition resumed. called Snowball Earth of the Cryogenian Period) and the rapid evolution of primitive
o Represent significant geologic events in Earth history life during the subsequent Ediacaran and Cambrian periods are thought to have been
o Angular: tilted/folded sedimentary rocks overlain by younger triggered by the breaking up of Rodinia or to a slowing down of tectonic processes.
flat strata. Indicates deformation/tilting [7]
o Disconformity: Mostly parallel to surrounding strata, identified
by slight uneven layering
o Nonconformity: seperates older metamorphic/intrusive igneous
rocks from younger sedimentary strata

Vaalbara(3600-2800 mya): Archean Supercontinent.

o Consisted of the Kaapvaal Craton (E South Africa) and Pilbara Craton (NW
WestAus)

o Evidence of existence: Kaapvaal/Pilbara have similar early Precambrian cover

sequences. The blocks also show evidence of similar meteor impacts.

o High temperatures from impact between cratons must have fused sediment into
glassy spherules, which can be found. They have similar layering as well (stratigraphy)
Pannotia AKA Vendian AKA Greater Gandwana AKA Pan-African
Kenorland (2720-2100 mya): Neoarchaean Era (600mya)(Neoproterozoic)
o Formed by accretion of creation of new continental crust
o Formed by fragments of Rodinia
o The accretion events are recorded in the greenstone belts of the Yilgarn Craton as
o Reconstructions usually include: Laurentia, Canadian shield, west coast of Laurentia
metamorphosed basalt belts and granitic domes accreted around the high
facing Antarctica/Australia (or East Gondwana), east coast of laurentia facing
grade metamorphic core of the Western Gneiss Terrane, which includes elements of
Amazonian Craton, north coast facing Baltica, Siberlia lies next to Baltica, major
up to 993.2 Ga in age and some older portions, for example the Narryer Gneiss
orogeny: East African, Canadian Shield Laurasia (1000-250 mya)
Terrane.
o Formed Pangea along with Gondwana
o Breakup caused by rifting due to mantle plume.
o Included most of the land masses which make up today&#39;s continents of
Columbia AKA Nuna AKA Hudsonland (1820-1500mya): the Northern Hemisphere, chiefly Laurentia, Baltica, Siberia, Kazakhstania, and
Paleoproterozoic era the North China and East China cratons.

o Created by collisions due to orogeny Gondwana(630-200 mya)

o Expanded due to accretion at many subduction locations o Major orogenies: Brasiliano, East African, Malagasy, Kuunga
o Breakup began in early Jurassic/Cretaceous

Pangea (335-175 mya)

o Formed from collision of Laurasia and Gondwana

o Evidence of existence: Fossils, plate tectonics, continental shapes fitting, glacial

deposits

o Detoriation of N. Pangea may have contributed to Permian extinction

o Climate greatly affected by breakup of Pangea; continental drift

o Breakup caused by rifting at North Atlantic Sea, separation of Gondwana into Africa,
South America, India, Antarctica, Australia due to subduction at Tethyan Trench

o 35ma Indian&gt;Asia = Himalayan Orogeny

Brittle and Ductile Deformation

 Deformation: general term referring to all changes in the original shape,
size, or orientation of a rock body.
 Stress: describes the forces that deform rocks
 Elastic deformation: when stress is gradually applied, rocks first respond
by deforming elastically. Changes resulting from elastic deformation are
recoverable. The chemical bonds within a rock are stretched but do not
break.
 Brittle deformation: rocks breaking into smaller pieces. Results once the
elastic limit of a rock is surpassed.
 Ductile deformation: a type of solid state flow that produces a change in
the shape of an object without fracturing. For example, modeling clay,
taffy, and some metals.
o In rocks, ductile deformation is the result of some chemical
bonds breaking while others are forming, allowing minerals to
change shape.
o This also produces folds.
▪ Anticlines usually arise by upfolding/arching of
sedimentary layers. They form an upside-down U
shape.
▪ Synclines are found in association with anticlines.
They form a U shape.
 Factors affecting rock strength
o High temperatures (such as those in Earth’s crust) result in
ductile deformation
o Low temperatures (such as those at the surface) result in brittle
deformation
o High confining pressure forces rocks to squeeze together and
flow instead of fracturing
o Crystalline rocks with strong intermolecular bonds tend to fail
by brittle deformation. Weaker rocks are more susceptible to
ductile deformation.
 Magnetic anomaly: local variation in Earth’s magnetic field resulting from
variations in chemistry/magnetism of rocks
 Gravity anomaly: difference in observed gravitational acceleration vs.
calculated gravitational acceleration on a planet