Title:
Plate tectonics : continental drift and mountain building / Wolfgang Frisch, Martin Meschede, Ronald Blakey.
Author:
Frisch, Wolfgang, 1943-
Meschede, Martin.
Blakey, Ronald C., 1945-
Publication Information:
Heidelberg [Germany] ; New York : Springer, c2011.
Call Number:
QE511.4 .F748 2011
Abstract:
This volume presents an introduction to the field of plate tectonics. Plate tectonics is a scientific theory which describes the large scale motions of Earth's rigid outermost shell. The authors begin with an historical introduction concerning early ideas of continental drift and Earth dynamics that leads into discussion and consideration of plate motions and geometry. This is followed by several chapters that define, describe in detail, and illustrate the various features, processes, and settings that comprise the plate tectonic realm: graben structures, passive continental margins, ocean basins, mid-ocean ridges, subduction zones, and transform faults. The remaining chapters deal with mountain-building processes as a consequence of plate tectonics and the collision of terranes and large continents. These chapters illuminate plate tectonic processes from the early history of the Earth to the present.
ISBN:
9783540765035
Physical Description:
viii, 212 p., [2] leaves of plates : col. ill., col. maps ; 29 cm.
Contents:
Contractional theory, continental drift and plate tectonics: Plate tectonics : a change in the paradigm of the geosciences ; Early history of geodynamic thought ; From continental drift to plate tectonics ; The plate tectonic concept ; The pattern of magnetic polarity stripes ; Plate motions and earthquake zones ; Two kinds of continental margins ; Magmatism and plate tectonics ; What drives the plates and what slows them down? ; Collision and mountain building -- Plate movements and their geometric relationships: Helpful transform faults ; Relative movements and triple junctions ; Relative plate velocities : past and present ; Direct measurement of plate movements ; Apparent contradictions in the plate motion pattern -- Continental graben structures: Symmetric and asymmetric crustal extension ; Sediments and ore deposits in graben structures ; Volcanism in graben structures ; The Upper Rhine Graben in Germany ; The history of the Upper Rhine Graben ; Magmatism and heat flow in the Upper Rhine Graben ; The large East African rift system ; The Red Sea : from rift to drift ; The extensional area of the Basin and Range Province ; The development of metamorphic domes ; A brief history of the Basin and Range Province --
Passive continental margins and abyssal plains: Continuous subsidence of the continental margins ; The sedimentary trap at a passive continental margin ; Processes on continental margins ; Petroleum deposits : the economic significance of passive continental margins ; The Atlantic : an ocean opens in an intricate manner ; The large abyssal plains ; Sediments of the abyssal plains ; Facies changes on the large oceanic conveyor belt -- Mid-ocean ridges: Topography of the ridges ; Generation of oceanic lithosphere ; Rocks of the oceanic crust ; Basalts of mid-ocean ridges ; Fast and slow spreading ridges and rocks of the lithospheric mantle ; Segmentation of ridges by faults ; Graben formation in the Atlantic ; Black and white smokers ; Ocean floor metamorphism ; Chromite deposits ; Ophiolites ; The ophiolite of the Semail Nappe in Oman ; Alpine-Mediterranean ophiolites -- Hot spots: Hot spots and mid-ocean ridges ; The mysterious D" layer and the dented Earth ; Hot spot tracks in the ocean ; Hot spot tracks on the continent ; Flood and trap basalts;- The Azores : hot, cold or wet spot? ; Hawaii : a typical oceanic hot spot ; Iceland ; Yellowstone ; The superplume event in the Cretaceous --
Subduction zones, island arcs and active continental margins: Structure of plate margin systems with subduction zones ; Spontaneous and forced subduction : Mariana- and Chile-type subduction ; Deep sea trenches as sediment traps ; Accretionary wedge and outer ridge ; Subduction erosion instead of accretion ; The forearc basin ; Earthquakes and Benioff zones ; The secret of deep earthquakes ; High-pressure or subduction metamorphism ; Subduction-related magmatism : a paradox? ; Rocks of the magmatic zone ; Zonation of magmas in space and time ; Explosive stratovolcanoes as indicators for subduction magmatism ; Metamorphism in the magmatic belt ; Ore deposits in the magmatic belt ; The backarc basin ; Gravity and heat flow ; Subduction and collision -- Transform faults: Oceanic transform faults -- Fracture zones in the ocean floor -- Continental transform faults -- San Andreas : the infamous transform fault of California ; The North Anatolian Fault in Asia Minor and the Alpine Fault in New Zealand -- Terranes: Documenting terranes ; Terranes in the North American Cordillera ; Suspect terranes in Mexico and Middle America -- Early Precambrian plate tectonics: Greenstone-granite belts ; Granulite-gneiss belts ; Towards an Archean plate tectonic model ; The growth of continents ; Possible younger equivalents of greenstone granite belts --
Plate tectonics and mountain building: Types of active continental margins within orogenic styles ; Continent-continent collision ; Uplift, erosion, and elevation of mountains ; Collapse and crustal escape -- Old orogens: 2500-2000 million years old ophiolites ; The Wopmay orogen in Canada ; The Grenville orogenic cycle and the formation of the supercontinent Rodinia ; The Panafrican orogeny and the formation of Gondwana ; The Caledonides : a Wilson cycle around the Iapetus Ocean ; The Variscides : a broad mountain belt in central Europe ; The Variscan orogen in the Alps ; Paleozoic mountain building in eastern and southern North America -- Young orogens : the Earth's loftiest places: The Himalayas : a mountain range with superlatives ; Tectonic history of the Himalayas ; The Alps : an untypical but classic orogen ; Brief history of Alpine evolution ; The North American Cordillera : a different style of orogen -- Laramide Rocky Mountains : an orogenic mystery solved -- Epilog -- Glossary.
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