Table Of ContentWolfgang Frisch · Martin Meschede ·
Ronald C. Blakey
Plate Tectonics
Continental Drift and Mountain Building
Second Edition
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Wolfgang Frisch · Martin Meschede · Ronald C. Blakey
Plate Tectonics
Continental Drift and Mountain Building
Second Edition
Wolfgang Frisch Martin Meschede
Gomaringen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany Institute of Geography and Geology
University of Greifswald
Greifswald, Germany
Ronald C. Blakey
Colorado Plateau Geosystems
Phoenix, AZ, USA
Department of Geology,
Center for EnvironmentalSciences
and Education
Northern Arizona University
Flagstaff, AZ, USA
ISSN 2510-1307 ISSN 2510-1315 (electronic)
Springer Textbooks in Earth Sciences, Geography and Environment
ISBN 978-3-030-88998-2 ISBN 978-3-030-88999-9 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-88999-9
1st edition: © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2011
2nd edition: © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature
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V
Preface to the First Edition
In the late 1960s, Wegener’s theory of continental drift, originally conceived fifty
years earlier, was merged with the theory of plate tectonics and the concepts gained
global acceptance among geoscientists. For the first time, a unifying concept, plate
tectonics, could reconcile and unify all phenomena in geoscience into a common syn-
thesis. The basic tenants have not changed since the 1960s, although many corrections
and refinements have been added regarding questions of detail. The impact of the
theory of plate tectonics cannot be overestimated—its importance to geoscience is as
basic as Darwin’s theory of evolution is to the biological sciences.
Earth is subject to steady change. This can impressively be realized in volcanic
bursts and earthquakes around the Pacific Ocean or in the grandeur of young moun-
tain ranges. Whilst new parts of plates are created along the mid-ocean ridges, older
parts of plates disappear in subduction zones. Mountain chains arise from the colli-
sions of plates. These dynamic processes are driven by the heat that is released from
the interior of the Earth; this is what keeps the dynamo running. Continental drift,
mountain building, volcanism, earthquakes, and in consequence of quakes, sea waves
like the devastating tsunami of 26th December 2004 in the Indian Ocean—all this is
the expression of the dynamics of the Earth.
This book presents an introduction in the wide field of plate tectonics and is dedi-
cated to a broad audience interested in natural sciences, and students and profession-
als in geosciences and related subjects. Expertise in tectonics is not a pre-condition;
the technical terms and geological processes are explained and reviewed in adequate
detail. Many terms are defined in the glossary at the end of the book and a keyword
index enables quick location of topics and terms in the text. Figures at the inside
front-end and back-end covers present concise overviews of the geologic timescale
and critical events in Earth history as well as the classification of magmatic and meta-
morphic rocks. More than 200 references enable the studious reader to gain deeper in-
sight into special topics.
The book begins with an historical introduction concerning early ideas of conti-
nental 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 setting 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. We examine how plate
tectonics played a role in the construction of ancient Archean continents and then
built large volumes of Proterozoic crust via “modern” plate-tectonic processes. Fol-
lowing the late Proterozoic break-up of the supercontinent Rodinia, we follow the
plate-tectonic events that generated older and deeply eroded Paleozoic mountains and
the formation of Pangaea to the more recent Mesozoic and Cenozoic mountains that
remain the pinnacles of our modern planet. Examples from across the Earth are pre-
sented, including the young and lofty mountain ranges of the Himalayas, the Alps,
and the North American Cordilleras. We relate the concepts, processes, and exam-
ples from the earlier chapters of the book to the plate-tectonic evolution discussed
in the latter part of the book. In this way the book not only describes the plate-tec-
tonic phenomena, but also focuses on the processes behind them and how they have
worked in concert to produce the present plate configuration. Throughout the book,
we strive to communicate to the reader an understanding that the Earth is a body in
constant motion and change—a tectonic machine.
The present edition has evolved from an earlier German edition, Plattentektonik
(Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt) by Wolfgang Frisch and Martin
VI Preface to the First Edition
Meschede (2005). Although largely a translation of the German edition, it also con-
tains a number of new contributions by Ron Blakey, who especially enriched the text
with geological examples from North America and upgraded the English text from an
earlier translation.
Wolfgang Frisch
Tübingen, Germany
Ronald C. Blakey
Sedona, USA
Martin Meschede
Greifswald, Germany
May 2010
VII
Contents
1 Contractional Theory, Continental Drift and Plate Tectonics ................ 1
1.1 Plate Tectonics—A Change in the Paradigm of the Geosciences ................... 2
1.2 Early History of Geodynamic Thought ............................................ 2
1.3 From Continental Drift to Plate Tectonics ......................................... 3
1.4 The Plate Tectonic Concept ...................................................... 5
1.5 The Pattern of Magnetic Polarity Stripes .......................................... 8
1.6 Plate Motions and Earthquake Zones ............................................. 10
1.7 Two Kinds of Continental Margins ................................................ 11
1.8 Magmatism and Plate Tectonics .................................................. 12
1.9 What Drives the Plates and What Slows Them Down? ............................. 13
1.10 Collision and Mountain Building ................................................. 13
2 Plate Movements and Their Geometric Relationships ........................ 15
2.1 Helpful Transform Faults ......................................................... 16
2.2 Relative Movements and Triple Junctions ........................................ 17
Two RTF Triple Junctions off North America ....................................... 19
2.3 Relative Plate Velocities—Past and Present ....................................... 21
2.4 Direct Measurement of Plate Movements ......................................... 23
2.5 Apparent Contradictions in the Plate Motion Pattern ............................. 25
Fault–Plane–Solutions of Earthquakes ............................................ 25
3 Continental Graben Structures .................................................. 31
Active and Passive Graben Structures ................................................. 33
3.1 Symmetric and Asymmetric Crustal Extension .................................... 33
3.2 Sediments and Ore Deposits in Graben Structures ................................ 34
3.3 Volcanism in Graben Structures .................................................. 35
3.4 The Upper Rhine Graben in Germany ............................................. 35
3.5 The History of the Upper Rhine Graben ........................................... 38
The Upper Rhine Graben in the Middle European Stress Field ..................... 39
3.6 Magmatism and Heat Flow in the Upper Rhine Graben ............................ 40
3.7 The Large East African Rift System ................................................ 41
The Afar Depression .............................................................. 44
3.8 The Red Sea—From Rift to Drift .................................................. 44
3.9 The Extensional Area of the Basin and Range Province ............................ 46
3.10 The Development of Metamorphic Domes ........................................ 47
3.11 A Brief History of the Basin and Range Province .................................. 49
4 Passive Continental Margins and Abyssal Plains .............................. 51
4.1 Continuous Subsidence of the Continental Margins .............................. 52
4.2 The Sedimentary Trap at a Passive Continental Margin ........................... 53
Tracts of Sequence Stratigraphy .................................................. 54
4.3 Processes on Continental Margins ................................................ 55
4.4 Petroleum Deposits—The Economic Significance of Passive Continental
Margins .......................................................................... 57
4.5 The Atlantic—An Ocean Opens in an Intricate Manner ............................ 58
4.6 Pangaea and Panthalassa ........................................................ 58
4.7 The Large Abyssal Plains ......................................................... 61
4.8 Sediments of the Abyssal Plains .................................................. 62
Manganese Nodules from the Deep Sea .......................................... 64
4.9 Facies Changes on the Large Oceanic Conveyor Belt .............................. 66
The Bengal Deep Sea Fan ......................................................... 66
VIII Contents
5 Mid-ocean Ridges .................................................................. 69
5.1 Topography of the Ridges ........................................................ 70
5.2 Generation of Oceanic Lithosphere ............................................... 71
5.3 Rocks of the Oceanic Crust ....................................................... 72
Pillow Lavas ...................................................................... 73
Seismic Layers ................................................................... 75
5.4 Basalts of Mid-ocean Ridges ...................................................... 76
5.5 Fast and Slow Spreading Ridges and Rocks of the Lithospheric Mantle ............ 77
5.6 Segmentation of Ridges by Faults ................................................ 78
5.7 Graben Formation in the Atlantic ................................................. 79
An Oceanic Crustal Profile in the Atlantic Ocean .................................. 80
5.8 Black and White Smokers ........................................................ 80
5.9 Ocean Floor Metamorphism ...................................................... 82
5.10 Chromite Deposits ............................................................... 83
5.11 Ophiolites ....................................................................... 83
5.12 The Ophiolite of the Semail Nappe in Oman ...................................... 84
5.13 Alpine–Mediterranean Ophiolites ................................................ 84
Metamorphic Sole ................................................................ 85
6 Hot Spots ............................................................................ 87
6.1 Hot Spots and Mid-Ocean Ridges ................................................. 90
6.2 The Mysterious D″ Layer and the Dented Earth ................................... 90
Hot Spots of Pangaea ............................................................ 91
6.3 Hot Spot Tracks in the Ocean ..................................................... 93
A Guyot Evolves .................................................................. 96
6.4 Hot Spot Tracks on the Continent ................................................ 96
6.5 Flood and Trap Basalts ........................................................... 98
6.6 The Azores—Hot, Cold or Wet Spot? .............................................. 99
6.7 Hawaii—A Typical Oceanic Hot Spot ............................................. 101
6.8 Iceland .......................................................................... 101
6.9 Yellowstone ..................................................................... 102
6.10 The Superplume Event in the Cretaceous ......................................... 103
7 Subduction Zones, Island Arcs and Active Continental Margins ............. 107
7.1 Structure of Plate Margin Systems with Subduction Zones ....................... 109
7.2 Spontaneous and Forced Subduction: Mariana- and Chile-Type Subduction ...... 111
What is the Reason for the Arcuate Shape of Island Arcs? ......................... 111
7.3 Deep Sea Trenches as Sediment Traps ........................................... 114
7.4 Accretionary Wedge and Outer Ridge ........................................... 115
The Accretionary Wedge of the Sunda Arc ....................................... 116
7.5 Subduction Erosion Instead of Accretion ........................................ 118
Mud Volcanoes .................................................................. 119
7.6 The Forearc Basin ............................................................... 121
7.7 Earthquakes and Benioff Zones ................................................. 122
The Shigatse Flysch in Tibet ..................................................... 123
7.8 The Secret of Deep Earthquakes ................................................. 126
7.9 High-Pressure or Subduction Metamorphism .................................... 128
Ultrahigh-Pressure Metamorphic Rocks .......................................... 131
Rapid Burial, Rapid Uplift ........................................................ 133
7.10 Subduction-Related Magmatism—A Paradox? ................................... 133
7.11 Rocks of the Magmatic Zone .................................................... 135
7.12 Zonation of Magmas in Space and Time ......................................... 137
7.13 Explosive Stratovolcanoes as Indicators for Subduction Magmatism ............. 138
Isotopic Signatures and the Influence of Continental Crust ....................... 139
7.14 Metamorphism in the Magmatic Belt ............................................ 140
Paired Metamorphic Belts ....................................................... 141
IX
Contents
7.15 Ore Deposits in the Magmatic Belt ............................................... 142
7.16 The Backarc Basin ................................................................ 142
Splitting of Intra-Oceanic Island Arcs ............................................. 143
7.17 Gravity and Heat Flow ........................................................... 144
7.18 Subduction and Collision ........................................................ 144
8 Transform Faults .................................................................. 147
8.1 Oceanic Transform Faults ........................................................ 148
8.2 Fracture Zones in the Ocean Floor ................................................ 149
8.3 Continental Transform Faults .................................................... 151
8.4 San Andreas—The Dreaded Transform Fault of California ......................... 152
8.5 The North Anatolian Fault in Asia Minor and the Alpine Fault in New Zealand ..... 155
9 Terranes ........................................................................ 159
9.1 Documenting Terranes ........................................................... 161
9.2 Terranes in the North American Cordillera ........................................ 163
9.3 Suspect Terranes in Mexico and Middle America .................................. 167
10 Early Precambrian Plate Tectonics ................................................ 169
The Oldest Rocks and Minerals ................................................... 171
10.1 Greenstone-Granite Belts ........................................................ 172
10.2 Granulite-Gneiss Belts ........................................................... 175
Komatiites ....................................................................... 175
10.3 Towards an Archean Plate Tectonic Model ..................................... 176
10.4 The Growth of Continents ........................................................ 177
10.5 Possible Younger Equivalents of Greenstone-Granite Belts ....................... 178
The Great Dike of Zimbabwe ..................................................... 179
11 Plate Tectonics and Mountain Building ....................................... 181
11.1 Types of Active Continental Margins Within Orogenic Styles ...................... 182
11.2 Continent–Continent Collision ................................................... 185
11.3 Uplift, Erosion, and Elevation of Mountains ....................................... 187
11.4 Collapse and Crustal Escape ...................................................... 191
12 Old Orogens .................................................................... 193
12.1 2500–2000 Million Years Old Ophiolites .......................................... 194
12.2 The Wopmay Orogen in Canada .................................................. 195
12.3 The Grenville Orogenic Cycle and the Formation of the Supercontinent Rodinia ... 195
12.4 The Panafrican Orogeny and the Formation of Gondwana ........................ 195
12.5 The Caledonides—A Wilson Cycle Around the Iapetus Ocean ..................... 196
The Significance of Scotland and the Greek Mythology ............................ 197
12.6 The Variscides—A Broad Mountain Belt in Central Europe ........................ 199
A Variscan Suture in the Southern Black Forest ................................... 200
12.7 The Variscan Orogen in the Alps .................................................. 201
12.8 Paleozoic Mountain Building in Eastern and Southern North America ............. 202
How Many Orogenies? ........................................................... 205
13 Young Orogens—The Earth’s Loftiest Places ................................. 207
13.1 The Himalayas—A Mountain Range with Superlatives ............................ 209
13.2 Tectonic History of the Himalayas ................................................ 209
Nanga Parbat and Namche Barwa Syntaxis ....................................... 211
13.3 The Alps—An Untypical but Classic Orogen ...................................... 212
13.4 Brief History of Alpine Evolution ................................................. 214
Lateral Tectonic Extrusion in the Alps ............................................. 215
13.5 The North American Cordillera—A Different Style of Orogen ...................... 217
13.6 Laramide Rocky Mountains—An Orogenic Mystery Solved ........................ 223
13.7 Epilog ........................................................................... 225
