DIASTROPHISM

Reporter:
Janelyn P. Alejandro
Mariemhel Alforte
 DIASTROPHISM
• a general term that refers to deformation of
the Earth's crust, and more specifically to
folding and faulting.
• Diastrophism can be considered part of
geotectonics.
• Diastrophism comes from the Greek word
meaning a twisting.
• It is also associated with volcanic features.
The evidence of earth movements
• Mount Robson, in the Canadian Rockies
towers more than 13000 feet above the
present sea level. Yet fossils of marine
animals, such as shark’s teeth, are found in the
topmost rock layers. Such fossils indicate that
these layers were pushed up from under the
waters of the ocean.
World's Wickedest City,
Port Royal (Jamaica)

One of the advantages of marine or nautical archeology is that, in

many instances, catastrophic events send a ship or its cargo to the
bottom, freezing a moment in time. A catastrophe that has helped
nautical archeologists was the earthquake that destroyed part of
thecity of Port Royal, Jamaica. Once known as the "Wickedest City
on Earth" for its sheer concentration of pirates, prostitutes and
rum, Port Royal is now famous for another reason: "It is the only
sunk city in the New World," according to Donny L. Hamilton.

Port Royal began its watery journey to the Academy Awards of

nautical archeology on the morning of June 7, 1692, when, in a
matter of minutes, a massive earthquake sent nearly 33 acres of
the city -- buildings, streets, houses, and their contents and
occupants -- careening into Kingston Harbor. Today, that
underwater metropolis encompasses roughly 13 acres, at depths
ranging from a few inches to 40 feet.

In 1981, the Nautical Archaeology Program of Texas A&M

University, in cooperation with the Institute of Nautical
Archaeology (INA) and the Jamaica National Heritage Trust (JNHT),
began underwater archaeological investigations of the submerged
portion of the 17th-century town ofPort Royal, Jamaica. Present
evidence indicates that while the areas of Port Royal that lay along
the edge of the harbor slid and jumbled as they sank, destroying
most of the archaeological context, the area investigated by
TAMU / INA, located some distance from the harbor, sank
vertically, with minimal horizontal disturbance.

In contrast to many archaeological sites, the investigation of Port

Royal yielded much more than simply trash and discarded items.
An unusually large amount of perishable, organic artifacts were
recovered, preserved in the oxygen-depleted underwater
environment. Together with the vast treasury of complimentary
historical documents, the underwater excavations ofPort Royal
have allowed for a detailed reconstruction of everyday life in an
English colonial port city of the late 17th century.
Cleopatra's Palace in
Alexandria (Egypt)

Off the shores of Alexandria, the city of

Alexander the Great, lies what is believed to
be the ruins of the royal quarters of
Cleopatra. A team of marine archaeologists
led by Frenchman Franck Goddio made
excavations on this ancient city from where
Cleopatra, the last queen of the Ptolemies,
ruled Egypt. Historians believe this site was
submerged by earthquakes and tidal waves
more than 1,600 years ago.

The excavations concentrated on the

submerged island of Antirhodus. Cleopatra is
said to have had a palace there. Other
discoveries include a well-preserved
shipwreck and red granite columns with
Greek inscriptions. Two statues were also
found and were lifted out of the harbour.
One was a priest of the goddess Isis; the
other a sphinx whose face is said to
represent Cleopatra's father, King Ptolemy
XII. The artifacts were returned to their
silent, because the Egyptian Government
says it wants to leave most of them in place
to create an underwater museum.
The submerged temples of
Mahabalipuram (India)

According to popular belief, the famous Shore

Temple at Mahabalipuram wasn't a single temple,
but the last of a series of seven temples, six of which
had submerged. New finds suggest that there may
be some truth to the story. A major discovery of
submerged ruins was made in April of 2002 offshore
of Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu, South India. The
discovery, at depths of 5 to 7 meters (15 to 21 feet)
was made by a joint team from the Dorset based
Scientific Exploration Society (SES) and marine
archaeologists from India's National Institute of
Oceanography (NIO). Investigations at each of the
locations revealed stone masonry, remains of walls,
square rock cut remains, scattered square and
rectangular stone blocks and a big platform with
steps leading to it. All these lay amidst the locally
occurring geological formations of rocks.

Based on what at first sight appears to be a lion

figure at location four, the ruins were inferred to be
part of a temple complex. The Pallava dynasty, which
ruled the region during the 7th century AD, was
known to have constructed many such rock-cut,
structural temples in Mahabalipuram and
Kanchipuram.

The reasons for the submergence of the ruins are

remain unclear.
Jima (Japonia)

Situated 68 miles beyond the east coast of Taiwan,

Yonaguni Islands are a remarkable place for its rugged
and mountainous coastlines. The special attraction is
the submerged ruins located in the southern coast of
Yonaguni: a superb 100×50x25 meters man-made
artifact out of solid rock slabs stands erect at right
angles. Its is estimated to be around 8000 years old,
which is remarkably early for the kind of technology
that has been used for carving it. Different theories
exist about the possible identities of this structure.

While some say these ruins are the remnants of the

missing Continent of Mu, other archeologists attribute
them to be the outcome of unexplained geological
processes, although, when you see the finely
designed hallways and staircases, this ‘natural
phenomenon' idea will appear sheer out of place.

The megalith was discovered quite accidentally by a

sport diver in 1995 when he had strayed beyond the
permissible limit off the Okinawa shore. The
interesting thing about this massive stone building is
that it had arches made of beautifully fitted stone
blocks bearing resemblance with the building
architectural style of the Inca civilization. Debates
were rife aboutthe ruins being associated with the
prehistoric Motherland of Civilization. Surveying the
ruins minutely takes time and skill because of the
rough oceanic
 Earth movements may described according to
the direction of motion:
• Uplift -either a local or a widespread
rising of the crust.
• Subsidence-occurs when the earth’s crust
sinks.
• Thrust -is a horizontal motion of the
crust, by which large masses of rock
slide against one another into new
positions.
CAUSES OF DIASTROPHISM
Theory of Isostasy
The mechanism whereby
areas of the crust rise or subside
until the mass of their
topography is buoyantly
supported or compensated by
the thickness of crust below,
which "floats" on the denser
mantle. The theory that
continents and mountains are
supported by low-density
crustal "roots."
The Contraction Theory
according to the contraction
theory the earth is gradually shrinking.
This may be true either because it is
cooling, or because great pressures
squeeze parts of it into a smaller
volume, causing an increase in density.
Because of this shrinking, the interior
is always becoming a little too small
for the exterior. This “misfit” would
bring about a continual tendency
toward readjustment. Gravity draws
the crust, being rigid, cannot just settle
down upon the smaller interior as an
unruffled layer. Thus it undergoes
thrusting and buckling. The stronger
and heavier blocks of the crust sink. At
the same time, the weaker strata to
form the great mountain ranges.