NEOTECTONICS

Any earth movements or deformations of the geodetic reference level, their

mechanisms, their geological origin, and their implications for various practical purposes and
their future extrapolations. The study of young tectonic events (deformation of upper crust),
which have occurred or are still occurring in a given region after its final orogeny (at least for
recent orogenies) or more precisely after its last significant reorganization. The study of the
post-Miocene structures and structural history of the Earth’s crust. From the three definitions
given above, it is clear that neotectonics is the study of “young” tectonic movements, but there
is disagreement on exactly how young they must be to qualify as “neotectonic.” Hancock and
Williams (1986), following T.G. Blenkinsop, suggested that neotectonics commenced “when
the contemporary stress field of a region was established.” The age of this establishment differs
in various regions of the world, but is generally between the Oligocene and Miocene periods.
Such an initiation time conforms to Vita-Finzi’s (1986) succinct definition of neotectonics as
“late Cainozoic tectonics.” Neotectonics has a broad spatial extent as well as broad temporal
extent. At the macro- scale it describes the current and geologically recent movements of the
Earth’s tectonic plates (see Plate tectonics). At the meso-scale, it describes vertical and lateral
movements of mountain chains such as the Himalaya, and vertical isostatic movements. At the
micro-scale, it deals with the movement on individual faults (see Fault) and folds, with
dimensions as small as a few km. Finally, neotectonic movements affect areas of active
volcanism, including vertical deformation due to loading by volcanic eruptions, magma
movements (inflation, deflation, bulging); movement on volcano-tectonic faults; rifting; and
crustal-scale landsliding, and volcano flank collapse.

Geomorphic indicators of neotectonic movements

The following geomorphic indicators are commonly used for the identification of neotectonic
movements.

1. Lineaments
2. Stream channel morphological changes, drainage modifications

3. Fault reactivation

Neotectonic movements are commonly associated with areas of active seismicity and
active faulting, such as plate margins. For example, linear bands or belts of earthquakes
typically indicate zones of active faulting and folding. However, some late Cainozoic
(neotectonic) structures have not generated significant seismicity in historic time, because
they have either become inactive, or because the recurrence interval between earthquakes is
longer than the period of historic record. To locate these more subtle neotectonic faults/folds,
geologists look for traces of their deformation expressed as tectonic landforms, a field of
study known as tectonic geomorphology. Examples of tectonic landforms are faceted spurs on
mountain fronts, created by young normal and reverse faulting; deflected drainages, shutter
ridges, sag ponds, and other disrupted topography along strike-slip faults; and raised marine
terraces or drowned coastal forests along actively subducting coasts. At regional scales such
landforms are identified by satellite imagery (Landsat, ASTER, Google Earth, synthetic
aperture radar), whereas at local scales they are normally recognized on aerial photographs or
in the field. In many cases detailed field studies may yield the number, displacement, and
timing of prehistoric earthquakes from such landforms.
4. Uplift–subsidence pattern in coastal areas

Neotectonic movements are not limited to individual faults and folds, but may also affect
broader areas of the crust via isostatic rebound or epierogenic uplift. In coastal zones regional
uplift and subsidence creates emergent or submergent shorelines, respectively. These are
commonly related to formerly glaciated areas that are now rebounding isostatically. In
continental areas, regional uplift may be reflected by rejuvenation of drainage networks,
tilting of drainage networks creating asymmetry, or tilting of lake basins. Neotectonic
structures are also associated with young geologic basins (onshore or offshore), that contain
Neogene and Quaternary sediments. Neotectonic faults and folds are normally located at the
margins of such basins, but they may also lie hidden beneath the basin fill, in which case
geophysical surveys are required to locate and characterize them.
Plate tectonics is associated with subsidence of many types and scales, particularly on
or near plate boundaries. Plate tectonics is associated with the large-scale vertical motions that
uplift entire mountain ranges, drop basins to lower elevations, and form elongate depressions
in the Earth's surface known as rifts that can be thousands of feet (km) deep. Plate tectonics
also causes the broad flat coastal plains and passive margins to slowly subside relative to sea
level, causing the sea to encroach slowly onto the continents. More local scale folding and
faulting can cause areas of the land surface to rise or sink, although at rates that rarely exceed
half an inch (1 cm) per year. Extensional or divergent plate boundaries are naturally
associated with subsidence, since these boundaries are places where the crust is being pulled
apart, thinning, and sinking relative to sea level. Places where the continental crust has
ruptured and is extending are known as continental rifts. When continental rifts continue to
extend and subside, they eventually extend far enough that a young narrow ocean forms in the
middle of the rift. An example of where a rift has evolved into such a young ocean is the Red
sea in the middle East. Transform plate boundaries, where one plate slides past another, can
also be sites of hazardous subsidence. The strike-slip faults that comprise transform plate
boundaries are rarely perfectly straight. Places where the faults bend may be sites of uplift of
mountains, or rapid subsidence of narrow elongate basins. The orientation of the bend in the
fault system determines whether the bend is associated with contraction and the formation of
mountains or extension, subsidence, and the formation of the elongate basins known as pull-
apart basins. Pull-apart basins typically subside quickly, have steep escarpments marked by
active faults on at least two sides, and may have volcanic activity. Some of the
topographically lowest places on Earth are in pull-apart basins, including the salton sea in
California and the Dead sea along the border between Israel and Jordan.