The Deformation of the Crust

Presented by Deaundra Hermione V. Roca

 01
Crustal Deformation
Changing in the earth's surface caused by
tectonic forces that accumulated in the
crust leading to earthquakes
Crustal Deformations, otherwise known as Strains, refer to the changing earth’s
surface caused by tectonic forces that are accumulated in the crust and then cause
earthquakes. So understanding the details of deformation and its effects on faults is
important for figuring out which faults are most likely to produce the next earthquake.

usgs.gov/programs/earthquake-hazards/science/tracking-stress-buildup-and-crustal-deformation
 What causes Crustal Deformation?
Stress is the force exerted per unit area and strain is the physical change that results in response to that force.
When the applied stress is greater than the internal strength of rock, strain results in the form of deformation of
the rock caused by the stress.

Tensional Stress Shear Stress Compressional Stress

This is stress that pulls rock apart in This is the stress that pushes one side This is the stress that pushes rocks
opposite directions. The tensional of a body of rock in one direction, and together. The compressional forces
forces pull away from each other. the opposite side of the body of rock in push towards each other.
the opposite direction. The shear
forces push in opposite ways.
Kinds of Strains
When rocks are stressed, the resulting strain can be elastic,
ductile, or brittle. This change is generally called deformation.

Elastic strain(Reversible)
- Rock that has undergone only elastic strain will go back to
its original shape if the stress is released.

Ductile strain(Irreversible)
- A rock that has undergone ductile strain will remain
deformed even if the stress stops. Another term for ductile
strain is plastic deformation.

Fracture(Rupture)
- A rock that has ruptured has abruptly broken into distinct
pieces. If the pieces are offset—shifted in opposite directions
from each other—the fracture is a fault.
Ductile and Brittle Strain
There are several factors that determine whether a rock is Brittle or Ductile
Composition
Some minerals, such as quartz, tend to be brittle and
are thus more likely to break under stress. Other
minerals, such as calcite, clay, and mica, tend to be
ductile and can undergo much plastic deformation.
Lithostatic Pressure
The deeper in the earth a rock is, the higher the
lithostatic pressure it is subjected to. High lithostatic
pressure reduces the possibility of fracture because
the high pressure closes fractures before they can
form or spread.
Temperature
Rocks become softer or more ductile at higher
temperature. Rocks at mantle and core temperatures
are ductile and will not fracture under the stresses
that occur deep within the earth.
Strain Rate
The faster a rock is being strained, the greater its
chance of fracturing. Even brittle rocks and minerals,
such as quartz, or a layer of cold basalt at the earth’s
surface, can undergo ductile deformation if the strain
rate is slow enough.
02
Continental Drift Theory
The idea that continents and other landmasses
have shifted their position throughout Earth’s
history.
Alfred Wegener
Alfred Lothar Wegener was a German climatologist, geologist,
geophysicist, meteorologist, and polar researcher. He is most
remembered as the originator of continental drift hypothesis by
suggesting in 1912 that the continents are slowly drifting
around the Earth.

Wegener hypothesized that all the continents had once been

part of a single supercontinent, which he and all of us now call
Pangaea, that later divided into two large landmasses, one in
the Southern Hemisphere (Gondwana) and one in the Northern
Hemisphere (Laurasia).

This hypothesis was widely rejected by mainstream geology

u n t i l t h e 1 9 5 0 s , wh e n n u m e r o u s d i s c o v e r i e s s u c h a s
palaeomagnetism provided strong support for continental drift,
and thereby a substantial basis for today's model of plate
tectonics.
4 Pieces of Evidence for the Continental Drift Theory
Alfred Wegener, in the first three decades of this century, and DuToit in the 1920s and 1930s gathered evidence
that the continents had moved. They based their idea of continental drift on several lines of evidence: fit of the
continents, paleoclimate indicators, truncated geologic features, and fossils.

Fit of the Continents

As far back as the voyages of exploration of the New World in the 16th and 17th centuries, as rudimentary
maps were produced, scholars had noted the complementary shapes of the coastlines of Europe and Africa
with North and South America. Some had even wildly proposed that the continents had been split apart.

Paleoclimate Indicators
Wegener studied the geologic literature and recognized that upper Paleozoic strata in northwestern Europe
strata contained extensive coals that could only have formed in a hot wet climate like the present equatorial
region. In rocks of the same age in equatorial Africa he knew there were glacial tillites. These indicated to
Wegener that the continents must have moved such as Africa from the polar region into the equatorial region.
4 Pieces of Evidence for the Continental Drift Theory
Far-flung Fossils
Paleontologists called on implausible land bridges connecting the continents. But Wegener argued that
rising and falling land bridges in the oceans were not likely considering the observation that the ocean
crust was made of denser (basaltic) rock than the continents. He argued that this denser oceanic crust
could not rise up above sea level. Likewise, if the land bridge was less dense (granitic) continental rock
it would be too light to sink into the denser rock below.

Truncated Geologic Features

Wegener also noticed that there were major mountain building events in the northern Appalachians and
in northwestern Europe of the same age. The Acadian Orogeny in the north that occurred during the
Devonian period yielded extensive folding, faulting, igneous intrusion, metamorphism, and the
development of major sedimentary features (clastic wedges) from the erosion of the rising mountains.
If North America and Europe are reconstructed into a nice fit, the Caledonides of northwestern Europe
are seen to be a continuation of the Appalachians.
Other Evidence supporting this Theory
Paleomagnetism
In the early 1950s, a group of geologists from Cambridge
University started looking at the remnant magnetism of
Phanerozoic British and European volcanic rocks. They found that
rocks of different ages sampled from generally the same area
showed quite different apparent magnetic pole positions.

The curve defined by the paleomagnetic data was called a polar

wandering path because Runcorn and his colleagues initially
thought that their data represented actual movement of the
magnetic poles.

We now know that the magnetic data define movement of

continents, and not of the magnetic poles, so we call it
an apparent polar wandering path (APWP).
Other Evidence supporting this Theory
Seafloor Spreading and Subduction
Seafloor spreading is a geologic process in which tectonic plates
split apart from each other. Seafloor spreading and other tectonic
activity processes are the result of mantle convection. Mantle
convection is the slow, churning motion of Earth’s mantle.
Convection currents carry heat from the lower mantle and core to
the lithosphere.

Seafloor spreading occurs at divergent plate boundaries. As

tectonic plates slowly move away from each other, heat from the
mantle’s convection currents makes the crust more plastic and
less dense. The less-dense material rises, often forming a
mountain or elevated area of the seafloor. Eventually, the crust
cracks. Hot magma fueled by mantle convection bubbles up to fill
these fractures and spills onto the crust. This bubbled-up magma
is cooled by frigid seawater to form igneous rock.
03
Tectonic Plate Theory
The modern, comprehensive theory that
explains seafloor spreading, subduction, and
the horizontal movement of lithospheric
plates.
 Tectonic Plate Theory
According to the theory, thermal convection currents in Earth’s mantle cause the
deformable, plastic asthenosphere, near the top of the mantle, to flow. As material in
the asthenosphere flows horizontally, it carries along the overlying rigid and brittle
lithosphere, causing it to break into lithorspheric plates.
Tectonic Plate Movement
Plate Divergence
- when two lithospheric plates move away from each other
- The Mid-Atlantic Ridge, The Red Sea

Plate Convergence
- when two lithospheric plates move towards each other
- The Pacific Ring of Fire, The Himalayas Mountains

Transform Movement
- lateral sliding across plate boundaries
- The San Andreas Fault, The Marikina Valley Fault
Hot Spots in the Mantle
Hot spots are intensely hot areas in the mantle below Earth's crust. The heat that
fuels the hot spot comes from very deep in the planet. This heat causes the mantle
in that region to melt. The molten magma rises up and breaks through the crust to
form a volcano.
04
Geologic Time and Paleogeography
Palaeogeography, or paleogeography is the study of the
geography of the Earth in past ages, especially deep time and the
geological past. If the topic is landforms it could also be called
paleogeomorphology.
 Geologic Time and Paleogeography
Paleogeography
Paleogeography is the study of past geographic environments. The goal of paleogeography is to try to
reconstruct the past environment of a geographic region based on geologic and climatic evidence

Geologic Timescale
The Geologic Timescale is the “calendar” of Earth’s history

Eon(Eonothem) Era(Erathem) Period(System) Epoch(Series)

- a major division of - a major division of - a major division of - a division of time that
geological time, time subdivided into time subdivided into is subdivided into ages
subdivided into eras. periods. epochs - tens of millions of
- 0.5 billion years or - several hundred - tens to several years
more million years hundred of million
years
Geologic Timescale
The geologic time scale divides up the history of the earth
based on life-forms that have existed during specific times
since the creation of the planet. These divisions are called
geochronologic units (geo: rock, chronology: time).

The geologic time scale began to take shape in the 1700s.

Geologists first used relative age dating principles to chart
the chronological order of rocks around the world.

Between the years of 1785 and 1800, James Hutton and

William Smith advanced the concept of geologic time and
strengthened the belief in an ancient world.

While a modern geological time scale was not formulated

until 1911 by Arthur Holmes, the broader concept that rocks
and time are related can be traced back to (at least) the
philosophers of Ancient Greece.
Geologic Timescale: The Precambrian or Cryptozoic Supereon
Hadean Eon
- a geologic eon of Earth history preceding the Archean. On Earth, the Hadean began with the planet's
formation about 4.54 billion years ago. The Hadean ended, as defined by the International Commission on
Stratigraphy, 4 billion years ago. As of 2016, the ICS describes its status as "informal".

Archean Eon
- the second eon representing the time from 4,000 to 2,500 million years ago. The Earth during the
Archean was mostly a water world: there was continental crust, but much of it was under an ocean deeper
than today's ocean. The earliest known life started in the Archean, mostly represented by shallow-water
microbial mats called stromatolites. The atmosphere lacked free oxygen.

Proterozoic Eon
- a geological eon spanning the time interval from 2500 to 538.8 million years ago. It is the most recent
part of the Precambrian "supereon". It is also the longest eon of the Earth's geologic time scale, and it is
subdivided into three geologic eras: the Paleoproterozoic, Mesoproterozoic, and Neoproterozoic.
Geologic Timescale: Precambrian Eras
Hadean Eon Archean Eon Proterozoic Eon
- Paleohadean Era - Eoarchean Era - Paleoproterozoic Era
- Hephaestean Period - Paleoarchean Era - Siderian Period
- Jacobian Period - Mesoarchean Era - Rhyacian Period
- Mesohadean Era - Neoarchean Era - Orosirian Period
- Canadian Period - Statherian Period
- Procrusterian Period - Mesoproterozoic Era
- Neohadean Era - Calymmian Period
- Acastan Period - Ectasian Period
- Promethean Period - Stenian Period
- Neoproterozoic Era
- Tonian Period
- Cryogenian Period
- Ediacarian Period
Geologic Timescale: Phanerozoic Eon
Paleozoic or Palaeozoic Era Mesozoic Era Cenozoic or Caenozoic Era
- Cambrian Period - Triassic Period - Tertiary Period (Paleogene)
- Ordovician Period - Early - Paleocene Epoch
- Silurian Period - Middle - Eocene Epoch
- Devonian Period - Late - Oligocene Epoch
- Carboniferous Period - Jurassic Period - Tertiary Period (Neogene)
- Permian Period - Early - Miocene Epoch
- Middle - Pliocene Epoch
- Late - Quarternary Period
- Cretaceous Period - Pleistocene Epoch
Fun fact: - Early - Holocene Epoch
The Phanerozoic Eon is the shortest - Late
eon in Earth’s geological time, taking up
only 12% of this planet’s history.
Thank you for listening!