DIASTROPHISM (PART 1) DIASTROPHISM It is often referred to as Tectonism. Diastrophism is the large-scale deformation of the Earths crust by natural processes.

It leads to the formation of continents and ocean basins, mountain systems, plateaus, rift valleys, and other features. The deformations are caused by mechanisms such as lithospheric plate movement (plate tectonics), volcanic loading, or folding. THEORIES of DIASTROPHISM Theory of Isostasy From the greek word meaning equal standing It states that as rock from higher region is removed by erosion and deposited on a lower region, the higher region slowly rises while the lower region becomes heavier and slowly sinks. Contraction Theory It states that the earth is gradually shrinking. As the shrinkage occurs, the stronger and heavier blocks of the crust sink while the weaker strata are crowded and squeezed upward. Convection Theory It is a theory which would account for the pushing and folding of rocks through convection currents. This process is true when it occurs under a continental mass Stress and Strain Stress is force applied per unit area. When a rock is subjected to stress, it deforms and is said to strain. A strain is a change in size, shape, or volume of a material. y Uniform Stress is a stress wherein all the forces act equally from all directions. y Pressure is a type of uniform stress y Confining Stress is a uniform stress/pressure exerted by the weight of overlying rocks. Differential Stress occurs when stress acting on the rock is not equal in all directions Three Kinds of Differential Stress o Tensional stress (or extensional stress) stress which stretches rock o Compressional stress stress which squeezes rock o Shear stress stress which results in slippage and translation Stages of Deformation When a rock is subjected to increasing stress, it goes through 3 stages of deformation, namely: y Elastic Deformation -- wherein the strain is reversible. y Ductile Deformation -- wherein the strain is irreversible. y Fracture -- irreversible strain wherein the material breaks. Classes of Materials According to Relative Behavior Under Stress Brittle materials have a small or large region of elastic behavior but only a small region of ductile behavior before they fracture. Ductile materials have a small region of elastic behavior and a large region of ductile behavior before they fracture. Factors Affecting the Kind of Deformation Confining Pressure - At high confining pressure materials are less likely to fracture because the pressure of the surroundings tends to hinder the formation of fractures. At low confining stress, material will be brittle and tend to fracture sooner. Temperature - At high temperature molecules and their bonds can stretch and move, thus materials will behave in more ductile manner. At low temperatures, materials are brittle. Strength of Rock/Composition Minerals like quartz, and feldspars are very brittle. Calcite, clay minerals, and micas are more ductile. This is due to the chemical bond types that hold them together. Another aspect is presence or absence of water. Wet rock tends to behave in ductile manner, while dry rocks tend to be brittle. Strain Rate/Time-- At high strain rates material tends to fracture. At low strain rates more time is available for individual atoms to move and therefore ductile behavior is favored.

Nathaniel Camacho BSA 2-20D

Brittle-Ductile Properties of the Lithosphere Rocks near the surface of the Earth behave in a brittle manner. Crustal rocks are composed of minerals like quartz and feldspar which have high strength, particularly at low pressure and temperature. Deeper into the Earth, the strength of these rocks initially increases. At a depth of about 15 km is a point called the brittle-ductile transition zone. Deeper than this point rock strength decreases because fractures become closed and the temperature is higher, making the rocks behave in a ductile manner. Types of Deformation When Rocks are Subjected to Stress Faults - fracture of rock with displacement. Folds - bending of rock without breaking (including tilting). Joints - fracture of rock without displacement. Joints affect the resistance of the rock to erosion by weakening the rock and making it susceptible to weathering. Strike and Dip For an inclined plane the strike is the compass direction of any horizontal line on the plane. The dip is the angle between a horizontal plane and the inclined plane, measured perpendicular to the direction of strike. Faults Faults occur when brittle rocks fracture and there is an offset or movement along the fracture. When the offset is small, the displacement can be easily measured, but sometimes the displacement is so large that it is difficult to measure. Types of Faults o Dip Slip Faults - Dip slip faults are faults that have an inclined fault plane and along which the relative displacement or offset has occurred along the dip direction. o Normal Faults - are faults that result from horizontal tensional stresses in brittle rocks and where the hanging-wall block has moved down relative to the footwall block. Horsts & Gabens - Due to the tensional stress responsible for normal faults, they often occur in a series, with adjacent faults dipping in opposite directions. In such a case the down-dropped blocks form grabens and the uplifted blocks form horsts. In areas where tensional stress has recently affected the crust, the grabens may form rift valleys and the uplifted horst blocks may form linear mountain ranges. Half-Grabens - A normal fault that has a curved fault plane with the dip decreasing with depth can cause the down-dropped block to rotate. In such a case a half-graben is produced, called such because it is bounded by only one fault instead of the two that form a normal graben. Reverse Faults - are faults that result from horizontal compressional stresses in brittle rocks, where the hanging-wall block has moved up relative the footwall block. Thrust fault is a special case of a reverse fault where the dip of the fault is less than 15 deg. Thrust faults can have considerable displacement, measuring hundreds of kilometers, and can result in older strata overlying younger strata.

Nathaniel Camacho BSA 2-20D