UNIT 10

INTRODUCTION TO
GEOTECTONICS

Structure____________________________________________________________________
_
10.1 Introduction 10.7 Geotectonic Features of Continental Margins
Expected Learning Outcomes Atlantic Style

10.2 Definition and Scope Andean Style

10.3 Earth as a Dynamic System California Style

10.4 Constitution and Bulk Composition of Japan Sea Style

the Earth
10.8 Summary
Crust
10.9 Terminal Questions
Mantle
10.10 References
Core
10.11 Suggested Readings
10.5 Geotectonic Features of the Oceans
10.12 Answers
10.6 Geotectonic Features of the Continents
Precambrian Terrains

Phanerozoic Terrains

10.1 INTRODUCTION
The Volume 1 of this course dealt with geomorphology. You are now familiar that the
geomorphology is the study of the Earth’s features that are formed by never-ending internal and
external geomorphic processes operating on Earth’s surface. Geomorphology and geotectonics are
closely related branches of Geology as geotectonics, climate and geomorphic processes
combinedly involve in creating and shaping the Earth’s physical landforms. Geologically, the Earth
is a dynamic planet which is manifested through the occurrences of earthquakes and volcanic
activities.

11
Block 3 Fundamentals of Geotectonics
..................................................................................................................................................................
In this unit, you will learn about basics of the geotectonics and internal layered
structure of Earth. We will also discuss various geotectonics features that occur
on oceans, continents and at continental margins, which are found on the
regional or global scales and have been observed by direct or indirect means.
We have realised that because of the dynamism present in the Earth, many
large-scale features have exhibited various types of motions and deformations
in the geological past and some of them are still underway. Thus, the study of
deformation and movements of large portions/segments of the Earth, which
constitutes geotectonics, helps to understand various geological processes
operating inside the Earth and their impacts on the Earth’s surface, including
biosphere.

Expected Learning
Outcomes________________________
After reading this unit, you should be able to:
 describe the theory of geotectonics;
 discuss dynamic character of the Earth within the planet;
 elaborate on the internal layered structure of the Earth and its major
constituents and characters; and
 explain geotectonics features found on the continents, oceans and ocean-
continent interface.

10.2 DEFINITION AND SCOPE

The Earth is subjected to two types of forces one that has external origin like
wind, moving water etc. and their impact we study in geomorphology and others
are internal forces originating at various depth and their impact ranges from
microscopic to continental levels. Deformation and movement are their
characteristics. Microscopic size to outcrop level features we study in structural
geology and larger features in tectonics and geotectonics. In routine discussion,
we use these terms interchangeably, but the term tectonics denotes large size
features and geotectonics to continental size. These terms do not have
quantitative boundaries.
Definition: Geotectonics is a branch of geology dealing with the study of large-
scale structural or deformational features of the Earth’s crust and their relations,
origin and historical evolution. It also involves the study of physical processes
that led to the development of endogenetic tectonic deformations of Earth’s
material (Beloussov, 1980). The term tectonics is the study of the forces and
movements that formed the structural features of relatively large-size. It may be
noted that the geotectonics is closely related to structural geology, but it deals
with larger structural features. Plate tectonics involves the study of the
movement of the tectonic (lithospheric) plates and their consequences.
Scope: The overall goal of geology is to understand the evolution of the planet
and processes operating inside and outside of the Earth. Thus, geotectonics
plays an important role in understanding of the Earth dynamics. While studying
geology, we study its different branches such as petrology, palaeontology,

12
Unit 10 Introduction to Geotectonics
.................................................................................................................................................................
stratigraphy, economic geology, geophysics etc. which have enormous areas of
independent studies, but they have a substantial overlapping with geotectonics.
You may find that tectonics and structural geology are closely related in both
their subject and their approach to study of Earth’s evolution. Tectonics and
structural geology both deal with motion and deformation in the Earth’s crust
and upper mantle. They differ in that tectonics is predominantly the study of the
history of motion and deformation on a regional to global scale, whereas
structural geology is predominantly the study of deformation in rocks at a scale
ranging from sub-microscopic to regional. These two branches have separate
methods of study. Our understanding of the history of large-scale motion is
based on the observations of the deformation that has recorded in the rocks.
Thus, elements of geotectonics have tremendous scope for discovering various
economic mineral deposits, including fossil fuels, because most of the
economic deposit occurs in deformed areas. It also has many problems solving
applications in the field of mega-structures, hydropower generations, roads,
tunnels, dams and reservoirs.

10.3 EARTH AS A DYNAMIC PLANET

The Earth is a dynamic planet and the evidence of dynamism is all around us in
the form of earthquakes, tsunami and volcanic eruptions. These processes
have been going on for thousands of million years, leaving a record of activity in
the rocks of Earth’s crust. For greater understanding of the dynamic processes
of the Earth, we must try to understand the idea of involvement of time in a
geological process to happen. When we compare it with our lifetime span or
entire human history we may find the geological processes are very slow. But, if
a geologist calls a phenomenon as ‘frequent’ volcanic eruption or earthquakes
in any area, it apparently means that the eruptions or quakes occur in short
interval of time, that is to say in one or more than one generation of human
lives. Similarly, high mountains may be uplifted in ‘short’ time span of one
million year and this rate may be termed as the ‘swift’ dynamism of the Earth.
This is because time availability is very large in geology i.e. since origin of the
Earth i.e. 4500 million years ago.

Exposed rocks on the Earth’s surface reveal a long history of the Earth’s
dynamic activity that may be as old as rock but not of before of the rock origin.
The rocks might have been uplifted from much deeper levels in the crust where
they got deformed, folded, faulted or fractured at different stages. Our
understanding on how the Earth works is enhanced by many recent advances
in the sub-disciplines of Earth science and therefore, now we are position to
quantify the duration of the process in long geological history of the Earth. We
do not have any area where dynamic processes are operating since Earth’s
origin. The processes may act for some duration then they ceased to operate
and after a big lapse of time they may restart. The Earth’s internal dynamism
originates from the inside of the Earth which is very hot and capable of
operating a dynamic system that regulate all tectonic activities from surface to
few hundred kilometers depth. Therefore, for better understanding of the
13
Block 3 Fundamentals of Geotectonics
..................................................................................................................................................................
geotectonics we need to have a firm understanding of the constitution of the
Earth.

10.4 CONSTITUTION AND BULK COMPOSITION

OF THE EARTH
You might have already been aware that the Earth’s interior is made up of three
distinct parts known as Crust, Mantle and Core (Fig. 10.1). The crust represents
less than 0.6% of the Earth’s total volume and only 0.47% of the total mass of
the Earth. The major part of the Earth is comprised mantle constituting 67.03%
followed by a core with 32.5 % of the total mass of the Earth. The distinctions in
these three major parts have been made on the basis of observations on the
velocity changes of the seismic waves and other observations. The increase or
decrease in the seismic wave velocities occur due to density and
elasticity/rigidity variations of the constituent rocks in the interior of the Earth. A
glimpse of the change in density in different layers of the Earth is given in Fig.
10.1. Let us discuss three parts or layers of Earth’s interior.

Fig. 10.1: Different segments and density variations in the interior of the Earth.

10.4.1 Crust
The crust of the Earth is very important to us because we are in its direct
contact. All the beautiful landscapes we see on the Earth, whether it is
mountain, volcano, ocean, river or lake all are created on the crust only. The
thickness of crust varies between 7.00 km in center of Mid-oceanic ridges to 80
km below young folded mountain range, however average crustal thickness 35
km. However, the further studies reveal two broad divisions of the crust into: (a)
continental and (b) oceanic crusts. The change over from continental crust to

14
Unit 10 Introduction to Geotectonics
.................................................................................................................................................................
oceanic crust is not sharp, but occurs in a wide zone, which is known as
transitional crust. The important characteristics of the continental and oceanic
crusts are as follows:
1. Continental Crust: The continental crust is the uppermost part of the
Earth’s layer and occurs where continents are present. However, there may
be further subdivision of the continental crust based on bulk composition as
(i) Upper and (ii) Lower continental crusts. The mean composition of the
Upper continental crust is between granodiorite and diorite. The density of
the upper layer of continental crust is 2.8g/cm3. This is highly complicated in
structure and tectonics, and composed of varieties of rocks. The mean
composition of the Lower continental crust may be between basalt and
anorthosite, i.e., it is of mafic composition. Conrad discontinuity separates
the lower crust from the upper crust commonly at the depth of 17-20 km at
which the velocity of the seismic wave increases from 6.1 km/sec to 6.4-6.7
km/sec.
2. Oceanic Crust: Oceanic crust is relatively much young, less thick, having
simple layered structure and composed of basic or mafic rocks. The oceanic
part of the crust may be further subdivided into (i) Oceanic crustal layer 1,
(ii) Oceanic crustal layer 2 and (iii) Oceanic crustal layer 3.
i) Oceanic crustal layer 1 comprises unconsolidated sediments on the
seabed surface. These sediments comprise those coming from
continents and those derived within the ocean, such as from shells of
the dead oceanic fauna called ooze. The average thickness of this layer
is 0.4 km; however, this layer is absent at the Mid-Oceanic Ridge, but
there is a progressive increase in thickness towards continents.
ii) Oceanic crustal layer 2 comprises rocks of igneous origin but, there is
significant difference from the oceanic crustal layer 3. The range of
thickness of the oceanic layer 2 lies between 1 to 2.5 km. Here, the
seismic wave velocity is between 3.4 to 6.2 km/s. The oceanic layer 2 is
chiefly composed of rocks of basic composition, mainly of basalt.
iii) Oceanic layer 3 is the major component of oceanic crust. It is formed
by serpentine peridotite and other ultramafic rocks. Sometimes, the
oceanic crustal layers may be found ridden over the continental ones at
certain places. This kind of occurrence of oceanic crustal sequence on
the continents has been called as ophiolite.
The continental and oceanic crusts have a significant difference in their
characters. The main differences between oceanic and continental crusts are
summarized as in Table 10.1.
Table 10.1: Differences between continental and oceanic crust.

Criteria Continental crust Oceanic crust

1. Layering Highly variable types of Well defined layering
layering
2. Thickness 35 to 40 km. The thickness It is of nearly constant
is least below the rifts and it thickness of about 5 to 7 km
15
Block 3 Fundamentals of Geotectonics
..................................................................................................................................................................
may go up to 80 km below on an average
the mountains
3. Age The continental parts may Nowhere on the Earth, the
comprise rocks of various oceanic crustal rock is found
ages. The age of rock can above 200 million years old.
be as old as 3960 million About 50% of the surface
years. area of ocean is created in
last 65 million years only.
4. Tectonic The continental rock may be The oceanic crust is largely
activity extensively and multiply free from tectonic activities.
folded and faulted The tectonic activities are
however, confined only in
the vicinity of the plate
margins
5. Igneous Very little igneous activities Large activities may be
activity are observed. Only major observed along the oceanic
locality of such activity is on ridges and island arcs, which
the Andes mountain are the major areas of
igneous activities on Earth.

10.4.2 Mantle
The mantle is separated from the crust with a discontinuity called Mohorovicic
discontinuity (often called Moho in short), which lies at a mean depth of 21 km
below the surface of the Earth. The extent of mantle starting from Moho is up to
the Gutenberg discontinuity, which lies at the average depth of 2890 km. The
mantle rocks are rarely available at the surface of the Earth. However, they can
be seen on the surface in the ophiolite complexes, few pipes containing
kimberlite or sometime as xenoliths in basalt. The mantle may have two broad
divisions called (i) Upper mantle and (ii) Lower mantle separated by a transition
zone ranging from 400 to 600 km depth. The upper mantle is largely composed
of either peridotite or eclogite.
10.4.3 Core
The core of the Earth lies at an average depth of 2890 km from the surface of
the Earth. It is separated from the mantle by the Gutenberg discontinuity. Within
the spheroid of the Earth, which has a radius of 6378 km, the core is constituted
of another spheroid of 3486 km radius as the innermost part. The core has its
2210 km thick (between 2890 to 5100 km depth) outer part in the liquid state. A
discontinuity known as Lehmann discontinuity lies at 5100 km depth. It acts
as a sharp boundary between outer liquid core and the solid inner core. Major
mineral constituents of outer core are of iron (about 95%), nickel, vanadium and
cobalt. The inner core is of a consistent composition of pure iron with some
other light density elements such as oxygen, sulphur and silicon.
Before proceeding further, let us have short break to check your progress.

SAQ 1
a) Give three evidences to prove that the Earth is a dynamic planet.
16
Unit 10 Introduction to Geotectonics
.................................................................................................................................................................
b) Write names and depths of two locations in the interior of the Earth where
sharp changes in density are found.
c) What is an ophiolite?
After knowing in brief, the internal constitution of the Earth, we will now know
more about the geotectonic features found over the crust.

10.5 GEOTECTONIC FEATURES OF THE

CONTINENTS
The current volume of continental material is estimated as 7.6 x 109 km3, which
is 0.6% volume of the Earth (Moores and Twiss, 2007). The average thickness
of the continental crust is about 35 km; however, this thickness of the
continental crust may go up to 100 km below the mountains. Compared to
oceanic crust, the continental crusts have more thickness, less density, lower
seismic wave velocity and much more complex structure. The continental crusts
on the Earth have a long geological history because; they have experienced
more tectonism. Hence, the structure of the continental crust may be
categorised according to their age of formation into: (a) Precambrian shields
and (b) Phanerozoic regions.
10.5.1 Precambrian Shields
On the continents, there are large exposures of the rocks, which are older than
570 million years. These regions generally form rolling uplands that stand
higher than the surrounding lowland and derive their names as Precambrian
shield. Shield is defined as a vast region of stable ancient basement rocks
within a continent. It may be noted that Precambrian shield areas have many
small topographic hills over near flat grounds. This looks like a typical shield
used by the ancient warriors. The Precambrian shield can be divided into
Archaean and Proterozoic terranes (Moores and Twiss, 2007). The peninsular
region of India is largely composed of Precambrian shield. Let us know some
more about these terrains:
i) Archaean Terranes: The Archaean terranes are over 2500 million years
old. In geological history, the Archaean regions have experienced greater
crustal instability or mobility or deformation than the Proterozoic regions.
The rocks of the Archaean terranes may be divided into two broad divisions
namely, (a) High grade gneissic region, and (b) Greenstone belt which
exhibit characteristically low grade of metamorphism. Both types are
intruded by younger granitic rocks.
ii) Proterozoic Terranes: The Proterozoic terranes tectonically less deformed.
The Proterozoic terranes display both slightly deformed stable regions and
highly deformed areas. Regions of the Earth crust that have achieved
tectonic stability are called cratons. Craton is a part of continent that has
not been subjected to major deformation for a prolonged period of time,
typically since Precambrian or Early Palaeozoic. In these areas, wide
spread presence of weakly deformed and unmetamorphosed Proterozoic
sediments are present. These sediments typically overlie a basement of
deeply eroded, deformed and metamorphosed Archaean rocks. Basement
17
Block 3 Fundamentals of Geotectonics
..................................................................................................................................................................
refers to the oldest rock recognised in a given area and composed of
igneous and metamorphic rocks over 500 million years old and consist of
one or more craton.
10.5.2 Phanerozoic Regions
The continental areas which are Phanerozoic (Cambrian to Present) may
exhibit the following features:
i) Continental Platforms: A platform is tectonically stable region of a
continent typically containing flat lying sedimentary rocks. Platforms are
much younger than basement and shield. Continental or cratonic platforms
represent regions of interior lowlands where relatively thin sequence of
sedimentary rocks overlie the Precambrian shield rocks. These sedimentary
rocks are flat lying over the vast area and are mostly plains that stand a few
hundred meters above sea level. Many a times, they mark the worldwide
transgression of the sea over the older continental interior. Thus, there may
be a huge time gap or great unconformities, which may be of the order of
tens to hundreds of millions of years. Most platformal sediments are of
marine origin and represent a deposition in epeiric (continental) sea. The
sedimentary sequences of these platformal areas may exhibit evidences of
transgression and regression. They may display structural features such as
domes and basins, which may become the potential sites for hydrocarbons
and other mineral deposits apart from the coal resources of the platforms.

Fig. 10.2: Salient Features of the oceans and continents.

ii) Orogenic Belts: Orogenic belts are some of the most prominent tectonic
features of the continents that may be observed as high mountains (Fig.
10.2). Typically, the orogenic belts have been deformed and
metamorphosed to varying degree and intruded by plutonic rocks chiefly of
18
Unit 10 Introduction to Geotectonics
.................................................................................................................................................................
granitic affinity. Structurally, the orogenic belts display a crude bilateral
symmetry, in which the central linear area represents a thick sequence of
deformed and metamorphosed sediments with or without volcanics. The
flank areas on both sides of this central linear part are undeformed regions
of continent or ocean. Orogenic belts form at the convergent margins due to
collisions of (a) two continents or (b) a continent and island arc or (c) a
continent with a thick crust of oceanic origin. The orogenic belts may also
form due to long period of subduction beneath the plate margin.
iii) Continental Rifts: Abundant normal faulting, shallow earthquakes and
mountainous topography form active continental rifts. The East African Rift
(Fig. 10.2) and Basin and Range Province of North America are the two
examples of the great continental rifts. These are formed by the extension
of the continental crust.

10.6 GEOTECTONIC FEATURES OF THE OCEANS

As you know that the surface area of the Earth is roughly 510 x 106 km2, out of
which, nearly 60.6% area (i.e., 309 x 106 km2) is covered by the oceanic crust.
Thus, the major portion of the surface of the Earth is occupied by ocean and
oceanic crust. However, these oceanic crusts are substantially younger than
the continental crust. Therefore, most of the features of the today day oceanic
crust have relatively a simple geological history reflecting only the most recent
events of the Earth’s tectonic evolution in last 200 million years or so. The
oceanic crust mainly consists of igneous rocks of basaltic composition.
Topographically, the major areas of the ocean bottom are flat or nearly flat,
although ocean ridges, sea-mounts, island arc and trenches are present (Fig.
10.2). The thickness of the oceanic crust ranges from 3 to 10 km with an
average of 5 km and thus, the oceanic crust is much thinner than continental
crust, which have average thickness as 35 km. The oceanic crust may exhibit
the following geotectonic features:
i) Mid-Oceanic Ridge: The Mid-Oceanic Ridge (MOR) is a topographically
high region that usually occurs in the middle of the oceans (Fig. 10.2). The
MORs rise to an average height of about 2.5 km relative the adjacent
abyssal floors of the ocean bottom (Fig. 10.3). In the present-day oceans,
their chain is around 40,000 km long with an average width ranging from
1000 to 3000 km. The oceanic ridges are region of tension, therefore
normal faults or rifts are common feature on the ridge. The MOR is typically
found along the divergent or constructive plate margins.
ii) Transform Faults or Fracture Zone: Transform faults are large size strike-
slip fault whose ends are terminated at either mid-oceanic ridge or trench or
any combination of these two features. In strike-slip faults, movement is
parallel to the strike of fault i.e. to- and fro movement. The large transform
faults may have length 10,000 km or more. Although, they are typically
narrow features but, sometimes their width can be up to 100 km or more
representing a fracture zone. The oceanic crust near transform faults or
fracture zone are generally thinner (average 2.5 km) than the average
thickness (5 km) of the oceanic crust. The transform faults generally cut

19
Block 3 Fundamentals of Geotectonics
..................................................................................................................................................................
across the MOR, thus, cause strike-slip displacement of the ridges (Figs.
10.2, 10.3).

Fig. 10.3: MOR disrupted by a transform fault in the oceanic crust. Plates A and B
are in divergent movement at the MOR and make a constructive plate
boundary, while they are at conservative boundary along the transform
fault. FTR stands for transform resistance force.

iii) Island Arc Deep-Sea Trench Pairs: Once very puzzling and interesting
features in certain areas of ocean was the occurrence of volcanic islands
showing curved display and located some distance away from the parallel
running trenches. Curved islands and deep-sea trenches occur near to the
convergent plate margins and extend for thousands of kilometers (Fig.10.2).
The volcanic islands have an average spacing of around 80 km. However,
they are placed over a submarine ridge that tends to be a few hundred
kilometers wide. The Marianas Trench is the deepest trench and it is10994
m deep and approximately 69 km wide. On the landward side of the
trenches, there exists a system of active thrust faults whereas active normal
faults are typically found in the island arcs and behind the arcs. The
thickness of the crust below the island arc regions is on an average of about
25 km, which is considerably thicker than normal oceanic crustal thickness
(5 km). However, the thickness of the crust below the young island arc may
be much less than that of the mature arcs.
iv) Abyssal Plain: Away from the plate margins, in the deeper part of the
ocean there exists a vast area of very flat ocean floor. These are known as
abyssal plains (Figs. 10.2, 10.3). These plains represent an area of normal
oceanic crust covered by sediments.
v) Oceanic Plateau: Broad elevated regions or oceanic plateaus may range
from a few hundred to many thousands of square kilometers area and 1 to 4
km above the abyssal ocean floors (Fig. 10.2). The crustal thickness of
these plateaus matches more with the continental crust rather than the
oceanic crust. Different views about their origin are proposed. Some of them
are apparently continental rocks, others are inactive volcanic arcs.
vi) Aseismic Ridge: Linear ridges characterised by high elevations showing
anomalously thick ocean crust, and a general lack of seismic activity are
called Aseismic Ridges (Fig. 10.2). The crustal thickness of these ridges is
20
Unit 10 Introduction to Geotectonics
.................................................................................................................................................................
much less than the continental crust but, matches with that of the island
arcs. The Hawaiian Islands- Emperor Sea-mount chain is the most famous
example of this type of crustal feature. The Ninety East Ridge of Bay of
Bengal in the Indian Ocean is another example of aseismic ridge. The
aseismic ridges differ from the MOR in two ways: (a) they are of local
dimensions compared to the MOR and (b) lack any seismic activity along
them.

SAQ 2
a) Write names of the geotectonic divisions of the continental crust. What is
the basis of their classification?
b) What is the age of oldest rock of the oceanic crust?
c) What is the average crustal thickness of continents, oceans and island
arcs?
d) Which places on the Earth do you expect maximum and minimum crustal
thicknesses?

10.7 GEOTECTONIC FEATURES OF THE

CONTINENTAL MARGINS
In the above sections, you have learned about the geotectonic features of the
continents and oceans. In this section, we will study about the transitional
regions where both ocean and continent are involved. This region may be
called either as continental margin, oceanic margin or ocean-continent margins.
The transition of continent to ocean is yet not well understood. Based on the
tectonic environment, four types of continental margins are recognisable
(Moores and Twiss, 2007). These are listed below:
Passive or Rifted or Atlantic-Style margins
Convergent or Andean Style margins
Transform or California Style margins
Back-Arc or Japan Sea Style margins
Let us know more about these margins.
10.7.1 Passive or Rifted or Atlantic Style Margins
Passive or Rifted or Atlantic Style Margins typically found along Atlantic or
Indian coasts and Antarctic oceans. They include a coastal plane and
submarine topographic shelf of variable width showing negligible tectonic and
volcanic activities. These are less active, therefore called passive margins and
occur along present-day Atlantic Ocean hence, are also known as Atlantic
Style margins. These margins are remnant of divergent plate setting and
formed when ocean-floor was moving away from each other (expansion of
oceans) across the MORs. Normal faulting and rifting are the most common
and characteristic structural features found in the sediments along these
margins (Fig. 10.4). Therefore, they are also termed as rifted margins. They
are created as continents rift apart to form new ocean basins. They initiate at a
21
Block 3 Fundamentals of Geotectonics
..................................................................................................................................................................
divergent plate boundary, but as spreading proceeds, the ocean basin widens
due to creation of new crust at the MOR, they end up in a mid-plate position.

Fig. 10.4: Characteristic features of the passive/rifted margins.

10.7.2 Convergent or Andean Style Margins

They are present where consuming or convergent plate boundaries are located
along a continental margin. They exhibit an abrupt topographic change from a
deep-sea trench towards the ocean side to a high belt of mountains on the
continents side (within 100 to 200 km) from the coast (Fig. 10.5). In this type of
continental margin, the continental shelves tend to be narrow or absent. The
mountains along these margins are characterised by a chain of volcanoes of
principally andesitic composition. Active deformation results in thrust complexes
near the trench, high angle normal fault near the volcanic axis, and either
normal or thrust faults between the volcanic axis and the continent. The
western margin of South America including the Andes Mountains is the typical
example; hence, the convergent margins are also known as Andean Style
margins.

Fig. 10.5 Characteristic features of the convergent or Andean-Style margins. It is

noted that the oceanic plate subducts below the continental plate and
gets consumed by melting to produce volcanoes which out pour lavas
at high mountains on continents.

10.7.3 Transform or California Style Margins

In this case, a transform fault disrupts the topography such that the narrow
ocean basins and fragments of continents occur in alternation as observed in

22
Unit 10 Introduction to Geotectonics
.................................................................................................................................................................
California. Therefore, this kind of continental margin is known as transform
margin. Like the Andean Style, they are also characterised by sharp
topographic differences between ocean and continent, but the transform styles
are marked by active strike-slip faulting, sharp local topographic relief, a poorly
developed shelf, irregular ridge and basin topography and many deep
sedimentary basins. As the faults move, they progressively displace portions of
the continents from each other, thereby producing an alternation in place of
narrow oceanic basin and continental fragments (Fig. 10.6a-c). The Pacific
margin of the United States is a typical example, and many faults of the San
Andreas Fault system have produced a ridge and basin topography in southern
California hence this type of plate margin is also known as California Style
margin (Fig. 10.6d).

Fig. 10.6: California Style continental margin. a-c: Stages of development of the
California Style margin. a. Irregular continental margin and a two-fault
strike-slip system, b. After motion on both faults of the system, portions
of the continents are displaced to new positions, c. Cross section a-b
showing ridge and basin structure and d. Satellite image showing
alternating narrow land strip and basin of continental margins at
California (Gulf of California) is found in between the Pacific Ocean and
North American continent. (Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org for d)
23
Block 3 Fundamentals of Geotectonics
..................................................................................................................................................................
10.7.4 Back- Arc or Japan Sea Style Margins
You are aware that subduction of an oceanic plate below another plate causes
melting of the crust at depths and thus, the generated magma rises upwards
due to its buoyancy and comes out over the surface of the Earth in the form of
volcanoes (Fig. 10.5). If these volcanoes out pour the lava in the ocean, they
form volcanic islands. These volcanic islands are typically seen to make an arc
like geometry; hence, commonly they form island arcs. The Japanese islands
are the typical example of an island arc, one side of which is the Pacific Ocean
and at the other is the Japan Sea followed by the Asian continent (Fig. 10.7).
The side of an island arc where subducting plate lies is typically known as fore-
arc side and the other as back-arc side. Hence, the Pacific Ocean side of Japan
is the fore-arc area while Japan Sea represents the back-arc area (Fig. 10.8).

Fig. 10.7: The island arc system of Japan. The Sea of Japan is the back-arc basin
while the Pacific ocean side where the Pacific plate subducts below the
Asian plate represents fore-arc side. (Source: https://encrypted-
tbn0.gstatic.com)

The back-arc or Japan Sea Style margin is a typical composition where it

consists of a passive Atlantic Style margin separated by a narrow oceanic
region from an active island arc. The Japan Sea is a narrow ocean between
passive east coast of Asia and the active volcanic arc of Japan. Both the
passive and the active margins of the composite margins exhibit the features of
the individual margins that we have noted above.

Fig. 10.8: A typical cross-section showing the characteristic features of the Japan
Sea Style margin

Activity: Given below is an unlabeled global geotectonic map. Locate the

following geotectonics features in this map.

24
Unit 10 Introduction to Geotectonics
.................................................................................................................................................................
1. Major orogenic belts of the world such as Rocky, Andes, Atlas, Ural and
Himalaya.
2. Mid-ocean ridges of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans.

Fig. 10.9: Global geotectonic map.

10.8 SUMMARY
Let us summarise what you have read in this unit:
Earth is a dynamic planet and its different large-scale segments or blocks
are in motion relative to each other, which brings about many kinds of
deformation and tectonism.
The study of these movements in recent time and geological past falls in the
subject of geotectonics.
The root cause of geotectonic activities lies in the special constitution of the
Earth’s interior. Out of three major segments of the Earth (i.e. crust, mantle
and core) the crust is most important for us because it has preserved most of
its dynamic history.
The crustal part of the Earth exhibits a variety of geotectonic features which
have been divided into features of the continents, oceans and continental
margins based on their distinct characteristics.
Archaean terranes, Proterozoic terranes, continental platforms, orogenic
belts, and continental Rifts are major geotectonic features of the continents.
Mid-oceanic ridges, fracture zone or transform faults, island arc deep-sea
trench pairs, abyssal plains, oceanic plateau and aseismic ridges are major
geotectonic features of the oceans.
Passive or rifted or Atlantic style, convergent or Andean style, transform or
California style and back-arc or Japan sea-style are four main margin types
of the continental margins.

25
Block 3 Fundamentals of Geotectonics
..................................................................................................................................................................

10.9 TERMINAL QUESTIONS

1. What are the differences in characteristics of the continental and oceanic
crusts?
2. Discuss the constitution and bulk composition of the Earth.
3. Discuss the geotectonic features of the continents
4. How will you differentiate between Atlantic style and Japan Sea style
continental margins?

10.10 REFERENCES
Beloussov, V.V. (1980). Geotectonics. Mir Publishers, Moscow and
Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Moores, E.M. & Twiss, R.J. (2007) Tectonics. W.H. Freeman and Company,
New York.

10.11 FURTHER/SUGGESTED READINGS

Condie, K.C. 2003: Plate tectonics and Crustal Evolution. Butterworth-
Heinemann, Oxford.
Gass, I.G., Smith, P.J., Wilson, R.C.L. (1979) Understanding the Earth. The
Artemis Press Limited, Sussex.
Kearey, P, Klepeis, K.A., Vine, F.J. (2009). Global Tectonics. Wiley India
Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi.

10.12 ANSWERS
Self Assessment Question I
a) Do mention of volcanic/igneous activities; earthquakes; still rising
mountains; multiply deformed rocks, landslides etc.
b) Do mention of crust/mantle; mantle/core; outer/inner core etc.
c) Your answer should include mention of the oceanic crustal sequence found
over the continents.
Self Assessment Question 2
a) Precambrian and Phanerozoic terrains; Geological age.
b) 200 million years.
c) 35 km; 5 km and 25 km
d) Maximum below the high mountains; minimum below the MOR
Terminal Questions
1. Please refer to section 10.4 and Table 10.1.
2. Please refer to section 10.4.
3. Please refer to section 10.5.
4. Please refer to section 10.7.

26