Rock Stress and

Seafloor
Spreading
 What’s in the Picture?

Directions: Analyze what will happen to the

unstressed rock below if the given forces in
1st column of the table (represented in
arrows) are present. Choose from the box
the correct form of the rock as a result after
the forces are applied. Draw them in the 2nd
column of the table.
Stress is defined as the force that could
create deformation on rocks their shape and
volume
Rocks break from stress. There are different kinds of stress
that rocks experience.
1. Lithostatic stress- Rock beneath the earth surface
experiences equal pressure exerted on it from all directions
because of the weight of the overlying rock. It is like the
hydrostatic stress (water pressure) that a person feels
pressing all over his body when diving down deep in the
water.
2. Differential stress- In many cases, rock may
experience an additional unequal stress due to tectonic
forces.
Three types of differential stress:
a. Tensional stress
(stretching). This is when a
rock is stretched apart or pulled
apart. Where crustal plates
diverge, rocks are pulled apart.
b. Compressional stress
(squeezing). This is when a rock
is pressed, squeezed, or pushed
together. Where crustal plates
collide, rocks are compressed or
pushed.
c. Shear stress. This is a result
in slippage and translation. With
shear stress, the rock is being
pulled in opposite directions.
When rocks are deformed, they say it is under
strain.

Strain is a change in size, shape or volume of a

material rock.
Deformation includes faulting of rigid rocks and
folding of rocks that can be bent.

Rocks respond to stress differently depending on

the pressure and temperature and mineralogical
composition of the rock. The ability of the rock to
handle stress depends on the elasticity of the rock.
 Two types of rock deformation
1. Elastic deformation- For small differential stresses,
less than the yield strength, rock deforms like a
spring. It changes in shape a very small amount in
response to the stress. The deformation is not
permanent but rather reversible. The rock can return
to its original shape.
2. Brittle deformation or Fracture- Near the Earth’s
surface rock behaves in its familiar brittle fashion. If a
differential stress is applied that is greater than the
rock’s yield strength, the rock fractures. Fracture us
an irreversible strain wherein the rock breaks.
It should be noted that part of the rock that did not break springs back to its
original shape. This is termed as elastic rebound. Elastic rebound is what
causes earthquakes. The breaking of rock is due to low pressure and
temperature that are experienced near the earth’s surface. Such irregular
cracks can produce fractures such as joints and faults.

Brittle rocks tend to fracture when rock is subjected to differential stress.

The breaking of rock is due to low pressure and temperature that are
experienced near the earth’s surface. Such irregular cracks can produce
fractures such as joints and faults.
Joints are fractures in rocks that show little or no movement at all. The
orientation of the joints can be described as strike and dip and are from as a
result of tensional stress acting perpendicular to the orientation of the
produced joint on a brittle rock. They provide pathways for water and thus
promote chemical weathering. On the other hand, faults are extremely long
and deep break or large crack in a rock as a result of continuous pulling and
pushing.
 Different Types of Faults
a.Dip-slip fault or normal fault occurs when brittle
rocks are stretched-tectonic tensional forces are
involved and the movement of blocks of rock is mainly
in the vertical direction (sinking and rising). For dip-slip
faults, the block lying on top of the fault surface is
referred to as the hanging wall while the one below is
referred to as the footwall. Normal faults tend to dip
about 600. The hanging wall has moved downward
relative to footwall. Normal faults are the chief
structural components of many sedimentary rift basins
like the North Sea where they have major significance
for hydrocarbon exploration.
B. Strike-slip fault occurs when brittle rocks are sheared (the opposing
tectonic forces are at right angles to compression and tension directions)
and the movement of blocks of rocks is chiefly horizontal direction. If the
far side of the fault moves to the left relative to an observer it is called
“sinistral strikeslip fault” (left-lateral). If the far side of fault moves to the
right relative to an observer is called “dextral strike-slip fault (right-
lateral).
C. Ductile deformation- Rocks buried deep within the Earth’s crust
behave differently when subjected to differential stress. It is impossible to
produce fracture in rocks the way it is at the Earth’s surface. Rocks
become thicker under compressional stress and thinner under tensional
stress. Rock layers tend to bend an go out of shape. The high temperature
condition makes a rock softer, less brittle and more ductile. Ductile
deformation is an irreversible strain which means that the rock cannot go
back to its original condition; instead it is changed into a new shape. When
rocks deform in a ductile manner, instead of fracturing to form faults or
joints, they may bend or fold and the resulting structure are called folds.
Folds are promoted by high temperature and pressure at great depth.
 Kinds of Folds
a. Monoclines are the simplest types of folds. It
occurs when the horizontal layers are bent upward
so that the two limbs of the fold are still
horizontal.
b. Synclines are fold structures when the original
rock layer have been folded downward and the
two limbs of the fold dip inward toward the hinge
of the fold.
c. Anticlines are fold structures formed when the
original rock layers have been folded upward and
the two limbs of the fold dip away from the hinge
Continental Drift refers to the movement of the Earth’s continents relative to each other,
appearing to “drift” across the ocean bed. The thought that continents might have drifted
was first speculated by Abraham Ortellius in 1956 but it was Alfred Wegener (1880-
1930), a German meteorologist who fully developed the concept. He put out his ideas in his
book entitled “The Origin of Continents and Oceans. He presented the evidences he
collected from different scientific fields to support his theory. He said the continents were
once joined together in a one large landmass called “supercontinent” also known as
Pangea (meaning all land), which was formed by a series of continental collisions that began
in the late Paleozoic and continued until the early part of the Mesozoic era. Pangea is
believed to have been a C-shaper landmass that spread across the equator. It then broke
apart beginning in the late Triassic and early Jurassic of the Mesozoic era. The part that lies in
the Northern hemisphere is Laurasia. It includes most of the present-day North America,
Greenland, Europe and Asia. Gondwana (originally Gondwanaland) lies in the southern
hemisphere. It includes most of the present-day South America, Africa, ndia, Australia, and
Antarctica. Laurasia and Gondwanaland were separated by an ocean called Tethys, which is
an east-west trending ocean that no longer exist today. North America then drifted toward
the northwest. Eurasia rotated clockwise before it moved northward. Africa rotated
counterclockwise and drifted eastward, while South America drifted westward. India was
separated from Antarctica and Africa, then drifted northeast and then collided whit Asia and
yielded the Himalayan mountain range along the former Asian continental shelf. Australia,
was once joined to Antarctica, separated and moved eastward
The Pangea breakup lead to an increase in seaways and shorelines, which may have affected the
diversification of terrestrial plants and animals by creating several isolated continental regions. In the
1960’s, Harry Hess, an American geophysicist theorized that the sea floor is a hundred million years
younger the continents. He suggested that not only the continents were moving but the sea floor was
also moving. This idea was revolutionized the geologic thought in latter part of the 20th century. Hess’
explanation of sea floor spreading was mantle convection. It has been understood that the earth’s
mantle exhibits a solid-like behavior known as “ plasticity”. It was until the development of highly
sophisticated seismic recorders and precision depth recorders that scientist found out in the 1960s the
discovery of mid-oceanic ridge or mountain chain on the ocean floor bisecting the Atlantic Ocean,
together with its rift that runs along its length. The ocean floor has been found to be moving away
from the rift, and the rift continuously emits volcanic materials from below. Hot magma rises
because it is less dense that the surrounding magma and when it reaches the surface it cools and
solidifies becoming the sea floor. As more magma rises, the present sea floor is pushed aside. At plate
boundaries, the cold and denser rock sinks and melts, becoming magma once again. This shows that
there is a recycling process. Seismic studies confirm that oceanic crust is indeed sinking into the
trenches. This mantle convection is the driving force for the motion of the sea floor and the continents.
Magma continuously flows out as lava and fills the rift. It hardens and pushes the old hardened lava on
both sides and moves away from the rift. Both sides of the ridge move away from the rift as magma
continues to flow out. The movement of crustal rocks away from the ridge causes the sea floor to
spread. This phenomenon is known as seafloor spreading. Paleomagnetism is a proof that support
sea floor spreading. It tells us how far from the poles rocks were when they were formed by looking at
the angle of their magnetic field.