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SAINT ANTHONY HIGH SCHOOL SCIENCE DEPARTMENT

Diastrophism

Prepared by: Diana Alpizar Montero Paulo Chan Gonzalez

Directed by: MBA.ING Diana Avila Livak

Montelimar 2012

GUIDE

FRONT PAGE:

PAGE : 1

GUIDE:

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INTRODUCTION :

PAGE : 3

OBJECTIVES :

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DIASTROPHISM :

PAGES: 4-6

DIASTROPHISM THEORIES :

PAGES: 6-9

CONCLUSION :

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TIMELINE:

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BIBLIOGRAPHY :

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Introduction Diastrophism, a none so know phenomena by people is strictly related to tectonism phenomena. Diastrophism is a large-scale deformation of Earth's crust by natural processes, which leads to the formation of continents, plateaus, rift valleys, by plate tectonics. The process of diastrophism appears in coastal plains, like in water erosion, glacial melts, Earth composition, and earthquakes. Also all the processes that move, elevate or build up portions of the earth's crust come under diastrophism, some of them are: the orogenic process, the epeirogenic process, the earthquakes, and finally the plate tectonics that involve horizontal movements of crustal plates. There are some theories of the diastrophic movement that are the result of pressure exerted by convection currents in the mantle or the rise of magma through the crust. The first theory is called the "Asteroid Impact Theory", the second theory, that was support by evidence of Walter and Luis Alvarez (father and son), it's called the "Meteorite Extinction Theory", the third one it's called the "Supernova Theory", and then there is another theory that it's called the "Volcanic Theory", and finally the last theory it's called "Maastrichtian Sea-Level Regression Theory". Finally diastrophism covers movement of solid crust material, which is covered by volcanism. Then to explain what means the "Diastrophic Movement", you could say or conclude that it is often called orogenic, and it's associated with mountain building. The following objectives will be achieved in this project. General Objective: Explain the concept of diastrophism and its causes. Specific Objective: Illustrate theories supporting diastrophism.

DIASTOPHISM To understand this topic, the problem of diastrophism should be defined to deformation of the Earth's crust, and more especially to folding and faulting. It can be considered a part of Geotectonic. Tectonics or Geotectonics are concerned with the orogenies and tectonic development of cratons and tectonic terranes as well as the earthquake and volcanic belts which directly affect much of the global population. Tectonic studies are also important for understanding erosion patterns in geomorphology and as guides for the economic geologist searching for petroleum and metallic ores. The study of diastrophism encompasses the varying responses of the crust to tectonic stresses. These responses include linear or torsional horizontal movements (such as continental drift) and vertical subsidence and uplift of the lithosphere (strain) in response to natural stresses on Earths surface such as the weight of mountains, lakes, and glaciers. For the Greeks the word diastrophism means "twisting". Diastrophism occurs when features on the Earth are changed because of deformations of rock and changes in position, caused by events such as earthquakes or folding. Folding is when rocks collapse when too much force is placed on them. The sturdiness of the rock leads to changes in the structure of the surrounding area. Dramatic changes in the coastal plains, brought about by diastrophism, can cause major changes to animal and plant habitats. Diastrophism appears in coastal plains like in the water erosion, glacial melts, earth composition, and in earthquakes. There is diastrophism in the water erosion. Coastal plains often have streams cascade off nearby rocks, which can put strain on the rocks because of water erosion. The water can gradually wear away at the rocks, placing greater weight on them and eventually cause the rocks to collapse, leading to a deformation of the coastal plains that change their appearance.

The streams can divide the coastal plains into separate sections, especially in the higher and more ancient plains. The flatlands of the coastal plains are poorly drained, leading to areas that flood during heavy rains. The flooding can carry soil into the ocean, which changes the physical nature of the coastal plains. Another type of diastrophism in coastal plains is found in glacial melts. Coastal plains were originally formed by the rising and falling of the sea levels, which resulted from the melting and growth of the continental glaciers, as an example of a large and long-term form of diastrophism. Glaciers have always existed, growing and shrinking in ways that respond to changing climates and causing dramatic changes in the structure of landscapes throughout the world, with some of most dramatic changes occurring during the Ice Age. One of the longest periods of glaciations lasted 50,000 years. Also the diastrophism phenomena in coastal plains are found in Earth's composition. It says that coastal plains are sandy; the nature of these plains makes them less resistant to forces placed upon them, causing them to collapse more easily. Coastal plains can sometimes be hilly, which results from diastrophism, which can cause elevations and depressions. The low areas in coastal plains are examples of depressions. Finally we found the phenomena of diastrophism in earthquakes; it says that in some coastal plains, like in South Carolina, experience earthquakes, with a 3.6 magnitude earthquake occurring in the low country in 2008. Earthquakes can cause soil to act like dense liquid in a process known as liquefaction. This is caused by water pressure. It can change the nature of the coastal plains by depositing soil in different locations. Elevated areas can experience landslides, which deposit soil in new areas in the coastal plains. Serious earthquakes can even cause portions of the coastal plain to break off and disappear into the ocean. The phenomenon of diastrophism is related to plate tectonics. Plate tectonics means or is a scientific theory that describes the largescale motions of Earth's lithosphere. The theory builds on the concepts of continental drift, developed during the first decades of the 20th century. It was accepted by the geo-scientific community after the concepts of seafloor spreading were developed in the late1950s and early 1960s.

Tectonic plates are composed of oceanic lithosphere and thicker continental lithosphere, each topped by its own kind of crust. Along convergent boundaries, subduction carries plates into the mantle; the material lost is roughly balanced by the formation of new (oceanic) crust along divergent margins by seafloor spreading. In this way, the total surface of the globe remains the same. Earth's plates are divided in three categories: Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary plates. Some examples in primary plates are: the African plate, the Antarctic plate, the Eurasian plate, the Indo-Australian plate, North American plate, Pacific plate, South American plate. Then in the secondary plates it says that these smaller plates are generally shown on major plate maps, with the exception of the Arabian and Indian plates, because they do not comprise significant land area. Some of them are: the Arabian plate, the Caribbean plate, the Cocos plate, then it has the Indian plate, the Juan de Fuca plate, also the Nazca plate, the Philippine Sea plate, and finally the Scotia plate. Finally it has the tertiary plates, Tertiary plates are grouped with the major plate that they would otherwise be shown as part of on a major plate map. Mostly these are tiny microplates, although in the case of the Nubian-Somalian and Australian-Capricorn-Indian plates these are major plates that are rifting apart. Some examples of the tertiary plates are: Madagascar plate, the Nubian plate, the Panama plate, the Iberian plate, and the Rivera plate.

DIASTROPHISM THEORIES In this chapter the objective is to illustrate or to see in what theories the phenomena of diastrophism is involucrate. There are theories of the cause of diastrophic movement such as being the result of pressures exerted by convection currents in the mantle or the rise of magma through the Earth's crust. Diastrophism can produce some changes in Earth include the thickening of the lithosphere by overthrusting, changes in rock density of the lithosphere caused by metamorphism or thermal expansion and contraction, increases in the volume of the asthenosphere that is caused by hydration of olivine, and orogenic, or the mountain- building, movements.

There are two theories that are similar, the "Asteroid Impact Theory", and the "Meteorite Extinction Theory" created or supporting by Alvarez family. The asteroid extinction theory is also known as the K-T asteroid theory. All of these theories vary slightly, but they all center on an impressive event that suddenly destroyed most of the life on Earth around 65 million years ago. This theory says that many of the dinosaurs went extinct long before the catastrophic mass extinction at the end of the cretaceous period, just as 65 million years ago. Background extinctions and much minor extinction accounted for the disappearance of most of the dinosaur species. The latter part of the period saw some heavy tectonic shifting and volcanic activity. The super continents had all separated or were in the process of separating. Many mountain ranges were formed and sea levels rose during the mid-Cretaceous, covering about one-third of the land area. Toward the end of the Cretaceous, there was a drop in sea level, causing land exposure on all continents, more seasonality, and greater extremes between equatorial and polar temperatures. As the Earth aged these climate changes had caused many species to die out and others to emerge. Another form of the asteroid extinction theory is the K-T (Cretaceous-Tertiary) theory. It is associated with a geological signature known as the K-T boundary, usually a thin band of sedimentation found in various parts of the world. K is the traditional abbreviation for the Cretaceous Period derived from the German name Kreidezeit, and T is the abbreviation for the Tertiary Period (a historical term for the period of time now covered by the Paleogene and Neogene periods). Non-avian dinosaur fossils are only found below the KT boundary, indicating that dinosaurs became extinct immediately before, or during the event. A very small number of dinosaur fossils have been found above the KT boundary, but they have been explained as reworked, that is, fossils that have been eroded from their original locations then preserved in later sediment layers. The third form of the asteroid extinction theory is the Alvarez Asteroid Impact Theory. The asteroid-impact theory was first proposed in detail in 1978, by a team led by American geologist Walter Alvarez and physicist Luis Alvarez.

The Alvarez team analyzed sediment collected in the 1970s from the K-T layer near the town of Gubbio, Italy. The samples showed a high concentration of the element iridium, a substance rare on Earth but relatively abundant in asteroids. Other samples of K-T boundary strata from around the world were also analyzed; excess iridium was found in these samples as well. Using the average thickness of the sediment as a guide, they calculated that a meteorite about 10 km in diameter would be required to spread that much iridium over the whole Earth. Now we have the "Supernova Theory", it says that some scientists think that a supernova is to blame for dinosaur extinction, although there is not even an inch of evidence to this theory. A supernova could have exploded, sending a shockwave with as much energy and radiation as our Sun could create in about 20 billion years. The only surviving Earth species would have been underground or deep in the sea. A supernova is a stellar explosion that is more energetic than a nova. They are extremely luminous and cause a burst of radiation that often briefly outshines an entire galaxy, before fading from view over several weeks or months. During this short interval a supernova can radiate as much energy as the Sun is expected to emit over its entire life span. There is another theory called "Volcanic Theory". Competing with the "Alvarez hypothesis" is the massive volcanism theory, which places the blame of the extinction on volcanism during the end of the Cretaceous. Main difference between the two theories is: volcanism theory states that the extinction was not instantaneous as predicted by the impact theorists. Volcanism theory is the other end member to the impact theory. The extinctions took place over 1000s of years. Over a prolonged period, the effects of the volcanism on the biota would be largely similar to that of the meteorite. The only question would be regarding the time frame in which the changes take place. The Cretaceous was a tectonically active time: sea-floor spreading along the Pacific Rim, development of volcanic arcs and Deccan traps. The traps are stacked basalt layers that are spread over 1000's of km in India and are as high as 2000m.

Somewhere around 65 Ma, India traveled over the Chagos Archipelago plume (hot spot) on route from Africa to collide with Asia. The plume melted through the Indian craton causing massive volcanism leading to the deposition of the basalt layers that are known as the Deccan Traps. The traps were created over 500,000 years by non-explosive basaltic flows, analogous to modern eruptions in Iceland or Hawaii. The traps cover an area of over 500,000 square km. The large scale volcanism caused sulphuric acid, nitrogen, carbon dioxide and other volatiles to be ejected into the atmosphere where they caused climatic changes. The last one is the "Theory of Maastrichtian Sea-Level Regression". Clear evidence exists that sea levels fell in the final stage of the Cretaceous by more than at any other time in the Mesozoic era. In some Maastrichtian stage rock layers from various parts of the world, the later ones are terrestrial; earlier ones represent shorelines and the earliest represent seabeds. These layers do not show the tilting and distortion associated with mountain building; therefore, the likeliest explanation is a regression, that is, a buildout of sediment, but not necessarily a drop in sea level. No direct evidence exists for the cause of the regression, but the explanation which is currently accepted as the most likely is that the mid-ocean ridges became less active and therefore sank under their own weight as sediment from uplifted orogenic belts filled in structural basins. Marine regression also resulted in the reduction in area of epeiric seas, such as the Western Interior Seaway of North America. The reduction of these seas greatly altered habitats, removing coastal plains that ten million years before had been host to diverse communities such as are found in rocks of the Dinosaur Park Formation. Another consequence was an expansion of freshwater environments, since continental runoff now had longer distances to travel before reaching oceans. While this change was favorable to freshwater vertebrates, those that prefer marine environments, such as sharks, suffered.

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This is a timeline of the Earth's Periods.

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Conclusion Diastrophism is related to different Earth's phenomena also it is related to different theories of how dinosaurs died. These theories are related to each other and all are based in the "Alvarez theory. Also that diastrophism can produce changes in Earth's coastal plains like water erosion or in earthquakes. Diastrophism can produce or play a special role in the formation of continents, plateaus, or rift valleys. And in our personal opinion diastrophism is a big phenomenon that changes the Earth's surface and it is used to support different scientific ideas.

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Bibliography :
Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. (29 July 2012). Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. Directory: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diastrophism.

The Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. (31 October 2012). Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. Directory: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plate_tectonics

The Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. ( 1 November 2012). Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. Directory: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tectonic_plates

Chuck Robert, eHow Contributor (2007). Demand Media, Inc Directory: http://www.ehow.com/info_12140017_types-diastrophism-coastalplains.html

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