13.1 Plate tectonics and landscape development

Plate tectonics shapes Earth's surface through massive forces that create mountains, valleys, and ocean basins. This process drives landscape evolution by influencing erosion, sedimentation, and climate patterns over millions of years.

Understanding plate tectonics is key to grasping how landscapes form and change. It explains why mountains rise, continents drift, and earthquakes occur, connecting Earth's deep interior to the ground beneath our feet.

Plate Tectonics and Earth's Surface

Fundamentals of Plate Tectonics

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• Plate tectonics unifies geological theory explaining large-scale motions of Earth's lithosphere driven by mantle convection currents
• Lithosphere divides into several tectonic plates moving relative to one another
• Plate movements result in creation, destruction, and deformation of Earth's crust
• Plate tectonic processes operate over millions of years, reshaping Earth's surface
• Wilson Cycle describes formation and breakup of supercontinents (Pangea)
• Three main types of plate boundaries contribute to distinct crustal deformation patterns
  • Divergent boundaries (plates moving apart)
  • Convergent boundaries (plates colliding)
  • Transform boundaries (plates sliding past each other)

Global Impacts of Plate Tectonics

• Influences global climate patterns by altering:
  • Ocean currents (Gulf Stream)
  • Atmospheric circulation (monsoons)
  • Distribution of land masses (continental drift)
• Creates dynamic equilibrium with erosional processes modifying Earth's surface topography
• Responsible for distribution of:
  • Earthquakes (Ring of Fire)
  • Volcanoes (Hawaii hotspot)
  • Mineral resources (porphyry copper deposits)
• Affects global carbon cycle through:
  • Volcanic outgassing (CO2 emissions)
  • Subduction of carbonate sediments
  • Mountain building and increased weathering rates

Plate Boundaries and Landforms

Divergent Boundaries

• Create rift valleys and mid-ocean ridges through seafloor spreading
• Form new oceanic crust and linear mountain chains on ocean floor (Mid-Atlantic Ridge)
• Continental rifting leads to formation of rift valleys (East African Rift System)
• Can eventually form new ocean basins (Red Sea)
• Characterized by:
  • Shallow earthquakes
  • Basaltic volcanism
  • Thin lithosphere
  • High heat flow

Convergent Boundaries

• Produce subduction zones, volcanic arcs, and collisional mountain ranges
• Oceanic-oceanic convergence creates:
  • Deep ocean trenches (Mariana Trench)
  • Volcanic island arcs (Aleutian Islands)
• Oceanic-continental convergence forms:
  • Coastal mountain ranges (Andes)
  • Forearc and backarc basins
• Continental-continental collision results in:
  • Extensive fold and thrust belt mountain ranges (Himalayas, Alps)
  • Crustal thickening and high-grade metamorphism
  • Plateau formation (Tibetan Plateau)

Transform Boundaries

• Generate strike-slip faults creating:
  • Linear valleys
  • Offset streams
  • Sag ponds along fault zone
• Produce complex fault systems and topography (San Andreas Fault)
• Characterized by:
  • Shallow earthquakes
  • Lateral offsets of geological features
  • Development of pull-apart basins (Dead Sea)

Plate Tectonics and Geomorphic Features

Mountain Building and Orogenesis

• Plate tectonic processes drive orogenesis through:
  • Compression at convergent boundaries
  • Uplift of crustal blocks
  • Volcanic activity at subduction zones
• Collision of continental plates forms fold and thrust belt mountain ranges
  • Intense deformation and metamorphism of crustal rocks
  • Development of foreland and hinterland basins
• Subduction-related volcanism creates linear chains of volcanoes
  • Continental volcanic arcs (Cascade Range)
  • Oceanic island arcs (Mariana Islands)

Rift Valleys and Extensional Features

• Formation initiated by extensional forces at divergent boundaries
• Results in thinning and stretching of lithosphere
• Characterized by:
  • Normal faulting and graben formation
  • Elevated heat flow and volcanism
  • Development of lake systems (Lake Tanganyika)
• Can evolve into passive continental margins (Atlantic coast of North America)

Plate Tectonics and Sedimentary Basins

• Influences distribution and characteristics of sedimentary basins
• Important for accumulation of hydrocarbon resources
• Types of tectonically-controlled basins:
  • Foreland basins (Western Interior Seaway)
  • Rift basins (North Sea)
  • Pull-apart basins (Salton Sea)
• Affects sedimentation patterns and basin subsidence rates

Plate Motions and Landscape Evolution

Drainage Pattern Development

• Plate tectonic activity influences continental-scale drainage divides and river systems
• Alters topography creating new basins and highlands
• Uplift of mountain ranges leads to:
  • Reorganization of drainage networks
  • River capture events (Wind River)
  • Formation of antecedent streams (Colorado River through Grand Canyon)
• Changes in base level affect erosional and depositional patterns
  • Sea level fluctuations due to plate motions
  • Tectonic uplift or subsidence of coastal regions

Long-term Landscape Changes

• Formation and breakup of supercontinents result in:
  • Changes to global ocean circulation patterns (thermohaline circulation)
  • Alterations in continental weathering rates
• Isostatic adjustment following mountain formation or erosion leads to:
  • Regional topography changes
  • Modifications in drainage patterns
• Plate tectonics influences sedimentary basin development
  • Creates accommodation space for sediment accumulation
  • Affects formation of large river deltas (Mississippi Delta)

Tectonic-Climate Interactions

• Uplift of mountain ranges affects regional and global climate
  • Creates orographic precipitation (windward side)
  • Produces rain shadow effects (leeward side)
• Interaction between plate tectonics and climate change leads to feedback loops
  • Affects weathering rates (silicate weathering)
  • Influences erosion patterns (glacial erosion in uplifted regions)
  • Modifies landscape evolution over geologic time scales
• Plate motions alter ocean current patterns
  • Affects heat distribution and global climate (Gulf Stream)
  • Influences development of coastal upwelling zones (Peru Current)