Principles of Geodynamics

Geodynamics is commonly thought to be one of the subjects which provide the basis for understanding the origin of the visible surface features of the Earth: the latter are usually assumed as having been built up by geodynamic forces originating inside the Earth ("endogenetic" processes) and then as having been degrad­ ed by geomorphological agents originating in the atmosphere and ocean ("exogenetic" agents). The modem view holds that the sequence of events is not as neat as it was once thought to be, and that, in effect, both geodynamic and geomorphological processes act simultaneously ("Principle of Antagonism"); however, the division of theoretical geology into the principles of geodynamics and those of theoretical geomorphology seems to be useful for didactic purposes. It has therefore been maintained in the present writer's works. This present treatise on geodynamics is the first part of the author's treatment of theoretical geology, the treatise on Theoretical Geomorphology (also published by the Springer Verlag) representing the second. The present edition is third one of the book. Although the headings of the chapters and sections are much the same as in the previous editions, it will be found that most of the material is, in fact, new.

1. Physiographic and Geological Data Regarding the Earth.- 1.1 Introduction.- 1.2 Geological Evolution of the Earth.- 1.2.1 The Basic Rock Types.- 1.2.2 The Scales of Geological Phenomena.- 1.2.3 Paleoclimatic Data.- 1.3 Geography of Continents and Oceans.- 1.3.1 Global Arrangement.- 1.3.2 The Hypsometric Curve.- 1.3.3 A Comparison of Continents and Oceans.- 1.4 Physiography of Continental Areas.- 1.4.1 General Features.- 1.4.2 Mountain Ranges.- 1.4.3 The Margins of Continents.- 1.5 Physiography of Oceanic Areas.- 1.5.1 General Remarks.- 1.5.2 Abyssal Plains.- 1.5.3 Mid-Ocean Ridges.- 1.5.4 Smaller Features in Basins.- 1.6 Physiography of Tectonic Features.- 1.6.1 General Remarks.- 1.6.2 Faults.- 1.6.3 Joints.- 1.6.4 Valleys in Plan.- 1.6.5 Folds.- 1.6.6 Petrofabrics.- 1.7 Physiography of Some Local Features.- 1.7.1 Introduction.- 1.7.2 Boudinage.- 1.7.3 Diapirs.- 1.7.4 Volcanoes.- 1.7.5 Astroblemes.- 1.7.6 Recent and Contemporary Displacements.- 1.7.6.1 General Remarks.- 1.7.6.2 Vertical Displacements.- 1.7.6.3 Horizontal Displacements.- 2. Geophysical Data Regarding the Earth.- 2.1 Results from Seismic Wave Propagation Studies.- 2.1.1 Earthquakes and Seismic Waves.- 2.1.2 The Basic Division of the Earth into Layers.- 2.1.3 The Crust.- 2.1.3.1 General Remarks.- 2.1.3.2 Continents.- 2.1.3.3 Oceans.- 2.1.3.4 Transition and Transformation Between Continental and Oceanic Crust.- 2.1.4 The Mantle.- 2.1.4.1 General Remarks.- 2.1.4.2 The Mohorovi?i? Discontinuity.- 2.1.4.3 The Upper Mantle.- 2.1.4.4 The Lower Mantle.- 2.1.5 The Core.- 2.1.5.1 General Remarks.- 2.1.5.2 The Core — Mantle Boundary.- 2.1.5.3 The Outer Core.- 2.1.5.4 The Inner Core Boundary.- 2.1.5.5 The Inner Core.- 2.2 Studies of the Earthquake Focus.- 2.2.1 General Remarks.- 2.2.2 Seismicity Studies.- 2.2.3 Magnitude and Energy Studies.- 2.2.4 Fault Plane Studies.- 2.2.5 Seismic Source Parameters.- 2.2.5.1 General Remarks.- 2.2.5.2 Kinematic Parameters.- 2.2.5.3 Dynamic Parameters.- 2.2.6 Temporal Sequence of Earthquakes.- 2.2.6.1 Introduction.- 2.2.6.2 Magnitude-Frequency Relations.- 2.2.6.3 Aftershock Sequences.- 2.2.6.4 Energy and Strain Release.- 2.2.6.5 Variability of Release Rates.- 2.3 Gravity Data.- 2.3.1 Gravity and Gravity Anomalies.- 2.3.2 Distribution of Gravity Anomalies.- 2.3.2.1 Continental Areas.- 2.3.2.2 Oceanic Regions.- 2.3.2.3 Global Scale.- 2.4 Underground Stresses.- 2.4.1 General Remarks.- 2.4.2 Direct In Situ Stress Determinations.- 2.4.2.1 Introduction.- 2.4.2.2 Stress Relief Methods.- 2.4.2.3 Restoration Methods.- 2.4.2.4 Wave Fields and Stresses.- 2.4.2.5 Results.- 2.4.3 Stresses from Hydraulic Fracturing.- 2.4.3.1 The Method.- 2.4.3.2 Results.- 2.4.4 Stress Determination from Seismic Effects.- 2.4.4.1 Introduction.- 2.4.4.2 Triggering of Seismic Events.- 2.4.4.3 Stresses from Fault-plane Solutions of Earthquakes.- 2.4.5 Stress Determination from Faults and Joints.- 2.4.5.1 Introduction.- 2.4.5.2 Faults.- 2.4.5.3 Joints.- 2.4.6 Geomorphology and Stresses.- 2.4.7 Petrofabrics and Tectonic Stresses.- 2.4.8 Global Results.- 2.5 Data from Age Determinations.- 2.5.1 General Remarks.- 2.5.2 Methods.- 2.5.3 Results from Radioactive Dating.- 2.6 Thermal Data.- 2.6.1 General Remarks.- 2.6.2 Surface Heat Flow Measurements.- 2.6.3 Temperature in the Earth’s Interior.- 2.7 Electromagnetic Effects.- 2.7.1 The Earth’s Magnetic Field.- 2.7.2 Paleomagnetism.- 2.7.3 Magnetic Reversals.- 2.7.4 Electrical Effects.- 2.8 Geochemical Data.- 2.8.1 General Remarks.- 2.8.2 Geochemistry of the Crust.- 2.8.3 Geochemistry of the Mantle.- 2.8.4 Geochemistry of the Core.- 3. The Mechanics of Deformation.- 3.1 Finite Strain in Rheological Bodies.- 3.1.1 The Physics of Deformation.- 3.1.2 The Structure of a Finite Strain Theory.- 3.1.3 Inhomogeneous Media.- 3.1.4 Additional Stress and Strain.- 3.2 Theoretical Rheology.- 3.2.1 Infinitesimal Elasticity Theory.- 3.2.1.1 Basic Assumptions.- 3.2.1.2 Special Cases.- 3.2.1.3 Dislocations.- 3.2.1.4 Heterogeneous Materials.- 3.2.2 Plasticity.- 3.2.2.1 Pure Plasticity.- 3.2.2.2 Imperfectly Plastic Materials.- 3.2.2.3 The Effect of Pore Pressure.- 3.2.3 Viscous Fluids.- 3.2.3.1 Fluid Kinematics.- 3.2.3.2 Dynamics of Viscous Fluids.- 3.2.3.3 Flow Through Porous Media.- 3.2.4 General Linear Bodies.- 3.2.4.1 Principles.- 3.2.4.2 Maxwell Liquid.- 3.2.4.3 Kelvin Solid.- 3.2.4.4 General Linear Viscoelastic Media.- 3.2.5 Non-Linear Creep.- 3.2.5.1 General Formulation.- 3.2.5.2 Logarithmic Creep.- 3.2.6 Thermohydrodynamics.- 3.2.6.1 Thermal Convection in Viscous Fluids.- 3.2.6.2 Heat Convection in Plastic Flow.- 3.3 The Physics of Fracture.- 3.3.1 Fundamentals.- 3.3.2 Phenomenological Aspects.- 3.3.3 Microscopic Aspects of Fracture.- 3.3.3.1 The Problem.- 3.3.3.2 The Griffith Theory of Brittle Fracture.- 3.3.3.3 Dilatant Behavior of Materials During Fracture.- 3.3.3.4 The Crack Propagation Velocity.- 3.3.4 Analytical Attempts.- 3.3.5 Heterogeneous Materials.- 3.4 Rheology of the Earth: The Basic Problem of Geodynamics.- 3.4.1 General Considerations.- 3.4.2 The Elastic Range.- 3.4.2.1 General Remarks.- 3.4.2.2 Laboratory Measurements.- 3.4.2.3 Indirect Measurements.- 3.4.3 The Attenuation Range.- 3.4.3.1 Laboratory Experiments.- 3.4.3.2 Seismic Wave Transmission.- 3.4.3.3 Aftershock Sequences.- 3.4.3.4 Tides and Rheology.- 3.4.3.5 Rheology and the Chandler Wobble.- 3.4.3.6 Rheology and Isostasy.- 3.4.3.7 Evaluation.- 3.4.4 The Failure Range.- 3.4.4.1 Introduction.- 3.4.4.2 Laboratory Experiments.- 3.4.4.3 In-situ Tests.- 3.4.4.4 Geostatic Considerations.- 4. Geodynamic Effects of the Rotation of the Earth.- 4.1 Introduction.- 4.2 The Figure of the Earth.- 4.2.1 Present-Day Parameters.- 4.2.2 Simplified Equilibrium Theory of the Figure of the Earth.- 4.3 The Rotation of the Earth.- 4.3.1 Present-Day Phenomena.- 4.3.2 The Precession.- 4.3.3 Rotation in the Past.- 4.4 Tidal Effects.- 4.4.1 Tidal Variations of the Force of Gravity.- 4.4.2 Earth Tides.- 4.4.3 Phase Lag.- 4.4.4 Geodynamic Effects.- 4.5 The Question of Stability of the Earth’s Axis of Rotation.- 4.5.1 The Problem.- 4.5.2 Effects of Circulations on a Rigid Earth.- 4.5.3 Polar Wandering in a Yielding Earth.- 4.5.4 Convection Currents in the Mantle.- 4.6 Other Forces Due to the Rotation of the Earth.- 4.6.1 General Remarks.- 4.6.2 The “PoMuchtkraft”.- 4.6.3 The Coriolis Force.- 5. Planetary Problems.- 5.1 The Origin of the Earth as a Planet.- 5.1.1 Origin of the Universe.- 5.1.2 Origin of the Solar System.- 5.1.3 Birth of the Moon.- 5.2 The Evolution of the Earth as a Planet.- 5.2.1 The Problem.- 5.2.2 Theory of the State of the Earth’s Interior.- 5.2.3 The Earth’s Thermal History.- 5.3 Continents and Oceans.- 5.3.1 The Nature of the Problem.- 5.3.2 The Formation of Continents by Convection.- 5.3.3 Possibility of Present-Day Convection.- 5.4 Historical Remarks.- 5.4.1 Introduction.- 5.4.2 Tetrahedral Shrinkage.- 5.4.3 Formation of Continents by Expansion.- 6. Orogenesis.- 6.1 Fundamental Global Tectonic Relationships.- 6.1.1 Introduction.- 6.1.2 Plate Tectonics.- 6.1.2.1 Principles.- 6.1.2.2 Rifting.- 6.1.2.3 Drifting.- 6.1.2.4 Collision-subduction.- 6.1.3 Geosynclines.- 6.1.4 Volume Relationships in Orogenesis.- 6.1.4.1 General Remarks.- 6.1.4.2 Continental Orogenesis.- 6.1.4.3 Oceanic Orogenesis.- 6.1.5 Global Energetics.- 6.1.6 Rare Events.- 6.2 Theory of Plate Motions.- 6.2.1 General Remarks.- 6.2.2 The Problem of Thermal Stability.- 6.2.3 Convection Currents.- 6.2.4 Mantle Plumes and Hot Spots.- 6.2.5 Self-generating Mechanisms.- 6.2.5.1 Basic Description.- 6.2.5.2 Dynamics of Slab Descent.- 6.2.5.3 Spreading Centers.- 6.2.5.4 Countercirculation.- 6.2.5.5 Synthesis.- 6.2.6 Passive Crustal Effects.- 6.2.6.1 Principles.- 6.2.6.2 Rifting.- 6.2.6.3 Drifting.- 6.2.6.4 Converging Plate Margins.- 6.3 Other Theories of Orogenesis.- 6.3.1 General Remarks.- 6.3.2 The Undation Theory.- 6.3.3 The Contraction Hypothesis.- 6.3.4 Expansion Hypothesis of Orogenesis.- 6.3.5 Membrane Tectonics.- 6.3.6 Effects of Despinni