TECTONlCS AND PHYSICS Geology, although rooted in the laws of physics, rarely has been taught in a manner designed to stress the relations between the laws and theorems of physics and the postulates of geology. The same is true of geophysics, whose specialties (seismology, gravimetIy, magnetics, magnetotellurics) deal only with the laws that govern them, and not with those that govern geology's postulates. The branch of geology and geophysics called tectonophysics is not a formalized discipline or subdiscipline, and, therefore, has no formal laws or theorems of its own. Although many recent books claim to be textbooks in tectonophysics, they are not; they are books designed to explain one hypothesis, just as the present book is designed to explain one hypothesis. The textbook that comes closest to being a textbook of tectonophysics is Peter 1. Wyllie's (1971) book, The Dynamic Earth. Teachers, students, and practitioners of geology since the very beginning of earth science teaching have avoided the development of a rigorous (but not rigid) scientific approach to tectonics, largely because we earth scientists have not fully understood the origin of the features with which we are dealing. This fact is not at all surprising when one considers that the database for hypotheses and theories of tectonics, particularly before 1960, has been limited to a small part of the exposed land area on the Earth's surface.

Contenu

Preface. 1: Why a New Hypothesis? 1. Introduction. 2. Former and Current Concepts of Earth Dynamics. 3. Conclusion. 2: Unraveling Earth History: Tectonic Data Sets. 1. Data Availability. 2. New Data Acquisition. 3. Data Sets Unexplained in Current Tectonic Models: Foundation for a New Hypothesis. 4. Conclusion. 3: Surge Tectonics. 1. Introduction. 2. Velocity Structure of the Earth's Outer Shells. 3. Contraction. 4. Contraction as an Explanation of Earth Dynamics. 5. Review of Surge and Related Concepts in Earth-Dynamic Theory. 6. Geotectonic Cycle of Surge Tectonics. 7. Pascal's Law - the Core of Tectogenesis. 8. Evidence for the Existence of Surge Channels. 9. Geometry of Surge Channels. 10. Demonstration of Tangential Flow in Surge Channels. 11. Mechanisms for Eastward Surge. 12. Classification of Surge Channels. 13. K Structures. 14. Criteria for the Identification of Surge Channels. 4: Examples of Surge Channels. 1. Ocean-Basin Surge Channels. 2. Surge Channels of Continental Margins. 3. Continental Surge Channels. 4. Surge Channels in Zones of Transtension-Transpression. 5: The Tectonic Evolution of Southeast Asia - A Regional Application of the Surge-Tectonics Hypothesis. 1. Surge Tectonic Framework. 2. Surge-Tectonic History. 6: Magma Floods, Flood Basalts, and Surge Tectonics. 1. Introduction. 2. Descriptions of Selected Continental Flood-Basalt Provinces. 3. The Useof Geochemistry in Identifying Flood Basalts. 4. Geochemical Comparisons among Basalts Erupted in Different Tectonic Settings. 5. Duration of Individual Basalt Floods. 6. Flood-Basalt Provinces and Frequency in Geologic Time. 7. Non-Basalt Flood Volcanism in Flood-Basalt Provinces. 8. Flood Basalts or Magma Floods? 9. Surge-Tectonics Origin of Magma Floods. 7: Conclusions. Appendix. Bibliography. Index.