Lecture #1 & 2 The Dynamic Earth

Geodynamics & Basin
Development
QAB 4053 (Bachelor, Petroleum Geoscience)
Lectures # 1 & 2
The Earth, A Dynamic Planet
January 2013
Assoc. Prof. Dr Abdelaziz Lotfy Abdeldayem
Department of Petroleum Geosciences
QAB 4053 Geodynamics & Basin Development
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this lecture students should
be able to:
Understand the global structure of the Earth.
Realize the surface expression of the internal
dynamics of Earth.
Visualize the interaction of different plate
boundaries in relation to Earth dynamics.
Introduction
The Earth is a dynamic planet with surface constantly
changing by internal and external processes resulting in
volcanism, tectonism, followed by erosion and deposition.

Tectonic forces cause mountains to rise at similar uplift rates
while the long term average effects of erosion on a regional
scale occur at rates of centimetres per year. On a larger scale
the continents move relative to each other at speeds up to
several cm per year for time intervals lasting millions of years.
Sea-floor spreading, apparent polar wander and visual
geomagnetic pole position at any time support Earths
dynamic condition (Lowrie, 2002).
COMPOSITION OF THE SOLID EARTH

As we cannot see through the solid lithosphere, except
for few tens of metres through drilling (the deepest well
drilled in the world is the Kola SG3, Kola Peninsula,
Russia, 12 262 m, with bottom hole temperature of
190 C), other indirect evidences come from three
sources: the seismic waves, volcanoes, and meteorites.
Scientists combined data from these three sources and
provided a composite picture of the Earth's interior as to
be made up of five layers: the crust, upper mantle, lower
mantle, outer core, and inner core.
The $1 billion mission to reach

the Earth's mantle
Source: Tom Levitt, for CNN-October 2, 2012
A $1 billion mission is about to be launched by a team

of international scientists to drill 6 km beneath the
seafloor to reach the Earth's mantle to bring back the
first ever fresh samples.
The $1 billion mission to reach

the Earth's mantle
The hole they will drill will be just 30 cm in width all the
way from the ocean floor to inside the mantle.
To get to the mantle scientists will be relying on a

purpose-built Japanese deep-sea drilling vessel called
Chikyu that is capable of carrying 10 km of drilling pipes.
It has already set a world-record for the deepest hole in
scientific ocean drilling history, reaching 2.2 km into the
seafloor.
Source:
Tom Levitt,
for CNN-October
2012
They
could
start
drilling 2,before
the end of this decade,
making it possible for humans to finally reach the Earth's
mantle by the early 2020s.
COMPOSITION OF THE SOLID EARTH

Our knowledge of
the interior part of
the Earth comes
essentially from the
study of seismic
waves
generated
by earthquakes.
Densities are
deduced from the
P- wave velocity
model using
empiric laws such
as the Gartner law.
http://vmsg.geo.uu.nl/Programmes/designA.shtml
DENSITY LAYERING EARTH INTERIOR
EARTHS INTERIOR
Seismic discontinuities aid
in distinguishing divisions
of the Earths layers into:
inner core,
outer core,
D (Gutenberg)
lower mantle,
transition region,
upper mantle,
Mohorovicic, and
crust (oceanic &
continental).
Lateral discontinuities
have also been
distinguished and mapped
through seismic
tomography.
http://www.solarviews.com/eng/earthint.htm
The composition of the mantle is not homogeneous. Areas of

anomalous slow (red) or rapid (blue) are computed from P waves.
Velocities are interpreted as either cold (rapid) lithospheric material
sinking into the lower mantle, or hot (slow) upraising lower mantle
plumes (or domes). Such anomalies and their interpretation give
insight into the dynamics of the internal Earth (McGeary et al., 2004).
Earths internal structure
http://www.geoexpro.com/article/Mid_Cretaceous_Source_Rock_Enigma/cb946b8a.aspx
STRUCTURE OF EARTH
The crust is, therefore, divided into two types:

- oceanic crust (lining the ocean floor) and
- continental crust (surfacing the continents).
The oceanic crust is believed to be 8-9 km thick, very

thin and, therefore, very susceptible to damage from
stresses within the Earth. Its average density is 3.0
gm/cc. Being composed mainly of magnesium silicate
minerals, it is sometimes known as SIMA. The oldest
parts are about 180 my old.
The continental crust varies in thickness from 25-70

km, but the average is about 35 km. The average
density is 2.7 gm/cc. Being composed largely of
aluminum silicate minerals, it is sometimes known as
SIAL. The oldest known continental crust dates back
3700 my.
Major events in lithosphere evolution (after Artemieva, 2011)

Parts of the Continental Crust

Because of this wide-scale age span (0-3700 my), the
continental crust is usually divided into:
Archean crust (3700-2500 my): is described as dense and
rigid. It has no signs of life.

Proterozoic crust (2500-570 my): is less dense and less
rigid than the Archean crust. It shows scarce signs of life.
Phanerozoic crust (570-zero my): is defined as light and
soft. It witnessed the full appearance of life.
Both the Archean and Proterozoic crusts are known as

the cratons, which are resistant to deformation in
contrast with the Phanerozoic crust that is easily
deformable.
Zonation of the Upper Earth

Lithosphere
Rigid outer shell
Crust and upper mantle
Asthenosphere
Weaker than lithosphere
Flows (plastic deformation)
Zonation of the Upper Earth Rheology

LithosphereAsthenosphere Boundary (LAB)
The LAB is an important global boundary that has

a dual nature since it reflects the processes
related to both global evolution (such as global
mantle differentiation; styles and patterns of global
mantle convection) and plate tectonics (such as
lithosphere generation, recycling and modification
by plate tectonic processes and secondary mantle
convection)
The dual nature of the lithosphereasthenosphere boundary (LAB)

(after Artemieva, 2011)

Most properties of the upper mantle change gradually
with depth and do not exhibit sharp, knife-cut,

boundaries.
LAB has, therefore, a diffuse nature and is always a
transition zone over which a gradual change in

physical and chemical characteristics occurs. As a
result, the lithosphere thickness (the depth to the LAB)
can be significantly different even for the same model

of physical parameter variation with depth.

Four physical parameters of the lithosphere are
widely used in geophysical modeling studies:
elastic, thermal, electrical, and seismic.
They are based on indirect measurements of
different properties of upper mantle rocks and
thus they may refer to outer layers of the Earth
of significantly different thickness and tectonic
implications.
Tectonics
In geologic terms, the word tectonics, in a broad
sense, includes the study of Earths structures on
every scale. In a narrower scale, it deals specifically
with very big structures like oceanic ridges, geosynclines, and mountain belts and in the same
sense it is sometimes called Geotectonics to
emphasize its global aspect.
Tectonics, therefore, concerns with the major relief
features of the Earths surface and the attempt to
bind them into a cohesive pattern/ model.
Tectonics
In other words, tectonics deals with the
structures within the lithosphere of the
Earth, including those related to orogenies
and tectonic development of cratons and
terranes as well as the earthquake and
volcanic belts, particularly with the forces
(compressional
and
tensional)
and
movements that have operated to create
these large structures.
Types of Tectonic Regimes

There are three main types of tectonic regimes:
1) Extensional tectonics: associates the stretching and
thinning of the crust or lithosphere and is found at:
- Divergent plate boundaries,
- Continental rifts,
- During and after a period of continental collision caused
by the lateral spreading of the thickened crust,
- Releasing bends in strike-slip faults,
- Back-arc basins and,
- Continental end of passive margin sequences where a
detachment layer is present.

2) Compressional/ contractional (thrust) tectonics:
associates the shortening and thickening of the
crust or lithosphere and is found at:
- Zones of continental collision,
- Restraining bends in strike-slip faults, and;
- Oceanward part of passive margin sequences
where a detachment layer is present.

3) Strike-slip tectonics: associates the relative
lateral movement of parts of the crust or
lithosphere and is found:
- Along oceanic and continental transform faults,

- At lateral offsets in extensional and thrust fault
systems,
- In the over-riding plate in zones of oblique
collision and;
- At accommodating deformation in the foreland
to a collisional belt.
http://www.see.leeds.ac.uk/structure/dynamicearth/history/index.htm
What is Geodynamics?
It is a subfield of geophysics that studies the
processes leading to deformation of Earths mantle
and crust and the related earthquakes and volcanism
that shape its structure.
It deals with the processes that govern the large
scale structure of Earth, i.e., those that act on the
scale of the whole lithosphere.
Geodynamic processes have operated throughout
the Earth's history to create, destroy and recreate
continents & oceans, geological provinces & terranes,
mountain chains and basins.
28
What is Geodynamics?
It discusses how mantle convection leads to plate
tectonics and geologic phenomena such continental
drift, seafloor spreading, mountain building, formation &
development of sedimentary basins and so on.
It also attempts to probe the internal activity by

measuring magnetic fields, gravity, and seismic waves,
as well as the mineralogy of rocks and their isotopic
composition.
Experts in geodynamics commonly use data from
geodetic GPS and seismology, along with numerical
modeling, to study the evolution of the Earth's
lithosphere, mantle and core.
http://cct.gfy.ku.dk/publ_cct/cct1721.htm
Simplified picture of the Earths interior, inferred from geodynamic studies.

In brief, geodynamics apply physical theory to dynamic

geological phenomena, and is usually characterized by
mathematical or numerical modeling and quantitative
prediction. It, therefore, deals with topics range in scale

from global (e.g., mantle convection, plate tectonics)
through regional (mountain-building, basin formation,
lithospheric flexure) to local (fault movements, folding,

magma intrusion and extrusion).
All in all, it can be said that geodynamics tackles the
processes attending the gradual evolution of the Earth

and the changes that are still going on.
Among other tasks geodynamics traces are:

Plate tectonic movements, deformation, and driving
mechanisms.
Movement and/or flow of mantle material.

Rheology of the crust, mantle, and core.
Heat generation and heat transfer in the mantle.
Melt migration in magma chambers or upper mantle.

Preservation of geochemical pockets of magma
reservoirs.
What does a geodynamist do?
Observing surface deformation and relaxation in

relation to viscosity of the mantle.
Predicting patterns of continental accretion and

breakup of continents and supercontinents.
Finding and understanding the driving mechanisms

behind plate tectonics.
Modeling (numerically) brittle and ductile deformation

of geologic materials.
Numerical Geodynamic Modeling

Numerical modeling is considered as a logical tool
for geodynamic studies since geological processes
are mostly too slow to observe them directly.
Numerical calculations can be done in 1D, 2D,
or even 3D. It can be time consuming
computationally.
This is often assumed to be very complicated for
geologists and is mostly done by geophysicists!
Modeling of geodynamic processes in the lithosphere

and basin formation requires consideration of three
different types of material deformation:
Viscous behavior: is suitable for modeling sublithospheric mantle/ magma flow. Almost all geological
materials behave viscous on a long-time scale.
Plastic approximation: is used for modeling flexure

processes such as lithospheric bending.
Brittle deformation: represents rupturing behavior of

a material that fails when stresses exceed the maximum
sustainable stress value (yield stress).
An Example of Numerical
Geodynamic Modeling
Geodynamics & Tectonics

When discussing "geodynamics and tectonics" we
generally think of processes that act on the scale of
lithospheric plates or plate boundaries, rather than on
the scale of a single outcrop.
In the past few years the term "geodynamics" has often
been used as a fashionable synonym to "tectonics",
which traditionally has only been understood to be the
science of the kinematics of rocks on a large scale,
e.g., in the context of terms like "thrust tectonics",
"extensional tectonics", "subduction tectonics .. etc.
The Geodynamic Concept of Plate Tectonics
The theory of plate tectonics is a unifying theory for the

cooling of the Earth in which lithospheric plates form at
ocean ridges, move about on a convecting mantle as
they may grow or diminish in size, and return to the
mantle at subduction zones.
It states that the lithosphere, consists of the rigid upper

mantle and a crust, is broken into a number of major
plates and several minor plates sliding over the plastic
asthenosphere. The lithospheric plates are all moving
in different directions and at different velocities between
1 to 10 cm per year relative to each other.
Plate Tectonics
Plate tectonics is based on two concepts that
appeared separately;
Continental Drift
Sea-floor Spreading
Each of these two arms has come to light

independently, and were not combined together as an
integrated theory until the mid 50s of last century.
I. Continental Drift
Introduced formally in 1912 by German meteorologist
Alfred Wegener who contended that, around 200 million
years ago, there existed a supercontinent, Pangaea,
that began to split apart.
In 1939, it was proposed that Pangaea first broke into
two large continental landmasses, Laurasia in the
northern
hemisphere
and
Gondwanaland
in
the
southern hemisphere. Laurasia and Gondwanaland

then continued to break apart into the various smaller
continents that exist today.
Continental Drift, Pangaea
Rate of plate movement varies from 5 to 10cm/year.

Continental Drift
A fatal weakness in Wegener's theory was that he could not
satisfactorily answer the most fundamental question raised by
his critics: What kind of forces could be strong enough to move
such large masses of solid rocks over such great distances?
Wegener suggested that the continents simply plowed through
the ocean floor, but this was found to be physically impossible
without the break up of continents.
Even though this theory is now widely accepted, the chief

outstanding question that still remains is ironically the one
that Wegener failed to answer: What is the nature of the
forces that drive the plates?
II. Sea-floor Spreading

Emerged in 1962, when American scientist
Harry H. Hess, proposed that molten rock
(magma) rises from the Earth's interior along
the mid-oceanic ridges, creating new seafloor
that spreads away from the active ridge crest
and, eventually, sinks into the deep oceanic
trenches.
According to Hess, the Atlantic Ocean is
expanding while the Pacific Ocean is shrinking.
Plate Tectonic Elements
Formulation of the Plate Tectonics Theory

In 1965, Tuzo Wilson noted that movements of the
Earth's crust are concentrated in narrow mobile belts that
comprise mountain ranges, deep-sea trenches, midoceanic ridges and major faults. He then postulated that
these mobile belts are not isolated lineations but rather
are all interconnected in a global network. This network
of faults, ridges, and trenches outlines about a dozen
large
plates
and
numerous
smaller
comprising a rigid segment of lithosphere.

ones,
each
The Wilson Cycle (supercontinent cycle)

It starts with the rifting process, a continental rift
develops, such that the crust stretches, faults and
subsides. This process is followed by seafloor

spreading, forming a new ocean basin. As the ocean
widens, it is flanked by sedimented passive margins.
Once subduction of oceanic lithosphere begins on one

of the margins, the ocean basin closes and continental
mountain building starts.
A Wilson Cycle is the opening and closing of an ocean basin.
The Wilson Cycle (supercontinent cycle)

Later, processes such as erosion, post-orogenic and
post-collisional extension or the existence of a
mantle plume may thin the crust again, thereby
creating the prerequisites for subsequent continental
rifting and a beginning of a new cycle.
A complete cycle may take up to 300 m.y. It is,
therefore, believed that it occurred many times

during geologic history.
The Geodynamic Concept of Plate Tectonics
The place where the two plates meet is called a plate

boundary. Where they interact, along these margins,
important geological processes take place, such as the
formation of mountain belts, earthquakes & volcanoes,
and formation of sedimentary basins.
These
plate
boundaries
have
different
names
depending on how the two plates are moving relative to

each other: (i) convergent, (ii) divergent, and (iii)
transform boundaries.
Plate tectonic movements effects

Lithospheric plates move relative to one another

Earth's lithosphere is presently divided into 16 large plates with about 24 smaller ones
that are drifting above the mantle at the rate of 5 - 10 cm (2 to 4 in) per year
Scotia
Plate
Plates contain both oceanic and continental crusts

As the figure
shows, tectonic
plates fit together
over the Earth.
they act as a cover
over the Earth's
mantle and core.
The question now:
What are Tectonic
Plates made of and
what drives them?
http://www.freewebs.com/morganisrupert/photos.htm
What is a Tectonic Plate?

According to plate tectonics, a Tectonic Plate
consists of the rigid upper layer of mantle and the
overlying layer of rigid crust, either continental or
oceanic, that are collectively called the Lithosphere.
The plates glide as nearly rigid bodies over the soft
and easily deformable asthenosphere. The
lithosphere is about 80 km thick while the
asthenosphere is several hundred kms thick.
Cross section of Earths outer layers

Plate sizes vary from a few hundred to thousands of kilometers

across. The Pacific and Antarctic Plates are among the largest.
Most plate boundaries cannot be seen, because they are
hidden beneath the oceans, but usually marked by earthquake
and volcanic activities.
Tectonic plates probably developed very early in the Earth's
4.6-billion-year history, repeatedly clustering together and then
separating (Wilsons Cycles).

Plates change over time with those composed partly or entirely
of oceanic lithosphere can sink under another plate, usually a
lighter, mostly continental plate, and eventually disappear

completely.
Nature and Types of Plate Boundaries

Because boundaries can move only away from each other,
toward each other, or parallel to each other, there are
exactly three possible types of plates boundaries:
- Constructive boundaries - where new crust is generated
as the plates pull away from each other, mid-oceanic ridge
and continental rifts!
- Destructive boundaries - where crust is destroyed as one
plate dives under another, trenches!
- Conservative boundaries - where crust is neither produced
nor destroyed as the plates slide horizontally past each other,
transform faults!
The three different

types of plate
boundaries based
on how they move
in relation to one
another.
59
Plate boundaries and velocities and directions of movement. The lengths of the arrows
are proportional to the velocity of plate movement; the numbers represent velocity in
centimeters per year.
I. Constructive Plate Boundaries
Lithospheric plates move away from one another at their boundary,

new lithosphere must be created. This is accomplished by midocean ridges and continental rifts.
II. Destructive Plate Boundaries

As we have two types of crust, oceanic and
continental crusts, there are only three possibilities
for plate convergence.

Subducting plate
Upper plate
- Oceanic
Continental
- Oceanic
Oceanic
- Continental
Continental
II. Destructive Plate Boundaries
Lithospheric plates are moving towards one another, lithospheric

area must be consumed. This is accomplished by subduction and
collision.
Convergent/ destructive plate margins have traditionally

been subdivided into two categories: subduction zones
and collision zones.
At subduction zones one plate sinks (subducts) below
the other plate into the mantle. The subducting plate is
an oceanic plate, whilst the overriding plate can be either
oceanic or continental.
At collision zones, both plates are continental in nature,
or one is continental and the other carries a magmatic
arc.
In its final phase of existence, a subduction zone may
become a collision zone once the entire ocean basin
between the convergent plates has been consumed.
Convergent plate margins are marked in two ways: either by deep trenches,
where plates of oceanic lithosphere converge and one descends to be recycled
into the mantle, or by high folded mountain belts. In both cases, earthquakes and
magma (volcanic activities) are generated. Absolute plate motions are shown
with arrows. Trenches and mountain belts are labeled.
Continental collision formed the Himalaya Mountains and

involved the deformation of oceanic and shallow marine
sedimentary rocks. Collision produced a complex mountain

range with large nappes and gently dipping thrust faults. As
India and Asia converged, slivers of oceanic crust were
thrust onto the continents as ophiolites. A double layer of
continental crust formed, resulting in very high mountains.
The continents were welded together. Eventually, the
descending oceanic portion of the plate detached from the
rest of the plate and sank independently.
Complex folds, mountains, and plateaus mark the collision zone between India
and Eurasia, as shown on this digital shaded relief map. The collision also drove
parts of Southeast Asia and China eastward along lengthy strike-slip faults or
shear zones. (Courtesy of Ken Perry, Chalk Butte, Inc.)
Convergent Plate Boundaries & Tsunamis

Convergent plate margins are the most dynamic plate
boundaries on Earth.
Tsunamis, seismic waves generated when the sea floor

abruptly deforms and vertically displaces the overlying
water, are generated when thrust faults associated with
convergent
or
destructive
plate
boundaries
move
abruptly, resulting in water displacement, owing to the

vertical component of movement involved. Examples are
the Sumatra tsunami (Dec., 2004) and Japan Tsunami
(March, 2011).
Tsunami Waves Created by Earthquakes

at Convergent Boundaries
Tsunami waves are generated
by submarine earthquakes.
Long low waves are formed
above displaced seafloor
that travel for miles along the
base of the seafloor.
Displacement of seawater
surface can be as little as
a few centimeters in the middle
of the ocean.
Displacements increase
dramatically as they approach
continental shelf (shoreline).
III. Transform Plate Boundaries
The motion of two plates is parallel to their

boundary, lithosphere is neither created nor
deformed, but strain is concentrated and
seismicity is common.
San Andreas Transform Fault
Section of the San Andreas Fault in the Carrizo Plain, western California.
(U.S. Geological Survey)
Transform Plate Boundaries
The relative movement of plates at a ridge-ridge transform fault changes

along the fracture zone. The plates are moving away from the ridge, but an active
fault only lies between the two ridge segments. Here plates on opposite sides of
the fault move in opposite directions. Beyond the spreading ridge, however, the
plates move in the same direction on both sides of the fault.
Sedimentary Basins and Plate Tectonics
Plate Tectonics which is surface expression of geodynamics (mantle

convection) plays a key role in the distribution of sedimentary basins.
CONCLUSIONS
The global structure of the inner Earth is layered
according to density as viewed indirectly by seismic.
Plate tectonics is the surface expression of the
Earth internal dynamics.
Plate tectonic boundaries mark locations and
explain recurrence of volcanic and earthquake
activities worldwide.
Plate tectonics is important in developing O & G
accumulations at diverging and converging sites.

Lecture #1 & 2 The Dynamic Earth

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Geodynamics & Basin

QAB 4053 Geodynamics & Basin Development

volcanism, tectonism, followed by erosion and deposition.

COMPOSITION OF THE SOLID EARTH

The $1 billion mission to reach

Source: Tom Levitt, for CNN-October 2, 2012

A $1 billion mission is about to be launched by a team

The $1 billion mission to reach

To get to the mantle scientists will be relying on a

COMPOSITION OF THE SOLID EARTH

DENSITY LAYERING EARTH INTERIOR

QAB 4053 Geodynamics & Basin Development

The composition of the mantle is not homogeneous. Areas of

Earths internal structure

QAB 4053 Geodynamics & Basin Development

The crust is, therefore, divided into two types:

QAB 4053 Geodynamics & Basin Development

The oceanic crust is believed to be 8-9 km thick, very

The continental crust varies in thickness from 25-70

Major events in lithosphere evolution (after Artemieva, 2011)

Parts of the Continental Crust

rigid. It has no signs of life.

Both the Archean and Proterozoic crusts are known as

Zonation of the Upper Earth

QAB 4053 Geodynamics & Basin Development

Zonation of the Upper Earth Rheology

The LAB is an important global boundary that has

The dual nature of the lithosphereasthenosphere boundary (LAB)

Zonation of the Upper Earth Rheology

with depth and do not exhibit sharp, knife-cut,

transition zone over which a gradual change in

can be significantly different even for the same model

Zonation of the Upper Earth Rheology

Types of Tectonic Regimes

Types of Tectonic Regimes

QAB 4053 Geodynamics & Basin Development

Types of Tectonic Regimes

- Along oceanic and continental transform faults,

QAB 4053 Geodynamics & Basin Development

It also attempts to probe the internal activity by

Simplified picture of the Earths interior, inferred from geodynamic studies.

In brief, geodynamics apply physical theory to dynamic

prediction. It, therefore, deals with topics range in scale

lithospheric flexure) to local (fault movements, folding,

processes attending the gradual evolution of the Earth

Among other tasks geodynamics traces are:

Movement and/or flow of mantle material.

Melt migration in magma chambers or upper mantle.

What does a geodynamist do?

Observing surface deformation and relaxation in

Predicting patterns of continental accretion and

Finding and understanding the driving mechanisms

Modeling (numerically) brittle and ductile deformation

QAB 4053 Geodynamics & Basin Development

Numerical Geodynamic Modeling

QAB 4053 Geodynamics & Basin Development

Modeling of geodynamic processes in the lithosphere

Plastic approximation: is used for modeling flexure

Brittle deformation: represents rupturing behavior of

QAB 4053 Geodynamics & Basin Development

Geodynamics & Tectonics

The Geodynamic Concept of Plate Tectonics

The theory of plate tectonics is a unifying theory for the