Orogeny
Extended crust | Oceanic crust: 0–20 Ma 20–65 Ma >65 Ma |
Orogeny (/ɒˈrɒdʒəni/) is a mountain-building process that takes place at a convergent plate margin when plate motion compresses the margin. An orogenic belt or orogen develops as the compressed plate crumples and is uplifted to form one or more mountain ranges. This involves a series of geological processes collectively called orogenesis. These include both structural deformation of existing continental crust and the creation of new continental crust through volcanism. Magma rising in the orogen carries less dense material upwards while leaving more dense material behind, resulting in compositional differentiation of Earth's lithosphere (crust and uppermost mantle).[1][2] A synorogenic (or synkinematic) process or event is one that occurs during an orogeny.[3]
The word orogeny comes from
Tectonics
Orogeny takes place on the
Orogeny typically produces orogenic belts or orogens, which are elongated regions of deformation bordering continental
Subduction zones consume oceanic
As subduction continues,
The orogeny may culminate with continental crust from the opposite side of the subducting oceanic plate arriving at the subduction zone. This ends subduction and transforms the accretional orogen into a Himalayan-type collisional orogen.[12] The collisional orogeny may produce extremely high mountains, as has been taking place in the Himalayas for the last 65 million years.[13]
The processes of orogeny can take tens of millions of years and build mountains from what were once
Orogens
Orogens show a great range of characteristics,[17][18] but they may be broadly divided into collisional orogens and noncollisional orogens (Andean-type orogens). Collisional orogens can be further divided by whether the collision is with a second continent or a continental fragment or island arc. Repeated collisions of the later type, with no evidence of collision with a major continent or closure of an ocean basin, result in an accretionary orogen. Examples of orogens arising from collision of an island arc with a continent include Taiwan and the collision of Australia with the Banda arc.[19] Orogens arising from continent-continent collisions can be divided into those involving ocean closure (Himalayan-type orogens) and those involving glancing collisions with no ocean basin closure (as is taking place today in the Southern Alps of New Zealand).[7]
Orogens have a characteristic structure, though this shows considerable variation.[7] A foreland basin forms ahead of the orogen due mainly to loading and resulting flexure of the lithosphere by the developing mountain belt. A typical foreland basin is subdivided into a wedge-top basin above the active orogenic wedge, the foredeep immediately beyond the active front, a forebulge high of flexural origin and a back-bulge area beyond, although not all of these are present in all foreland-basin systems.[20] The basin migrates with the orogenic front and early deposited foreland basin sediments become progressively involved in folding and thrusting. Sediments deposited in the foreland basin are mainly derived from the erosion of the actively uplifting rocks of the mountain range, although some sediments derive from the foreland. The fill of many such basins shows a change in time from deepwater marine (flysch-style) through shallow water to continental (molasse-style) sediments.[21]
While active orogens are found on the margins of present-day continents, older inactive orogenies, such as the
Orogenic cycle
Long before the acceptance of
Continental rifting
The Wilson cycle begins when previously stable continental crust comes under tension from a shift in
Seafloor spreading
As the two continents rift apart, seafloor spreading commences along the axis of a new ocean basin. Deep marine sediments continue to accumulate along the thinned continental margins, which are now passive margins.[26][25]
Subduction
At some point, subduction is initiated along one or both of the continental margins of the ocean basin, producing a volcanic arc and possibly an Andean-type orogen along that continental margin. This produces deformation of the continental margins and possibly crustal thickening and mountain building.[26][25]
Mountain building
Mountain formation in orogens is largely a result of crustal thickening. The compressive forces produced by plate convergence result in pervasive deformation of the crust of the continental margin (thrust tectonics).[27] This takes the form of folding of the ductile deeper crust and thrust faulting in the upper brittle crust.[28]
Crustal thickening raises mountains through the principle of isostasy.[29] Isostacy is the balance of the downward gravitational force upon an upthrust mountain range (composed of light, continental crust material) and the buoyant upward forces exerted by the dense underlying mantle.[30]
Portions of orogens can also experience uplift as a result of
Mount Rundle on the Trans-Canada Highway between Banff and Canmore provides a classic example of a mountain cut in dipping-layered rocks. Millions of years ago a collision caused an orogeny, forcing horizontal layers of an ancient ocean crust to be thrust up at an angle of 50–60°. That left Rundle with one sweeping, tree-lined smooth face, and one sharp, steep face where the edge of the uplifted layers are exposed.[34]
Although mountain building mostly takes place in orogens, a number of secondary mechanisms are capable of producing substantial mountain ranges.
Closure of the ocean basin
Eventually, seafloor spreading in the ocean basin comes to a halt, and continued subduction begins to close the ocean basin.[26][25]
Continental collision and orogeny
The closure of the ocean basin ends with a continental collision and the associated Himalayan-type orogen.
Erosion
An orogen may be almost completely eroded away, and only recognizable by studying (old) rocks that bear traces of orogenesis. Orogens are usually long, thin, arcuate tracts of rock that have a pronounced linear structure resulting in
History of the concept
Before the development of geologic concepts during the 19th century, the presence of marine
The 13th-century
In terms of recognising orogeny as an event,
Based on available observations from the metamorphic differences in orogenic belts of Europe and North America, H. J. Zwart (1967)[50] proposed three types of orogens in relationship to tectonic setting and style: Cordillerotype, Alpinotype, and Hercynotype. His proposal was revised by W. S. Pitcher in 1979[51] in terms of the relationship to granite occurrences. Cawood et al. (2009)[52] categorized orogenic belts into three types: accretionary, collisional, and intracratonic. Both accretionary and collisional orogens developed in converging plate margins. In contrast, Hercynotype orogens generally show similar features to intracratonic, intracontinental, extensional, and ultrahot orogens, all of which developed in continental detachment systems at converged plate margins.
- Accretionary orogens, which were produced by subduction of one oceanic plate beneath one continental plate for arc volcanism. They are dominated by calc-alkaline igneous rocks and high-T/low-P metamorphic facies series at high thermal gradients of >30 °C/km. There is a general lack of ophiolites, migmatites and abyssal sediments. Typical examples are all circum-Pacific orogens containing continental arcs.
- Collisional orogens, which were produced by subduction of one continental block beneath the other continental block with the absence of arc volcanism. They are typified by the occurrence of blueschist to eclogite facies metamorphic zones, indicating high-P/low-T metamorphism at low thermal gradients of <10 °C/km. Orogenic peridotites are present but volumetrically minor, and syn-collisional granites and migmatites are also rare or of only minor extent. Typical examples are the Alps-Himalaya orogens in the southern margin of Eurasian continent and the Dabie-Sulu orogens in east-central China.
See also
- Biogeography – Study of the distribution of species and ecosystems in geographic space and through geological time
- Epeirogenic movement – Upheavals or depressions of land exhibiting long wavelengths and little folding
- Fault mechanics – Field of study that investigates the behavior of geologic faults
- Fold mountains – Mountains formed by compressive crumpling of the layers of rock
- Guyot – Isolated, flat-topped underwater volcano mountain
- List of orogenies – Known mountain building events of the Earth's history
- Mantle convection – Gradual movement of the planet's mantle
- Tectonic uplift – Geologic uplift of Earth's surface that is attributed to plate tectonics
References
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- ^ Poole, F.G. (1974). "Flysch deposits of the foreland basin, western United States" (PDF). In Dickinson, W.R. (ed.). Tectonics and Sedimentation. Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists. pp. 58–82. Special Publication 22.
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- ^ Cawood, PA; Kroner, A; Collins, WJ; Kusky, TM; Mooney, WD; Windley, BF (2009). Accretionary orogens through Earth history. Geological Society. pp. 1–36. Special Publication 318.
Further reading
- Harms; Brady; Cheney (2006). Exploring the Proterozoic Big Sky Orogeny in Southwest Montana. 19th annual Keck symposium.
- Kevin Jones (2003). Mountain Building in Scotland: Science : A Level 3 Course Series. Open University Worldwide Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7492-5847-4. provides a detailed history of a number of orogens, including the Caledonian Orogeny, which lasted from the late Cambrian to the Devonian, with the main collisional events occurring during Ordovician and Siluriantimes.
- Tom McCann, ed. (2008). Precambrian and Palaeozoic. The Geology of Central Europe. Vol. 1. Geological Society of London. ISBN 978-1-86239-245-8. is one of a two-volume exposition of the geology of central Europe with a discussion of major orogens.
- Suzanne Mahlburg Kay; ISBN 978-0-8137-1204-8. Evolution of the Cordilleras of the Americas from a multidisciplinary perspective from a symposium held in Mendoza, Argentina (2006).