Types of Geological Stress - Stem

TYPES OF
GEOLOGICAL
STRESS
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
• Describe how rocks behave under

different types of stress such as
compression, pulling apart, and
shearing, and
• Explain how seafloor spreads.
• Describe the structure and
evolution of ocean basins
• Three types of
Stress on
Rocks
• Compression, p
ulling
apart and shear
ingare all types
of stress that
occur in rocks.
Effect of compression on
rocks
• As a result of compression,
rocks are squeezed
together under pressure.
At convergent plate
boundaries, the effect of
compression on rocks can
be commonly observed.
• Compressional stress is when a rock
is pressed together into itself, like when
crust movements cause two rocks to
squeeze another one between them.
Another example is when mountains are
formed at a convergent boundary, like the
Rocky Mountains.
Effect of pulling apart
on rocks
• Pulling apart rock causes
tension in the rocks. As a
result of this tension, the
rocks will either lengthen
or they will break.
• In geology, the term "tension" refers to a stress
which stretches rocks in two opposite directions.
The rocks become longer in a lateral direction
and thinner in a vertical direction. One important
result of tensile stress is jointing in rocks.
• Rocks that are pulled apart are under tension.
Rocks under tension lengthen or break apart.
Tension is the major type of stress at divergent
plate boundaries.
• Effect of shearing on
rocks
• The type of stress which
occurs in rocks when the
forces are parallel but
opposite is termed as
shearing. This type of
stress is most common in
transform plate
boundaries.
• Shear stress is a type of stress that
occurs when rocks are subjected to forces
that cause them to slide past each other in
opposite directions. This type of stress is
typically associated with tectonic processes
such as transform plate boundaries, where
two plates are sliding past each other.
Explain how seafloor spreads
• Seafloor spreading is a geologic process
in which tectonic plates—large slabs of
Earth's lithosphere—split apart from each
other. Seafloor spreading and other
tectonic activity processes are the result of
mantle convection. Mantle convection is
the slow, churning motion of Earth's
mantle.
Describe the structure and evolution of ocean
basins
• All ocean basins are formed from plate
tectonic activity, weathering, and erosion.
Seafloor spreading and subduction are the
primary forms of plate tectonic activity that
provide a pathway for molten rock to leave
the earth's mantle and create a new
oceanic crust.
How will you describe the evolution of
ocean basins?
• Ocean basins form initially by the

stretching and splitting (rifting) of
continental crust and by the rise of mantle
material and magma into the crack to form
new oceanic lithosphere.
What is the evolution of the oceans?
• As the early Earth cooled, the water vapor
in the atmosphere condensed and fell as
rain. By about 4 billion years ago, the first
permanent accumulations of water were
present on Earth, forming the oceans and
other bodies of water. Water moves
between these different reservoirs through
the hydrological cycle.
Explain how the movement of plates leads to the formation of folds,
faults, trenches, volcanoes, rift valleys, and mountain ranges.
• Plate motions cause mountains to rise where plates push
together, or converge, and continents to fracture and
oceans to form where plates pull apart, or diverge. The
continents are embedded in the plates and drift passively
with them, which over millions of years results in significant
changes in Earth's geography.
• Folds: Folds are formed when two tectonic plates collide or
converge. The intense pressure causes the rocks to bend
and fold. This is common in mountainous regions where
the crust is compressed.
FORMATION OF FOLDS and FAULTS
• Folds are commonly formed by shortening

of existing layers, but may also be formed
as a result of displacement on a non-planar
fault (fault bend fold), at the tip of a
propagating fault (fault propagation fold),
by differential compaction or due to the
effects of a high-level igneous intrusion e.g.
above a laccolith.
FORMATION OF FOLDS and FAULTS
• The movement of the Earth's plates leads

to rocks being compressed into each other,
and this in turn leads to the formation of
folds and faults. Folds form when the
layers of rock bend around, and faults
occur where rock layers actually break, and
in some cases slide over each other. Folds
and faults occur very often in geology.
FAULTS
• A fault is a fracture or zone
of fractures between two
blocks of rock. Faults allow
the blocks to move relative
to each other. This
movement may occur
rapidly, in the form of an
earthquake - or may occur
slowly, in the form of creep.
Faults may range in length
from a few millimeters to
thousands of kilometers.
Normal faults
Normal faults, a type of dip-slip faults, occur
when the hanging wall slips down the dip
plane. They usually occur in response to
tension creating the fracture and the following
extension of the plane.
Reverse faults
Reverse faults are also known as thrust faults
and are also another type of dip-slip faults. In
this case, the hanging wall slips up the dip
plane. Contrary to normal faults, these are
caused by compression of the plane.
Strike-slip faults
Strike-slip faults occur when the blocks slide against
each other laterally, parallel to the plane. The direction of
the slip can be observed from either side of the fault,
with the far block moving to the left indicating a left
lateral slip, and the converse indicating a right lateral
slip.
Oblique faults
Oblique faults combine the vertical movement of dip-slip
faults and lateral movement of strike-slip faults. They
must have significant dip and strike components to be
considered oblique. Anderson's fault theory does not
consider oblique faults separately as they are a
combination of already defined faults.

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TYPES OF

• Describe how rocks behave under

• Ocean basins form initially by the

• Folds are commonly formed by shortening

• The movement of the Earth's plates leads

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