NATS 1750 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Accretionary Wedge, Plate Tectonics, Continental Margin
30 Dec 2019
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Mostly occurs at continental margins as two continental plates collide is called orogenesis. Most often starts at continental margins, when the subduction of an oceanic plate under a continental plate triggers the partial melting of magma. At the same time, sediments build up and they are compacted where the two plates meet. And the edge of the overriding plate is thrust up; this is sometimes called andean type margins. Two structures here contribute to mountain building: a volcanic continental arc that results from magma produced due to the subduction, and the accretionary wedge which also builds up and can reach significant heights (these sometimes produce coastal mountain ranges) Major mountain belts are mostly produced when, at a subduction zone, one continental mass collides with another. Not all mountain ranges are the result of continental collisions; it"s possible to have mountain collisions, boundaries, or mountain ranges drives up mountain range structures.
