Lithosphere Plate-Continental Margin Tectonics and the Evolution of the Appalachian Orogen

Research Article| April 01, 1970 Lithosphere Plate-Continental Margin Tectonics and the Evolution of the Appalachian Orogen JOHN M BIRD; JOHN M BIRD Department of Geological Sciences, State University of New York at Albany, Albany, New York 12203 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar JOHN F DEWEY JOHN F DEWEY Department of Geology, Cambridge University, Cambridge, England Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information JOHN M BIRD Department of Geological Sciences, State University of New York at Albany, Albany, New York 12203 JOHN F DEWEY Department of Geology, Cambridge University, Cambridge, England Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 14 Aug 1969 First Online: 02 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2674 Print ISSN: 0016-7606 Copyright © 1970, The Geological Society of America, Inc. Copyright is not claimed on any material prepared by U.S. government employees within the scope of their employment. GSA Bulletin (1970) 81 (4): 1031–1060. https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1970)811031:LPMTAT2.0.CO;2 Article history Received: 14 Aug 1969 First Online: 02 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation JOHN M BIRD, JOHN F DEWEY; Lithosphere Plate-Continental Margin Tectonics and the Evolution of the Appalachian Orogen. GSA Bulletin 1970;; 81 (4): 1031–1060. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1970)811031:LPMTAT2.0.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGSA Bulletin Search Advanced Search Abstract In terms of plate tectonic theory, and by analogy with modern continental margins, the Appalachian orogen evolved through a sequence of interrelated sedimentation-deformation-metamorphism patterns within a tectonic belt situated along the eastern margin of the North American continent. As exemplified by the northern part of the orogen, Appalachian stratigraphic-tectonic zones and deformation sequences are related to Late Precambrian to Ordovician expansion, followed by Ordovician through Devonian contraction, of a Proto-Atlantic ocean. This oceanic opening and closing was achieved by initial extensional necking of a single North American/African continent and by lithosphere plate accretion, followed by contractional plate loss along a trench, or complex of trenches, marginal to the drifted North American continent. A lithosphere plate model for the evolution of the orogen incorporates spatial and chronologic relations within and between bulk stratigraphic units and tectonic events. Pre-orogenic Appalachian sedimentation patterns were essentially the same as those found along modern continental margins; that is, shelf/slope/rise/abyss. Appalachian tectonic patterns are also analogous with modern tectonic patterns of continental margins, island arcs, and trenches, and involved continent-ward driven thrust sheets and ancillary exogeosynclines. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.