Tectonics and Slope - SEPM Strata

Depositional Settings > Carbonate Slope > Tectonics and Slope

Tectonic Setting
Tectonic setting influences the character of slope morphology. Though they are constructed and modified by depositional and erosional processes the morphology is very much a function of the underlying geology, including varying rates of subsidence it control by plate tectonic position: eg trailing margin versus collision margin (Handford and Loucks, 1993 ).

The origin of continental slope may have developed by through two different tectonic modes:

1. Slope development from faults during the initial rifting continents to form ocean basinasins.
2. Slope development from uplift at the edge of the continental shelf

Tectonic setting of carbonate slopes determines the location and morphology of the slope. Slopes of carbonate sediments are found rimming edges of passive plate margins. Passive margins developed during continental rifting and the formation of a new ocean basin. These passive margins are the "trailing edge" of a continent-ocean plate that is tectonically inactive (e.g., the North American plate). Passive margins are also called "constructive" margins because they are built seaward by the deposition of sediment (Fouke, B.W., 2000).

Source:
http://ijolite.geology.uiuc.edu/00FallClass/geo117/Lect10.html

Carbonate Slopes	Climate	Sea Level	Slopes and TST	Slopes and HST
Slopes and FSST	Slopes and LST	Oceanographic Setting	Sediment Supply and Structures	Sediment Transport and Erosion
Slope type and Morphology	Slope Biology	Tectonics and Slope	Modern Slopes	Ancient Slopes
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