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Understanding mountain building involves unraveling how and why rocks deform. Geologists Nigel Harris and John Whalley tour the Scottish segment of the Caledonian orogenic Belt to untangle the kinematics and the chronology of deformation. This material forms part of The Open University course S339, Understanding the continents.
Track 12: 460 million years ago
The evidence for an Arc-continent collision around 460 million years ago in the Scottish Highlands.
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Tracks in this podcast:
| Track | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Geological structures exposed | A short introduction to this album. Play now Geological structures exposed |
| 2 | Overview of the Orogenic Belt | The three main components of the Orogenic Belt; Lewisian gneisses, Torridonian sandstone and sediments laid down from Cambrian times. Play now Overview of the Orogenic Belt |
| 3 | A history of movement | Evidence that the Moine Thrust is the result of frictional sliding. Play now A history of movement |
| 4 | Ductility of the Structures | The ductility of structures of rocks from the Dalradian supergroup. Play now Ductility of the Structures |
| 5 | Kinematic indicators | Evidence of indicators which suggest the direction of movement within slices of rock. Play now Kinematic indicators |
| 6 | Using dikes as kinematic indicators | A dike that is deflected 45 degrees when entering a sheer zone provides a valuable kinematic indicator. Play now Using dikes as kinematic indicators |
| 7 | Shear Zone movement | An assymetric porphyroblast reveals a sense of movement within Myelenite gneissic banding. Play now Shear Zone movement |
| 8 | Locating synforms | Asymmetric fold pairs and ductile structures in the inner zone at Scotlands Kilmore Bay. Play now Locating synforms |
| 9 | Cleavage vergence test | Evidence for crossing the axis of the synfold. Play now Cleavage vergence test |
| 10 | Structural chronology | A closer look at folds and deformation. Play now Structural chronology |
| 11 | Deformation history | Geologist John Whalley explains how in structural chronology downwards facing folds will cause the rock structure to start younging. Play now Deformation history |
| 12 | 460 million years ago | The evidence for an Arc-continent collision around 460 million years ago in the Scottish Highlands. Play now 460 million years ago |
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