GG Geology and Geophysics
Part A: Common Section
Earth and planetary system – terrestrial planets and moons of the solar system; size, shape, internal structure and composition of the earth; concept of isostasy; elements of seismology – body and surface waves, propagation of body waves in the earth’s interior; Heat flow within the earth; Gravitational field of the Earth; geomagnetism and paleomagnetism; continental drift; plate tectonics – relationship with earthquakes, volcanism and m...
DEFORMATION
the term refers to the distortion (strain) that is expressed in a (deformed) rock. This is also what the word literally means: a change in form or shape. However, rock masses can be translated or rotated as rigid units during deformation, without an internal change in shape. For instance, fault blocks can move during deformation without accumulating any internal distortion. Many structural geologists want to include such rigid displacements in the term deformation, and we refer to...