Making of Europe

Park Graham

Description

The continent of Europe, as a recognisable geographic entity, attained roughly its present shape around 20 million years ago. Even since then, the European coastline has undergone significant changes, due mainly to sea-level movements, to form the outline of the continent that we are familiar with from maps and the photographs of Europe from space that we view today.Graham Park relates how Europe has been assembled through geological time by the accretion of various distinct geological components, some of which have travelled a considerable distance across the globe to reach their present positions.The Making of Europe is a book for all those curious about the origins, variety and geological history of the continent of Europe. Why are there such distinct regions and landscapes, ranging from the wide plains of Northern Europe to the mountains of the South?Although some previous knowledge of geology will be useful, important geological concepts are explained in the Introduction, technical terms are kept to a minimum and a comprehensive glossary is provided in addition to an index. Copiously illustrated in colour, this book will educate and inform all those who are interested in European geology.

Sujets

• Sciences et techniques
• Historical geology
• Europe

Informations

• Publié par: Dunedin Academic Press
• Date de parution: 13 octobre 2014
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781780465173
• Langue: English

Extrait

Note to readers:
Owing to the complexity of the layout of the book as printed, the illustrations do not appear in the text of this ebook where they appear in the hard copy. To access any illustration, click on the appropriate reference in the text. Doing so will take you to the illustration in question with a hypertext link provided to take you back to the point you were at in the text. [The default setting is to return you the Chapter in which the figure is mainly referenced. Some figure appear in more than one chapter. Depending on your epub reader you can use the back to page feature of the reader to return to the point in the text that you were reading before you linked to the illustration. For example, there is the 'Back to page #' option in the lower left panel of the iPad or the 'Go Back' Button of the Kindle Fire device.]
Text that appears as footnotes in the hard copy edition now appears in brackets in the text itself. Material that is printed as text panels in the hard copy has been moved to appear as chapter Appendices.
Also by Graham Park and published by Dunedin Academic Press:
Introducing Geology – A Guide to the World of Rocks
(Second Edition 2010)
Introducing Tectonics, Rock Structures and Mountain Belts
(2012)
Introducing Natural Resources
(forthcoming 2015)
For further details of these and other Dunedin
Earth and Environmental Sciences titles see
www.dunedinacademicpress.co.uk

Contents
        List of illustrations
        Sourced illustrations
        Preface
1. Introduction
2. The construction of Baltica – 'Proto-Europe'
3. Lower Paleozoic growth of Proto-Europe
4. The Caledonian Orogeny
5. The Expansion of Europe in the Upper Paleozoic
6. The Hercynian Orogenic Cycle
7. Europe in Mesozoic to Mid-Cenozoic time
8. The Alpine Orogeny
9. Neogene to Quaternary Europe
        Glossary
        Appendix
        Selected further Reading
        Index
List of illustrations
Line diagrams
Figure 1.1 Major topographic features of Europe
Figure 1.2 Post-glacial uplift of Scandinavia
Figure 1.3 Doggerland
Figure 1.4 The building blocks of Europe
Figure 1.5 Example of a paleogeographic map
Figure 1.6 Characteristics of active continental margins
Figure 1.7 Continental rifting and the formation of a passive margin
Figure 1.8 The use of paleomagnetic data to track the continents
Figure 2.1 The East European Craton
Figure 2.2 Fennoscandia
Figure 2.3 The Ukrainian Shield
Figure 2.4 Baltica in the Mid-Proterozoic
Figure 2.5 Baltica and neighbouring continents in the Late Proterozoic
Figure 2.6 The East European Craton in the Proterozoic
Figure 3.1 Reconstruction of the Southern Hemisphere in the Cambrian
Figure 3.2 Reconstruction of the Southern Hemisphere in the Ordovician and Silurian
Figure 3.3 The East European Craton in the Cambrian to Ordovician
Figure 3.4 The East European Craton in the Silurian and Devonian
Figure 3.5 East Avalonia
Figure 3.6 The Avalonian in Britain and Ireland
Figure 3.7 Tectonic history and paleogeography of the Avalonian Terrane from Cambrian to late Silurian times
Figure 4.1 Main tectonic zones of the British–Irish Caledonides
Figure 4.2 Types of Caledonian structure
Figure 4.3 Tectonic evolution of the British–Irish Caledonides
Figure 4.4 Tectonic units of the Scandinavian Caledonides
Figure 4.5 Tectonic evolution of the Scandinavian Caledonides
Figure 4.6 Caledonian folding in the Brabant Massif
Figure 4.7 Caledonian deformation in North Germany and NW Poland
Figure 4.8 The Eastern Caledonian deformation front
Figure 5.1 Reconstruction of the continents during the Upper Paleozoic
Figure 5.2 The East European Craton during the Upper Paleozoic
Figure 5.3 Paleogeography of Western and Central Europe in the late Devonian and early Carboniferous
Figure 5.4 Paleogeography of Western and Central Europe in the late Carboniferous and early Permian
Figure 6.1 The Variscan Belt in Western and Central Europe
Figure 6.2 Tectonic zones of the Bohemian Massif
Figure 6.3 Tectonic evolution of the Central European Variscides
Figure 6.4 Construction of the Armorican Terrane assemblage
Figure 6.5 Structures in the Central European Variscides
Figure 6.6 Tectonic zones of the Armorican Massif
Figure 6.7 Tectonic evolution of the Variscides of the Armorican Massif
Figure 6.8 Cross-sections through the Variscides of the Iberian Massif
Figure 6.9 Shape of the Variscan belt
Figure 6.10 The Uralian Orogenic Belt
Figure 6.11 Tectonic evolution of the Uralian Orogenic Belt
Figure 7.1 Reconstruction of the continents in the Mesozoic to mid-Cenozoic
Figure 7.2 Paleogeography of Europe in the late Triassic
Figure 7.3 Paleogeography of Europe in the late Jurassic
Figure 7.4 Movement pattern of Europe and neighbouring plates in the Jurassic
Figure 7.5 Paleogeography of Europe in the late Cretaceous
Figure 7.6 Paleogeography of Europe in the late Paleogene
Figure 7.7 Stress state and movement pattern in Europe and neighbouring plates in the late Paleogene 103
Figure 7.8 The North Atlantic Igneous Province in the mid-Paleogene
Figure 8.1 Movement of Europe relative to Africa from early Cretaceous to late Paleogene
Figure 8.2 Alpine orogenic belts of the Western Mediterranean
Figure 8.3 The western sector of the Betic Cordillera
Figure 8.4 The Gibraltar Arc
Figure 8.5 The Pyrenean Orogenic Belt
Figure 8.6 Tectonic evolution of the Pyrenees
Figure 8.7 Crustal structure of the Iberian Cordillera
Figure 8.8 Alpine orogenic belts of the Central Mediterranean
Figure 8.9 Plate tectonic movements in the Western and Central Mediterranean from early Cretaceous to early Neogene
Figure 8.10 Tectonic evolution of the Western Alps Orogenic Belt
Figure 8.11 Main tectonic units of the Alps
Figure 8.12 Crustal structure of the Apennines
Figure 8.13 Alpine orogenic belts of the Eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea region
Figure 8.14 The Carpathian region
Figure 8.15 Tectonic evolution of the Carpathians
Figure 8.16 Crustal structure of the Dinarides
Figure 8.17 Tectonic zones of the Hellenides
Figure 8.18 The Hellenic Arc system
Figure 8.19 Main tectonic units of the Caucasus region
Figure 8.20 Tectonic evolution of the Caucasus region
Figure 8.21 Opening of ocean basins during the Cenozoic
Figure 9.1 Paleogeography of Europe in the mid-Neogene
Figure 9.2 Paleogeography of Western and Central Europe in the mid-Neogene
Figure 9.3 Raised beach development
Figure 9.4 Europe during the most recent glacial episode
Figure 9.5 Formation of an esker
Photographs
Plate 1.1 Satellite view of Western Europe showing some important tectonic features
Plate 1.2 Raised beach
Plate 1.3 The Temple of Serapis
Plate 2.1 Lake Ladoga, Russian Karelia
Plate 2.2 The River Dneiper
Plate 3.1 Cambrian quartzite
Plate 3.2 The Durness 'Limestone'
Plate 3.3 Silurian turbidites
Plate 4.1 Tectonic zones of the Scottish Caledonides
Plate 4.2 The Lewisian gneiss
Plate 4.3 Slioch: Torridonian mountain on Lewisian basement
Plate 4.4 The Glencoul Thrust
Plate 4.5 The Scandinavian Caledonides
Plate 4.6 The Holy Cross Mountains
Plate 5.1 The Devonian 'Old Red Sandstone'
Plate 5.2 Fragment of a fossil Lepidodendron 59
Plate 5.3 Dune-bedded Permian sandstone
Plate 6.1 Coastal exposures of the Ile de Groix ophiolite complex
Plate 6.2 Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works
Plate 7.1 The Muschelkalk
Plate 7.2 The Dolomites
Plate 7.3 The Chalk
Plate 7.4 Wielicza salt mine
Plate 7.5 The Rhine Graben
Plate 8.1 Gibraltar
Plate 8.2 Satellite view of the Alps
Plate 8.3 Monte Rosa
Plate 8.4 Eruption of Mount Etna
Plate 8.5 Mountain chains of the eastern Mediterranean: satellite view
Plate 8.6 Folded limestone beds from the Pindos nappe, Crete
Plate 8.7 Santorini
Plate 8.8 The Caucasus Mountains
Plate 9.1 Active vulcanicity in Iceland
Plate 9.2 Tundra: a post-glacial landscape
Plate 9.3 Fjord (drowned valley), western Norway
Plate 9.4 Valley glacier, Iceland
Tables
Table 1.1 European orogenies
Sourced illustrations
The following illustrations are reproduced by permission:
British Geological Survey © NERC. All rights reserved. IPR/176-13CE: plates 3.3, 5.3, 9.4.
Shutterstock: plates 2.1, 2.2, 3.2, 4.6, 5.2, 6.1, 6.2, 7.2, 7.3, 7.6A, 8.1, 8.3, 8.4, 8.6, 8.7A, 9.2, 9.3.
Science Photo Library: plates 1.2, 7.1.
Plate 4.3 : Con Gillen from The Geology and Landscapes of Scotland, Second Edition , 2013, Dunedin Academic Press.
Plate 7.4 : Bogumil Kruzel by courtesy of Kopalnia Soli "Wieliczka".
Plate 8.7B : Alwyn Scarth from Volcanoes of Europe , 2001, Terra Publishing (new edition in preparation for Dunedin Academic Press).
Plate 9.1 : Armann Hoskuldsson from Iceland, Second edition 2014, Dunedin Academic Press.
The following illustrations have been adapted from published sources:
Figure 1.2 : Zeuner, F.E. 1958. Dating the past (4th edn) Methuen, London.
Figure 1.3 : modified from a diagram by Max Naylor.
Figure 1.8A , see Figure 2.4 : B McElhinny, N.W. 1973.
Palaeomagnetism and plate tectonics , Cambridge University Press.
Figure 2.1 : Zapolnov, A.K. 1993. The Russian Platform. In: Rundqvist, D.V. & Mitrofanov, F.P. Precambrian Geology of the USSR , Elsevier, Amsterdam, 159–197.
Figure 2.2 : Gaal, G. & Gorbatschev, R. 1987. An outline of the Precambrian evolution of the Baltic Shield. Precambrian Research , 35, 15–52.
Figure 2.3 : Dagelaysky, V.B. 1993. The Ukrainian Shield. In: Rundqvist, D.V. & Mitrofanov, F.P. Precambrian Geology of the USSR , Elsevier, Amsterdam, 125–158.
Figure 2.4A , B : Buchan, K.L., Mertanen, S., Park, R.G.,
Pesonen, L.J., Elming, S.A., Abrahamsen, A. & Bylund, G. 2000. Comparing the drift of Laurentia and Baltica in the Proterozoic: the importance of key palaeomagnetic poles. Tectonophysics , 319, 169–98.
Figure 2.5A : Pisarevsky, S.A., Wingate, M.T.D., Powell,