Global Tectonics

• Credit value: 15 credits at Level 5
• Convenor: to be confirmed
• Assessment: two interpretative exercises (15% and 25%) and a 2.5-hour examination (60%)

This module aims to provide a global understanding of causes and consequences of present and past plate tectonic and associated geodynamic processes.

Indicative module content

• The internal structure of the Earth and its outer shell
• Elements of plate tectonic theory. What are plates? How do they move?
• Models for direction, magnitudes and rates of plate motion
• Mineral composition and thermo-mechanical influences on global tectonics
• How do plates and plate margins evolve through time?
• Subduction zone processes extension and rifting
• Global tectonics and sedimentary basin development
• Reconstructing plate collision histories and the development of large orogens