Tectonic uplift

Uplift and the corresponding reduction means in the geosciences vertical movement associated with endogenous forces of the earth - such as mountain building - and going back to underground movements ( mantle convection, volcanism ) or wedge - effects, as well as isostasy, the force balance of the land masses above the liquid mantle. Lifting and Senkeffekte are part of the Bradysismus, the slow ground motion.

Causes

Geodynamics knows different causes of uplift or appropriate reductions:

• Within the framework of plate tectonics, due to thrusting or subduction ( subduction )
• By transverse forces in the context of folding during the formation of fold mountains
• Postglacial land uplift as a late consequence of the Holocene glaciation
• Elevations about himself filling magma chambers, also corresponding reductions after having been emptied after an eruption
• Spontaneous elevations and decreases after earthquakes
• Large regional uplift over the plume in the Earth's interior
• Local movements through conversion of anhydrite into gypsum
• Local or regional movements by lignite mining or mining, for example coal industry.

Follow

The growth of the Alps, as well as other young fold mountains of alpidischen training phase is composed of about effects of Postglazialhebung, the underlying folding and counteracting erosion. Overall, an average uplift of 1-2 cm per century, with local variations. The slopes of the Alps are thus permanently on the border of an unstable slope. In connection with the rise of the permafrost limit this effect is responsible for landslide in the Alps and for the award of danger zones in the hazard mapping for settlement areas of importance. In the most active phases of mountain building, the elevations are probably in the range of several mm / year.

The spontaneous rise and fall after massive earthquake leading to widespread disruptions of the rock layers. This reach by far the highest speeds, several meters in a few seconds. Particularly devastating effects, these earth movements in deep sea areas where they transferred through the water displacement for large-scale uplift large amounts of energy and are the cause of tsunamis. The event of 26 December 2004 was caused by tilting a break plaice with elevations of up to a dozen meters.

In the Phlegraean Fields at Vesuvius, the coastline dropped 8 m in the last 2000 years, numerous Roman palaces and villas, as well as ancient port facilities are located here below the present sea level. Besides well-known, traditional examples, the extent of uplift movements was detected in historical times in the last few decades and has made the underwater archeology has become an important research area. Among its more significant successes, the discovery of ancient Herakleion (Egypt ), including the alleged foundations of the Pharos of Alexandria 2000/2001, which today are almost ten meters below sea level belongs. These massive cuts are only partly a consequence of global warming and since then the increase in volume of the water, but sometimes a compensating movement between the Alps and the elevation - then explained - Afrikaplume, and can have several other finds in the eastern Mediterranean hope.

The raising / lowering of the sea level, at the regional relative uplift of the sea floor at the normal water level share, plays about the appearance and disappearance of land bridges a critical role both in the animal migration and plant propagation.

In Fennoscandia uplift be 1-2 cm / year, and similar magnitudes are also measured elsewhere. This is hardly noticeable to humans, but the higher geodesy has its reference model, the geoid, tracking the changing geoid undulations (dynamic topography )

• Tectonics