geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other Astronomical object, astronomical objects, the features or rock (geology), rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology ...

, the term exhumation refers to the process by which a parcel of rock (that was formerly buried), approaches Earth's surface. It differs from the related ideas of rock uplift and surface uplift in that it is explicitly measured relative to the surface of the Earth, rather than with reference to some absolute reference frame, such as the Earth's

geoid The geoid () is the shape that the ocean surface would take under the influence of the gravity of Earth, including gravitational attraction and Earth's rotation, if other influences such as winds and tides were absent. This surface is extended ...

. Exhumation of buried rocks should be considered as two different categories namely, exhumation by

denudation Denudation is the geological processes in which moving water, ice, wind, and waves erode the Earth's surface, leading to a reduction in elevation and in relief of landforms and landscapes. Although the terms erosion and denudation are used interc ...

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is d ...

or exhumation by

tectonic Tectonics (; ) are the processes that control the structure and properties of the Earth's crust and its evolution through time. These include the processes of mountain building, the growth and behavior of the strong, old cores of continents ...

processes followed by

. In the latter case, rocks (or rock packages) from deeper crustal levels (meter to kilometer depths below the Earth's surface) are brought towards the Earth's surface (i.e.shallower crustal levels) by crustal thickening (see compared also

tectonic uplift Tectonic uplift is the geologic uplift of Earth's surface that is attributed to plate tectonics. While isostatic response is important, an increase in the mean elevation of a region can only occur in response to tectonic processes of crustal th ...

) and/or

extensional tectonics Extensional tectonics is concerned with the structures formed by, and the tectonic processes associated with, the stretching of a planetary body's crust or lithosphere. Deformation styles The types of structure and the geometries formed depend ...

and are subsequently exposed by erosion. Often exhumation involves a complex interaction between crustal thickening, extensional tectonics and erosion. Notably, there are overlapping characteristics between the different modes of burial and exhumation and distinction and between them relies on a series of parameters such as: *The spatial and temporal distribution of the finite strain pattern * The metamorphic field gradient * The spatial distribution of cooling ages (see for example

radiometric dating Radiometric dating, radioactive dating or radioisotope dating is a technique which is used to date materials such as rocks or carbon, in which trace radioactive impurities were selectively incorporated when they were formed. The method compares ...

of hornblende) * The spatial distribution of metamorphic pressure-temperature-time (P-T-t) paths Detailed and integrated

geologic modelling Geologic modelling, geological modelling or geomodelling is the applied science of creating computerized representations of portions of the Earth's crust based on geophysical and geological observations made on and below the Earth surface. A ge ...

structural geology Structural geology is the study of the three-dimensional distribution of rock units with respect to their deformational histories. The primary goal of structural geology is to use measurements of present-day rock geometries to uncover informati ...

geochronology Geochronology is the science of determining the age of rocks, fossils, and sediments using signatures inherent in the rocks themselves. Absolute geochronology can be accomplished through radioactive isotopes, whereas relative geochronology is ...

and metamorphic geological disciplines are key to understanding these processes.

Denudation

Exhumation through denudation could be considered as the process of exposing rock packages solely through the removal of their overlying unconsolidated sediments or solid rock layers. Denudation is here considered as a process that removes parts of the Earth's upper crust by physical processes that occur naturally (e.g.

glaciers A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...

, wind, water,

landslides Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of environme ...

). Through this form of exhumation, something previously buried in

sediments Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sa ...

, for example a

landform A landform is a natural or anthropogenic land feature on the solid surface of the Earth or other planetary body. Landforms together make up a given terrain, and their arrangement in the landscape is known as topography. Landforms include hills, ...

, is uncovered and can be exposed.

Exhumation by tectonic processes

Exhumation by tectonic processes refers to any geological mechanism that brings rocks from deeper crustal levels to shallower crustal levels. While erosion or denudation is fundamental in eventually exposing these deeper rocks at the Earth's surface, the geological phenomenon that drive the rocks to shallower crust are still considered exhumation processes. Geological exhumation occurs on a range of scales, from smaller-scale thrusts typically occurring within the shallow crust (less than ca. 10 km deep) which results in exhumation in the order of centimeters to meters scales, to larger-scale features originating at deeper crustal levels along which, exhumation is in the order of hundreds of meters to kilometers. The geological mechanisms that drive deep crustal exhumation can occur in a variety of

settings but are ultimately driven by the convergence of tectonic plates through

subduction Subduction is a geological process in which the oceanic lithosphere is recycled into the Earth's mantle at convergent boundaries. Where the oceanic lithosphere of a tectonic plate converges with the less dense lithosphere of a second plate, ...

. Depending on the type of

convergent boundary A convergent boundary (also known as a destructive boundary) is an area on Earth where two or more lithospheric plates collide. One plate eventually slides beneath the other, a process known as subduction. The subduction zone can be defined by a p ...

, exhumation occurs by thrusting in the

accretionary wedge An accretionary wedge or accretionary prism forms from sediments accreted onto the non- subducting tectonic plate at a convergent plate boundary. Most of the material in the accretionary wedge consists of marine sediments scraped off from the d ...

, by

obduction Obduction is a geological process whereby denser oceanic crust (and even upper mantle) is scraped off a descending ocean plate at a convergent plate boundary and thrust on top of an adjacent plate. When oceanic and continental plates converge ...

and/or as a process during the

orogenic Orogeny is a mountain building process. An orogeny is an event that takes place at a convergent plate margin when plate motion compresses the margin. An ''orogenic belt'' or ''orogen'' develops as the compressed plate crumples and is uplifted t ...

cycle (i.e. mountain building and collapse cycle).

Obduction

During the subduction of an oceanic plate underneath the continental crust, some fragments of the oceanic crust can be trapped above the continental crust through

. The resulting rocks obducted on the continental crust are called

ophiolites An ophiolite is a section of Earth's oceanic crust and the underlying upper mantle that has been uplifted and exposed above sea level and often emplaced onto continental crustal rocks. The Greek word ὄφις, ''ophis'' (''snake'') is found i ...

. While the exact mechanism behind the formation of ophiolites is still up for debate, those rocks still show an example of rocks being exhumed and exposed at the surface by the tectonic process of obduction and then exposed.

Exhumation of the deep crust during an orogenic cycle.

Exhumation of deep crustal rocks during an orogenic cycle occurs mainly during

continental collision In geology, continental collision is a phenomenon of plate tectonics that occurs at convergent boundaries. Continental collision is a variation on the fundamental process of subduction, whereby the subduction zone is destroyed, mountains produ ...

or during post-collision extension and is thus, is broadly grouped into the three mechanisms which are used to describe the burial and exhumation of the cycle namely, syn-convergent orogenic wedges, channel flow (also known as ductile extrusion) and post-convergence gravitational collapse.

Syn-convergent orogenic wedge

During the subduction to the collisional phases of the orogenic cycle, a tectonic wedge forms on the prowedge (side of the subducting plate) and commonly the retrowedge (continental side) of the orogen. During the continued convergence, the wedge maintains its shape by maintaining its critical angle of taper by the interaction of thickening through basal accretion or foreland propagation (frontal accretion) and thinning through normal faulting and erosion at the upper part of the wedge. Erosion of the wedge significantly impacts the dynamics within the wedge, which promotes exhumation by thrusting mid-crustal rocks to the hanging wall of the wedge. Characteristics of this mode of exhumation include, evidence for strong non coaxial reverse-shearing, pro-grade metamorphism, cooling ages are progressively younger towards deeper structural levels and that exhumation at higher structural levels is coeval to burial of the structural levels. Tectonics of this kind result in fold and thrust belts or if they are built up over long periods, can form thick-stacked long-hot-orogens, such as the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...

Channel-flow

Channel flow typically occurs in long-hot orogens when the orogen is sufficiently thick to promote partial melting in the middle-lower part of the orogen to a point where the rocks reach a critically low viscosity enabling them to flow. Subsequently these rocks can decoupled from their base and begin to flow to higher crustal levels along lithostatic pressure gradients that can be caused by melt-induced buoyancy or differences in topography and lateral density contrasts. both of which are affected by erosion. Characteristics of this mode of exhumation include simultaneous normal shearing and reverse shearing along the roof and the base of the channel respectively, high-temperature retrograde metamorphic assemblages, cooing ages should be younger to the front of the channel and P-T-t paths suggesting prolonged burial and synchronous exhumation throughout the channel.

Post-convergent gravitational collapse

Post-convergent gravitational collapse (extension) occurs once the convergence forces can no longer support the gravitational force of the orogen that was built up during collision. During collapse, high-grade rocks from the core of the orogen are exhumed through upward flow towards now thinned crustal areas forming domal shaped metamorphic core complexes. Alternatively, or in conjunction with the extension of the center of the orogen, propagation of the rock-mass towards the margin may lead to exhumation along a series of brittle or ductile thrusts and normal faults and ultimately the formation of fold and thrust type belts along the margins of the collapsed orogen. Characteristics of gravitational collapse include outward verging, normal sense shear zones along the margins of the core complexes and exhumation-only type P-T-t paths.

References

{{Reflist Geological processes Erosion