Thermal Evolution of Lithosphere in Presence of Uplift/Erosion

A broad and gentle epirogenic increase in the elevation of a region without a eustatic changes in the sea level is called uplift. The uplift is caused by the upward movement of a part of the earth’s surface in a stable tectonic zone or craton. The important causes of uplift appear to be isostatic gravitational forces and lithospheric flexure. A possible mechanism of uplifting includes magmatic emplacements or underplating, tectonic thickening, volume increase caused by thermal heating (due to density changes) and metamorphic changes in the lower crust involving hydration or phase changes. When there is an uplift of the surface, soil particles are detached from the uplifted landmass and are transported towards down hills due to difference in the topographic elevation. This process of detachment of soil particles and their transportation from one place to another place is called erosion. The main agents of erosion are water, wind, and waves.