Definition of "geotectonic" []

• Of or relating to the shape, structure, and arrangement of the rock masses resulting from structural deformation of the earth's crust. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "On human timescale (101 years), we can directly observe only a minuscule segment of the geotectonic weathering cycle and measure its rates mostly as one-way ocean-ward fluxes of water-borne compounds."
• "Today's oceans and continents are thus transitory features produced by incessant geotectonic processes that are energized by three sources of the earth's heat: energy conducted through the lithosphere from the underlying hot mantle, radiogenic decay of heat-producing crustal elements, and convective transport by magmas and fluids during orogenic events."
• "Human actions are of no consequence as far as the geotectonic processes are concerned, but they have greatly accelerated the rate of weathering due to deforestation, overgrazing of pastures, and improper crop cultivation."