Neotectonics, a subdiscipline of
tectonics, is the study of the motions and deformations of
Earth's crust (
geological and
geomorphological processes) that are current or recent in
geologic time. The term may also refer to the motions/deformations in question themselves. Geologists refer to the corresponding time-frame as the
neotectonic period, and to the preceding time as the
palaeotectonic period.