Oblique subduction, collision of microcontinents and subduction of oceanic ridge: Their implications on the Cretaceous tectonics of Japan

Abstract The Izanagi plate subducted rapidly and obliquely under the accretionary terrane of Japan in the Cretaceous before 85 Ma. A chain of microcontinents collided with it at about 140 Ma. In southwest Japan the major part of it subducted thereafter, but in northeast Japan it accreted and the trench jumped oceanward, resulting in a curved volcanic front. The oblique subduction and the underplated microcon-tinent caused uplifting of high-pressure (high-P) metamorphic rocks and large scale crustal shortening in southwest Japan. The oblique subduction caused left-lateral faulting and ductile shearing in northeast Japan. The arc sliver crossed over the high-temperature (high-T) zone of arc magmatism, resulting in a wide high-T metamorphosed belt. At about 85 Ma, the subduction mode changed from oblique to normal and the tectonic mode changed drastically. Just after this the Kula/Pacific ridge subducted and the subduction rate of the Pacific plate decreased gradually, causing the intrusion of huge amounts of granite magma and the eruption of acidic volcanics from large cauldrons. The oblique subduction of the Pacific plate resumed at 53 Ma and the left-lateral faults were reactivated.     

海山的倾斜俯冲对上覆板块变形的影响

伴随洋壳的俯冲,驼伏其上的海山会导致上覆板块的强烈变形.为解释该构造变形特征,本文运用物理模拟实验的方法,着重分析海山的斜向俯冲对上覆板块变形的影响,并将模拟结果与正向俯冲过程进行对比.实验结果显示:海山开始进入俯冲,前缘楔体的增生会被阻止,同时楔体被抬升并出现脱顶构造,未被海山破坏的楔体会出现后冲断层的激活,后冲断层轴平行于海山的俯冲方向.海山进一步俯冲,突起项部发育一系列张扭性质的微断裂和走滑性质的共轭断裂,尾随突起之后的楔体由于重力会产生正断层系统.比起正向俯冲,斜向俯冲过程中所产生的后逆冲体、海山两侧的叠瓦状逆冲推覆构造都出现不对称分布,断裂和微断裂束的走向不规则散开,后冲断层的轴向及海山俯冲过后在楔体上产生的凹槽的轨迹都不断斜向迁移,且凹槽两侧的地势不一致等.最后利用文中的物理模拟结果,很好的解释了马尼拉海沟中段俯冲构造的构造特征,同时对其他俯冲大陆边缘的构造解释具有指导意义.     

Geomorphological study on a clastic accretionary prism: The Nankai Trough

Abstract The Nankai Trough, off southwest Japan, is one of the best sites for the study of geomorphic characteristics of a clastic accretionary prism. A recent multibeam survey over the central and eastern parts of the Nankai accretionary prism has revealed a large variation of the topography along the trough axis. Analysis of the bathymetric data suggests the existence of prism deformational features of different scales, such as depressions, embayment structures and cusps. These structures are the results of slope instability caused by basement relief of subducted oceanic plate. Unstable slopes recover by new accretion and development of a low angle thrust. Small-scale deformation due to the subduction of a small isolated seamount is then adjusted to the regional trend. By contrast, a 30 km indentation of the wedge observed in the eastern part of the Nankai Trough, the Tenryu Cusp, has seemed to retain its geometry. The subducted Philippine Sea plate has deformed greatly near the eastern end of the Nankai Trough, because of the collision between the Izu-Ogasawara (Bonin) arc and central Japan. Therefore, the indentation may be the result of the continuous subduction of a basement high, such as the Zenisu Ridge, which has been formed under north-south compression due to the arc-arc collision.     

Deformable backstop as seaward end of coseismic slip in the Nankai Trough seismogenic zone

Wide-angle seismic surveys performed in the last decade have clarified the 3-D crustal structure along the Nankai Trough. The geometry and velocity structure of the southwestern Japan subduction zone are now well constrained. Comparing these observations with the rupture distribution of historic great thrust earthquakes, it appears that the coseismic rupture occurred along plate boundaries deeper than the wedge/backstop boundary (the boundary between the Neogene-Quaternary accretionary wedge and the crust forming the backstop). From the view of spatial relationship, both rupture distributions of the last two large events and the crust forming the backstop are considerably retreated from the trough axis in the west and east off the Kii Peninsula. In both areas, seamount or ridge subduction is apparent in seismic results, geomorphological data and geomagnetic data. The landward indentation of the deformable backstop, which corresponds to the crustal block of old accreted sediments, may be formed by seamount subduction according to published results of sandbox modeling. In particular, the subducted seamount may be a structural factor affecting the recession of the crustal block forming the backstop.     

Subduction of continental margins and the uplift of high-pressure metamorphic rocks

The mechanism by which high-pressure metamorphosed continental material is emplaced at high structural levels is a major unsolved problem of collisional orogenesis. We suggest that the emplacement results from partial subduction of the continental margin which, because of its high flexural rigidity, produces a rapid change in the trajectory of the descending slab. We assume a two-fold increase in effective elastic thickness of the lithosphere as the continental margin approaches the subduction zone, and calculate the flexural profile of a thin plate for progressive downward migration of the zone of increased rigidity. We assess the effect of changes in the flexural profile on the overlying accretionary prism and mantle wedge as the continent approaches by estimating the extra stresses that are imposed on the wedge due to the bending moment exerted by the continental part of the plate. The wedges overlying the subduction zones, and the subducting slab itself, experience substantial extra compressional stress at depths of around 100 km, and extensional stress at shallower depths, as the continental margin passes through the zone of maximum curvature. The magnitudes of such extra stresses are probably adequate to effect significant deformation of the wedge and/or the descending plate, and are experienced in a time interval of less than 5 m.y. for typical subduction rates. The spatial variation of yield stresses in the region of the wedge and descending slab indicates that much of this deformation may be taken up in the crustal part of the descending slab, which is the weakest region in the deeper parts of the subduction zone. This may result in rapid upward migration of the crust of the partially subducted continental margin, against the flow of subduction. High-pressure metamorphosed terranes emplaced by the mechanism envisaged in this paper would be bounded by thrust faults below and normal faults above. Movement on the faults would have been coeval, and would have resulted in rapid unroofing of the high-pressure terranes, synchronous with arrival of the continental margin at the subduction zone and, therefore, relatively early in the history of a collisional orogen.     

Regional metamorphic belts of the Japanese Islands

Abstract An overview of the regional metamorphic belts of Japan is given in the context of the tectonic evolution of the Japanese Islands. The Japanese Islands were situated on an active margin of the Eurasian continent or its constituent landmass before their assembly during the Phanerozoic. The Japanese Islands are composed mainly of metamorphosed and unmetamorphosed accretionary complexes, granitoids and their effusive equivalents that were formed by the Cordilleran-type orogeny. The metamorphic belts are regarded essentially as a deep-seated portion of an accretionary complex. In spite of continuous subduction of oceanic plates beneath the continents, these orogenic rocks were formed quite episodically, as evidenced by discontinuous matrix ages of the accretionary complexes and a striking concentration of isotopic ages of the granitoids. A systematic along-arc age shift of Cretaceous large-scaled granitic magmatism and regional metamorphism suggests a tectonic control such as ridge subduction, which triggered the episodic orogeny. A tectonic model based on the paired metamorphic belts, combined with the non-steady tectonic control, works well to explain this magmatism and metamorphism in a single arc-trench system as a continental margin process. However, the juxtapositional process of the paired metamorphic belts is still a problem. Two possible cases, namely transcurrent displacement and back-arc overthrusting are discussed.     

Tectonic and sedimentary processes at the submarine Antique Ridge and the accretionary wedge of Negros (Sulu Sea, Philippines): Results of an underwater television and photographic survey by RV 'Sonne'

Abstract Numerous Neogene/Quaternary marl outcrops of the submarine Antique Ridge and southern Negros accretionary complexes (Sulu Sea, Philippines) were formed by an oversteepen-ing of the slope by the collision with the Cagayan Ridge and Cuyo Platform and also by erosion.
The outcrops exhibit distinct joint systems that were developed under compressional stress parallel to an east-northeast subduction of the southeast Sulu Basin complex under the Panay-Negros Fore-Arc and Arc Complexes during the Late Miocene/earliest Pliocene. Typical bc-(longitudinal) joints following the axial trend of the subduction zone, hkO (diagonal) shear joints, and ac-(transverse) joints were formed. The regional stress in south-southeast, which has changed to northeast since the Early Pliocene, has caused an uplift of the accretionary complexes and a clockwise rotation of the subduction/collision zone axis of the Antique Ridge complex from a more northern direction to NNE. Consequently the pre-existing joint system has also rotated for 10° to 20°. A strike-slip motion parallel to this axis as a consequence of the NE collision may have been accommodated within the accretionary complex by the bc-joints.
Some bedding-plane parallel white veins or layers may be related to calcium carbonate precipitation via oxidation of methane which was probably carried by migrating fluids along shear zones.
Downslope, sediment transport as well as trench-parallel sediment transport in southerly directions is still going on, indicating active tectonic oversteepening of the slopes of the accretionary complexes as well as flowing water, possibly of intermediate water from the Northwest Sulu Basin into the Southeast Sulu Basin via the Panay Canyon.     

智利三联点南部扩张洋脊俯冲区域岩石层热结构的数值模拟

智利三联点(CTJ)位于纳兹卡板块、南极洲板块与南美板块的交界处,由南极洲—纳兹卡板块之间的智利洋脊俯冲到智利海沟而形成.巴塔哥尼亚板片窗的发展是智利洋脊长期扩张俯冲的结果之一.随着纳兹卡板块的不断东向俯冲,纳兹卡板块范围逐渐变小,CTJ同时向北移动.本文采用数值模拟方法,建立了关于洋脊海沟碰撞的简单二维模型,来研究智利三联点南部扩张洋脊俯冲区域岩石层的热结构.模拟结果表明,洋脊的位置、板块相对汇聚速度及上覆大陆板块的存在均对俯冲区域海洋板块的温度结构有着很大影响,并且大陆板块下方海洋板块温度变化最大的位置距洋脊的水平距离与洋脊到板片窗范围的水平距离两者之间具有较好的一致性.同时,当存在两两板块间的相对汇聚时,洋脊右侧大陆板块下表面的温度升高,俯冲带内海洋板块温度接近于地幔温度.纳兹卡板块以7.8 cm·a~(-1)的速度急速俯冲于南美板块之下的过程中,同时伴随着智利洋脊的持续扩张俯冲,在智利三联点南部,南美板块之下纳兹卡板块的温度因而可以更快地达到地幔软流层的约1300℃温度,并最终消亡于地幔之中.     

Cretaceous episodic growth of the Japanese Islands

Abstract The Japanese Islands formed rapidly in situ along the eastern Asian continental margin in the Cretaceous due to both tectonic and magmatic processes. In the Early Cretaceous, huge oceanic plateaus created by the mid-Panthalassa super plume accreted with the continental margin. This tectonic interaction of oceanic plateau with continental crust is one of the significant tectonic processes responsible for continental growth in subduction zones. In the Japanese Islands, Late Cretaceous-Early Paleogene continental growth is much more episodic and drastic. At this time the continental margin uplifted regionally, and intra-continent collision tectonics took place in the northern part of the Asian continent. The uplifting event appears to have been caused by the subduction of very young oceanic crust (i.e. the Izanagi-Kula Plate) along the continental margin. Magmatism was also very active, and melting of the young oceanic slab appears to have resulted in ubiquitous plutons in the continental margin. Regional uplift of the continental margin and intra-continent collision tectonics promoted erosion of the uplifted area, and a large amount of terrigenous sediment was abruptly supplied to the trench. As a result of the rapid supply of terrigenous detritus, the accretionary complexes (the Hidaka Belt in Hokkaido and the Shimanto Belt in Southwest Japan) grew rapidly in the subduction zone. The rapid growth of the accretionary complexes and the subduction of very young, buoyant oceanic crust caused the extrusion of a high-P/T metamorphic wedge from the deep levels of the subduction zone. Episodic growth of the Late Cretaceous Japanese Islands suggests that subduction of very young oceanic crust and/or ridge subduction are very significant for the formation of new continental crust in subduction zones.     

Evolution of an accretionary complex along the north arm of the Island of Sulawesi, Indonesia

Abstract Seismic reflections across the accretionary prism of the North Sulawesi provide excellent images of the various structural domains landward of the frontal thrust. The structural domain in the accretionary prism area of the North Sulawesi Trench can be divided into four zones: (i) trench area; (ii) Zone A; (iii) Zone B; and (iv) Zone C. Zone A is an active imbrication zone where a decollement is well imaged. Zone B is dominated by out‐of‐sequence thrusts and small slope basins. Zone C is structurally high in the forearc basin, overlain by a thick sedimentary sequence. The subducted and accreted sedimentary packages are separated by the decollement. Topography of the oceanic basement is rough, both in the basin and beneath the wedge. The accretionary prism along the North Sulawesi Trench grew because of the collision between eastern Sulawesi and the Bangai–Sula microcontinent along the Sorong Fault in the middle Miocene. This collision produced a large rotation of the north arm of Sulawesi Island. Rotation and northward movement of the north arm of Sulawesi may have resulted in southward subduction and development of the accretionary wedge along North Sulawesi. Lateral variations are wider in the western areas relative to the eastern areas. This is due to greater convergence rates in the western area: 5 km/My for the west and 1.5 km/My for the east. An accretionary prism model indicates that the initiation of growth of the accretionary prism in the North Sulawesi Trench occurred approximately 5 Ma. A comparison between the North Sulawesi accretionary prism and the Nankai accretionary prism of Japan reveals similar internal structures, suggesting similar mechanical processes and structural evolution.     

Anatomy and genesis of a subduction-related orogen: A new view of geotectonic subdivision and evolution of the Japanese Islands

Abstract The Japanese Islands represent a segment of a 450 million year old subduction-related orogen developed along the western Pacific convergent margin. The geotectonic subdivision of the Japanese Islands is newly revised on the basis of recent progress in the 1980s utilizing microfossil and chronometric mapping methods for ancient accretionary complexes and their high-P/T metamorphic equivalents. This new subdivision is based on accretion tectonics, and it contrasts strikingly with previous schemes based on‘geosyncline’tectonics, continent-continent collision-related tectonics, or terrane tectonics. Most of the geotectonic units in Japan are composed of Late Paleozoic to Cenozoic accretionary complexes and their high-PIT metamorphic equivalents, except for two units representing fragments of Precambrian cratons, which were detached from mainland Asia in the Tertiary. These ancient accretionary complexes are identified using the method of oceanic plate stratigraphy. The Japanese Islands are comprised of 12 geotectonic units, all noted in southwest Japan, five of which have along-arc equivalents in the Ryukyus. Northeast Japan has nine of these 12 geotectonic units, and East Hokkaido has three of these units. Recent field observations have shown that most of the primary geotectonic boundaries are demarcated by low-angle faults, and sometimes modified by secondary vertical normal and/or strike-slip faults. On the basis of these new observations, the tectonic evolution of the Japanese Islands is summarized in the following stages: (i) birth at a rifted Yangtze continental margin at ca 750–700 Ma; (ii) tectonic inversion from passive margin to active margin around 500 Ma; (iii) successive oceanic subduction beginning at 450 Ma and continuing to the present time; and (iv) isolation from mainland Asia by back-arc spreading at ca 20 Ma. In addition, a continent-continent collision occurred between the Yangtze and Sino-Korean cratons at 250 Ma during stage three. Five characteristic features of the 450 Ma subduction-related orogen are newly recognized here: (i) step-wise (not steady-state) growth of ancient accretionary complexes; (ii) subhorizontal piled nappe structure; (iii) tectonically downward-younging polarity; (iv) intermittent exhumation of high-P/T metamorphosed accretionary complex; and (v) microplate-induced modification. These features suggest that the subduction-related orogenic growth in Japan resulted from highly episodic processes. The episodic exhumation of high-P/T units and the formation of associated granitic batholith (i.e. formation of paired metamorphic belts) occurred approximately every 100 million years, and the timing of such orogenic culmination apparently coincides with episodic ridge subduction beneath Asia.     

Super-scale Failure of the Southern Oregon Cascadia Margin

—Using SeaBeam bathymetry and multichannel seismic reflection records we have identified three large submarine landslides on the southern Oregon Cascadia margin. The area enclosed by the three arcuate slide scarps is approximately 8000 km², and involves an estimated 12,000–16,000 km³ of the accretionary wedge. The three arcuate slump escarpments are nearly coincident with the continental shelf edge on their landward margins, spanning the full width of the accretionary wedge. Debris from the slides is buried or partially buried beneath the abyssal plain, covering a subsurface area of at least 8000 km². The three major slides, called the Heceta, Coos Basin and Blanco slides, display morphologic and structural features typical of submarine landslides. Bathymetry, sidescan sonar, and seismic reflection profiles reveal that regions of the continental slope enclosed by the scarps are chaotic, with poor penetration of seismic energy and numerous diffractions. These regions show little structural coherence, in strong contrast to the fold thrust belt tectonics of the adjacent northern Oregon margin. The bathymetric scarps correlate with listric detachment faults identified on reflection profiles that show large vertical separation and bathymetric relief. Reflection profiles on the adjacent abyssal plain image buried debris packages extending 20–35 km seaward of the base of the continental slope. In the case of the youngest slide, an intersection of slide debris and abyssal plain sediments, rather than a thrust fault, mark the base of slope. The age of the three major slides decreases from south to north, indicated by the progressive northward shallowing of buried debris packages, increasing sharpness of morphologic expression, and southward increase in post-slide reformation of the accretionary wedge. The ages of the events, derived from calculated sedimentation rates in overlying Pleistocene sediments, are approximately 110 ka, 450 ka, and 1210 ka. This series of slides traveled 25–70 km onto the abyssal plain in at least three probably catastrophic events, which may have been triggered by subduction earthquakes. The lack of internal structure in the slide packages, and the considerable distance traveled suggest catastrophic rather than incremental slip, although there could have been multiple events. The slides would have generated large tsunami in the Pacific basin, possibly larger than that generated by an earthquake alone. We have identified a potential future slide off southern Oregon that may be released in a subduction earthquake. The occurrence of the slides and subsequent subduction of the slide debris, along with evidence for margin subsidence implies that basal subduction erosion has occurred over at least the last 1 Ma. The massive failure of the southern Oregon slope may have been the result of the collision of a seamount province or aseismic ridge with the margin, suggested by the age progression of the slides and evidence for subducted basement highs. The lack of latitudinal offset between the oldest slide debris and the corresponding scarp on the continental slope implies that the forearc is translating northward at a substantial fraction of the margin-parallel convergence rate.     

马尼拉俯冲带北段增生楔前缘构造变形和精细结构

马尼拉俯冲带是南海的东部边界,记录了南海形成演化的关键信息,同时也是地震和海啸多发区域.本文利用过马尼拉俯冲带北段的高分辨率多道地震剖面,分析了研究区内海盆和海沟的沉积特征,精细刻画了区内增生楔前缘的构造变形、结构以及岩浆活动特征.研究区内增生楔下陆坡部分由盲冲断层、构造楔和叠瓦逆冲断层构成,逆冲断层归并于一条位于下中新统的滑脱面上,滑脱面向海方向的展布明显受到增生楔之下埋藏海山和基底隆起的影响;上陆坡的反射特征则因变形强烈和岩浆作用而难以识别;岩浆活动开始于晚中新世末期并持续至第四纪.马尼拉俯冲带北段增生楔的形成时间早于16.5 Ma,并通过前展式逆冲向南海方向扩展;马尼拉俯冲带的初始形成时间可能在晚渐新世,而此时南海海盆扩张仍在持续.南海东北缘19°N-21°N区域为南海北部陆坡向海盆的延伸,高度减薄的陆壳的俯冲造成马尼拉海沟北段几何形态明显地向东凹进.     

Causes of spatial compositional variations in Mariana arc lavas: Trace element evidence

New inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) trace element data are presented on a suite of arc lavas from the northern Mariana and southern Bonin island arcs. The samples were dredged from seamounts in the Central Island Province (CIP), the Northern Seamount Province (NSP) and the Volcano Arc (VA), and they range in composition from low-K tholeiites to shoshonites. Previous studies on these samples concluded that the primary compositional control was two-component mixing between a fluid-metasomatized mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) source and an enriched, ocean island basalt (OIB)-like, mantle component, with subducted sediment material playing a secondary role. However, the new trace element data suggest that the compositional variations along the Mariana arc can be better explained by the addition of spatially varying subduction components to a spatially varying mantle source. The data suggest that the subduction component in the CIP and VA is dominated by aqueous fluids derived from altered oceanic crust and a pelagic sediment component, while the subduction component in the NSP is dominated by more silicic fluids derived from volcanogenic sediments as well as from pelagic sediment and altered oceanic crust. The mantle wedge in the CIP and VA is depleted relative to a normal mid-ocean ridge basalt source by loss of a small melt fraction, while the mantle wedge in the NSP is enriched either by possible gain of a small melt fraction or addition of a sediment-derived melt. Because the subduction of seamounts controls the arc and back-arc geometries, so the concomitant variation between subducted material and mantle composition may be no coincidence. The high field strength element (HFSE) data indicate a high degree of melting (∼ 25–30%) throughout the arc, ∼ 10% of which may be attributed to decompression and ∼ 20% to fluid addition.     

Pacific-type orogeny revisited: Miyashiro-type orogeny proposed

Abstract The concept of Pacific-type orogeny is revised, based on an assessment of geologic data collected from the Japanese Islands during the past 25 years. The formation of a passive continental margin after the birth of the Pacific Ocean at 600 Ma was followed by the initiation of oceanic plate subduction at 450 Ma. Since then, four episodes of Pacific-type orogeny have occurred to create an orogenic belt 400 km wide that gradually grew both oceanward and downward. The orogenic belt consists mainly of an accretionary complex tectonically interlayered with thin (<2 km thick), subhorizontal, high-P/T regional metamorphic belts. Both the accretionary complex and the high-P/T rocks were intruded by granitoids ～100 million years after the formation of the accretionary complex. The intrusion of calc-alkaline (CA) plutons was synchronous with the exhumation of high-P/T schist belts. Ages from microfossils and K-Ar analysis suggest that the orogenic climax happened at a time of mid-oceanic ridge subduction. The orogenic climax was characterized by the formation of major subhorizontal orogenic structures, the exhumation of high-P/T schist belts by wedge extrusion and subsequent domed uplift, and the intrusion-extrusion of CA magma dominantly produced by slab melting. The orogenic climax ended soon after ridge subduction, and thereafter a new Pacific-type orogeny began. A single Pacific-type orogenic cycle may correspond to the interaction of the Asian continental margin with one major Pacific oceanic plate. Ophiolites in Japan occur as accreted material and are not of island-arc but of plume origin. They presumably formed after the birth of the southern Pacific superplume at 600 Ma, and did not modify the cordilleran-type orogeny in a major way. Microplates, fore-arc slivers, intra-oceanic arc collisions and the opening of back-arc basins clearly contributed to cordilleran orogenesis. However, they were of secondary importance and served only to modify pre-existing major orogenic components. The most important cause of cordilleran-type orogeny is the subduction of a mid-oceanic ridge, by which the volume of continental crust increases through the transfer of granitic melt from the subducting oceanic crust to an orogenic welt. Accretionary complexes are composed mainly of recycled granitic sediments with minor amounts of oceanic material, which indicate that the accretion of oceanic material, including huge oceanic plateaus, was not significant for orogenic growth. Instead, the formation and intrusion of granitoids are the keys to continental growth, which is the most important process in Pacific-type orogeny. Collision-type orogeny does not increase the volume of continental crust. The name ‘Miyashiro-type orogeny’ is proposed for this revised concept of Pacific-type or cordilleran-type orogeny, in order to commemorate Professor A. Miyashiro's many contributions to a better understanding of orogenesis.     

The Oka Belt (Southern Siberia and Northern Mongolia): A Neoproterozoic analog of the Japanese Shimanto Belt?

Abstract   The Oka Belt, composed of clastic rocks and greenschists, extends for approximately 600 km in the South-Siberian Sayan region and adjacent northern Mongolia. For a long time the Oka Belt's age and tectonic setting were the most controversial problem in the region. We argue that the belt was formed in Late Neoproterozoic as an accretionary prism. The Oka Belt shows imbricated thrust structure, which had originally seaward vergence and reflected the Neoproterozoic accretion process. The Early Paleozoic orogeny had minor effect on its structural style. The belt contains tectonic slivers of mid-ocean ridge basalts, some oceanic-island basalts and possible pelagic sediments. In several localities they are associated with gabbro and serpentinite. All these rocks represent the oceanic lithosphere subducting beneath the Oka prism and trapped within it. In the inner zone of the Oka Belt are the blueschists exhumed from the deeper prism level. The northern Oka Belt includes mafic intrusions geochemically similar to normal mid-oceanic ridge basalt and felsic volcaniclastic rocks. This segment of the belt is very similar to the Tertiary portion of northern Shimanto Belt, in Japan, and has also experienced the subduction of orthogonal oceanic ridge beneath the prism. This event dates back to 753 ± 16 Ma (the U-Pb zircon discordia). The Oka prism started accreting in Mid-Neoproterozoic after the subduction had initiated under the Japan-like South-Siberian continental terrain. The prism existed through the second half of Neoproterozoic and accumulated a huge volume of sialic material to enlarge the nearby continent. Currently, the Oka Belt remains poorly studied and is very promising for further investigation and discoveries.     

沿雅鲁藏布江（东段）地区推覆与反向冲断构造的地质特征及其形成机制

沿雅鲁藏布江（东段）两岸至少发育着两套断裂系统。其一是断面北倾,由北向南远距离的推覆断裂系,发育着构造窗和飞来峰。该断裂系形成在洋－陆俯冲和陆－陆碰撞两个造山阶段（１００～２６Ｍａ）;其二是断面向南陡倾,由南向北逆冲,切割了早期的由北向南的推覆断裂系的反向冲断层系。该断裂系形成于碰撞造山阶段晚期（＜２６Ｍａ）的局部反向道冲作用或造山期后的重力伸展作用。上述两套断裂系的叠加造成沿江地区构造的复杂     

活动海岭俯冲与岛弧火山活动的热模拟研究

为解释活动海岭的俯冲会造成岛弧火山活动的间断这一现象,本文采用有限单元法对活动海岭俯冲的热演化过程进行了模拟计算．一般情况下,摩擦剪切生热使岛弧下100km左右深度形成地温反转,俯冲板片海洋地壳内角门岩等含水矿物脱水,释放的水进入其上覆板块,降低了地幔岩石的熔点,使热的地幔楔状体内发生部分熔融,形成岛弧火山活动．高温的活动海岭俯冲时不再出现这种温度反转,俯冲板片在较浅深度达到较高温度而脱水,水进入上覆相对较冷的地幔楔状体不能造成熔融,因此岛弧火山活动会中断．     

Thermal histories of Cretaceous basins in Korea: Implications for response of the East Asian continental margin to subduction of the Paleo‐Pacific Plate

Thermal histories of Cretaceous sedimentary basins in the Korean peninsula have been assessed to understand the response of the East Asian continental margin to subduction of the Paleo‐Pacific (Izanagi) Plate. The Izanagi Plate subducted obliquely beneath the East Asian continent during the Early Cretaceous and orthogonally in the Late Cretaceous. First, the Jinan Basin, a pull‐apart basin, was studied by illite crystallinity and apatite fission‐track analyses. Analytical results indicate that Jinan Basin sediment was heated to a maximum temperature of approximately 287°C by burial. The sediment experienced two cooling episodes during ca 95–80 Ma and after ca 30 Ma, with a quiescent period between them. A similar cooling pattern is recognized in the Gyeongsang Basin, the largest Cretaceous basin in Korea. The Jinan and Gyeongsang Basins were cooled mainly by exhumation between ca 95 and 80 Ma, but the former was exhumed slightly earlier than the latter by transpressional force due to the subduction direction change of the Izanagi Plate. Comparison of thermal history of Korean Cretaceous basins with those of granitoids in northeastern China and the accretionary complexes in southwestern Japan reveals that the Upper Cretaceous regional exhumation of the East Asian continental margin including the Korean peninsula during ca 95–80 Ma was facilitated by the subduction of the Izanagi–Pacific ridge, which migrated northeastwards with time, resulting in the end of regional exhumation at ca 80 Ma in this region.     

Thermal structure and paleo-heat flow in the Shimanto accretionary prism, Southwest Japan

Abstract Thermal structural analysis and paleo-heat flow estimation provide clues to understanding the thermal evolution of the accretionary complex. The thermal structure and heat flow in the Jurassic Chichibu and Cretaceous to Tertiary Shimanto accretionary complex, Southwest Japan, have been investigated by vitrinite reflectance measurement and fluid inclusion analysis. As a result, the local and multistage metamorphisms were recognized as follows. First, the Tertiary complex around the Miocene Ashizuri granite underwent exposure to extra-high temperatures. Second, the Okitsu Melange underwent exposure to higher temperatures than the surrounding strata and was formed concurrently with the Kula-Pacific ridge subduction beneath the Japanese Islands in the Eocene. Finally, the thermal structure of most of the Cretaceous and southern Jurassic complexes is independent of the geologic structure, indicating that these areas suffered thermal overprint. Regional radiometric dating studies show that most of the Cretaceous Shimanto complex was heated in the Eocene; the thermal overprint might have occurred as a result of ridge subduction. The heat flow during peak heating was estimated to be 95–120 mW/m² except for the Cretaceous Okitsu melange and the Cretaceous Nonokawa formation, north of the Okitsu Melange; a much higher value of heat flow of ~200 mW/m² was estimated in the Okitsu Melange. An estimation of heat flow failed for the non-okawa formation because thermal equilibrium between the fluid and rocks has not yet been reached. It is probable that the southern strata underwent a higher heat flow. Such a trenchward increase in heat flow resembles the present situation of the Nankai Trough, although the heat flow in the Eocene was much higher.