TY - JOUR
T1 - Margin-parallel translation in the western Pacific
T2 - Paleomagnetic evidence from an allochthonous terrane in Japan
AU - Uno, Koji
AU - Furukawa, Kuniyuki
AU - Hada, Shigeki
N1 - Funding Information:
We wish to thank Dr. Naoto Ishikawa of Kyoto University for use of the paleomagnetic laboratory. This work has benefited from extensive discussions with Dr. Takashi Sakai and Dr. Tetsuji Onoue. We are grateful to Dr. Myrl Beck, Dr. Eric Tohver and two anonymous reviewers for valuable suggestions for improving the manuscript. This work was supported in part by a Research Fellowship for Young Scientists (Start-up) from Okayama University .
PY - 2011/2/15
Y1 - 2011/2/15
N2 - A new paleomagnetic study illustrates latitudinal translation of ribbon-shaped continental fragments along the western margin of the Pacific Ocean. Though tectonic translations have long been recognized as prominent features in the eastern Pacific margin (i.e., North American Cordillera), we present new, quantitative evidence for similar, margin-parallel motion through large-scale, strike-slip faulting in the western Pacific margin. The Kurosegawa Terrane in Southwest Japan is an attenuated tectonic sliver and considered to be allochthonous with respect to the main part of Southwest Japan. Late Triassic and Early Cretaceous sedimentary rocks from the terrane yielded paleolatitudes of 4°N and 18°N, respectively. Based on paleomagnetic data of the Kurosegawa Terrane and plate reconstructions of East Asia, we suggest that the terrane was the easternmost element of the South China Block at least from the Late Triassic to the Early Cretaceous. The terrane was then translated ~. 1500 km northward from the continental margin to its present position, associated with sinistral strike-slip movement along the East Asian continental margin in mid- to Late Cretaceous times. The average displacement rate is calculated to be 7 cm/yr and is comparable to rates reported for the eastern Pacific margin.
AB - A new paleomagnetic study illustrates latitudinal translation of ribbon-shaped continental fragments along the western margin of the Pacific Ocean. Though tectonic translations have long been recognized as prominent features in the eastern Pacific margin (i.e., North American Cordillera), we present new, quantitative evidence for similar, margin-parallel motion through large-scale, strike-slip faulting in the western Pacific margin. The Kurosegawa Terrane in Southwest Japan is an attenuated tectonic sliver and considered to be allochthonous with respect to the main part of Southwest Japan. Late Triassic and Early Cretaceous sedimentary rocks from the terrane yielded paleolatitudes of 4°N and 18°N, respectively. Based on paleomagnetic data of the Kurosegawa Terrane and plate reconstructions of East Asia, we suggest that the terrane was the easternmost element of the South China Block at least from the Late Triassic to the Early Cretaceous. The terrane was then translated ~. 1500 km northward from the continental margin to its present position, associated with sinistral strike-slip movement along the East Asian continental margin in mid- to Late Cretaceous times. The average displacement rate is calculated to be 7 cm/yr and is comparable to rates reported for the eastern Pacific margin.
KW - Kurosegawa Terrane
KW - Margin-parallel translation
KW - Paleomagnetism
KW - Western Pacific margins
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U2 - 10.1016/j.epsl.2011.01.002
DO - 10.1016/j.epsl.2011.01.002
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:79951809826
VL - 303
SP - 153
EP - 161
JO - Earth and Planetary Sciences Letters
JF - Earth and Planetary Sciences Letters
SN - 0012-821X
IS - 1-2
ER -