The Geology of Japan
It has been 25 years since publication of the most recent English language summary of the geology of Japan. This book offers an up-to-date comprehensive guide for those interested both in the geology of the Japanese islands and geological processes of island arcs in general. It contains contributions from over 70 different eminent researchers in their fields and is divided into 12 main chapters:
Geological Evolution of Japan: an Overview;
Regional Tectonostratigraphy (consisting of seven separate sections giving full coverage both to the different geographic regions and different geological ages);
Ophiolites and Ultramafic Units;
Granitic Rocks;
Miocene-Holocene Volcanism;
Neogene-Quaternary Sedimentary Successions;
Deep Seismic Structure;
Crustal Earthquakes;
Coastal Geology and Oceanography;
Mineral and Hydrocarbon Resources;
Engineering Geology;
Field Geotraverse, Geoparks and Geomuseums (with information on travelling by public transport to see some of the great geological sites of Japan).
Each chapter includes the unique contribution of an extensive aid to the written forms of geology-related names in Japanese.
Abstract
Japan is located in a region of subduction zones in which four tectonic plates converge (Fig. 7.1), with two oceanic plates subducting beneath two continental plates. Frequent earthquakes are associated with this plate convergence, including several major earthquakes that have caused extensive damage to inhabited areas. The recent M 9.0 11 March 2011 great Tohokuoki earthquake, which occurred along the plate interface east of Tohoku, NE Japan, is an example of a signifcantly destructive earthquake in the region. This event was the greatest earthquake in the modern history of Japan, the worlds fourth-largest earthquake to occur during the era of instrumental seismology, and it caused severe damage to eastern Japan, resulting in c. 20 000 dead and missing.
