The Origin of Arcs PDF
Preview The Origin of Arcs
FURTHER TITLES IN THIS SERIES 1. J.AUBOUIN GEOSYNCLINES 2. R.W. VAN BEMMELEN GEODYNAMIC MODELS 3. A. SUGIMURA and S. UYEDA ISLAND ARCS 4. A.R. RITSEMA (Editor) THE UPPER MANTLE 5. C. LOMNITZ GLOBAL TECTONICS AND EARTHQUAKE RISK 6. X. LE PICHON, J. FRANCHETEAU and J. BONNIN PLATE TECTONICS 7. R.W. GIRDLER (Editor) EAST AFRICAN RIFTS 8. S. MUELLER (Editor) THE STRUCTURE OF THE EARTH'S CRUST 9. N. PAVONI and R. GREEN (Editors) RECENT CRUSTAL MOVEMENTS 10. S.W. CAREY THE EXPANDING EARTH 11. A.M. JOHNSON STYLES OF FOLDING 12. M.H.P. BOTT (Editor) SEDIMENTARY BASINS OF CONTINENTAL MARGINS AND CRATONS 13. C.A. WHITTEN, R. GREEN and B.K. MEADE (Editors) RECENT CRUSTAL MOVEMENTS, 1977 14. M.N. TOKSÖZ, S. UYEDA and J. FRANCHETEAU (Editors) OCEANIC RIDGES AND ARCS 15. C.E. KEEN (Editor) CRUSTAL PROPERTIES ACROSS PASSIVE MARGINS 16. P. VYSKOCIL, R. GREEN and H. MÄLZER (Editors) RECENT CRUSTAL MOVEMENTS, 1979 17.J.H.ILLIES (Editor) MECHANISM OF GRABEN FORMATION 18. E.V. ARTYUSHKOV GEODYNAMICS 19. P. MORGAN and B.H. BAKER (Editors) PROCESSES OF CONTINENTAL RIFTING 20. P. VYSKOCIL, A.M. WASSEF and R. GREEN (Editors) RECENT CRUSTAL MOVEMENTS, 1982 Developments in Geotectonics 21 THE ORIGIN OF ARCS Invited papers presented at the International Conference "The Origin of Arcs", held at the University of Urbino, Urbino, Italy, September 22nd-25th, 1986 Edited by F.-C. WEZEL Istituto di Geologia dell'Università, Via S. Chiara 27, Urbino 1-61029, Italy ELSEVIER Amsterdam — Oxford — New York — Tokyo, 1986 ELSEVIER SCIENCE PUBLISHERS B.V. Sara Burgerhartstraat 25 P.O. Box 211,1000 AE Amsterdam, The Netherlands Distributors for the United States and Canada: ELSEVIER SCIENCE PUBLISHING COMPANY INC. 52, Vanderbilt Avenue New York, NY 10017, U.S.A. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data International Conference "The Origin of Arcs" (1966 : Università di Urbino) The origin of arcs. (Developments in geotectonics ; 21) 1. Island arcs—Congresses. I. Wezel, Forese-Carlo. II. Title. III. Series. QE511.2.I5T 1986 551.^'2 S6-IÓ7U7 ISBN 0-UUU-U26e8-i+ ISBN 0-444-42688-4 (Vol. 21) ISBN 0-444-41714-1 (Series) © Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., 1986 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or trans mitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher, Elsevier Science Publishers B.V./ Science & Technology Division, P.O. Box 330, 1000 AH Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Special regulations for readers in the USA - This publication has been registered with the Copyright Clearance Center Inc. (CCC), Salem, Massachusetts. Information can be obtained from the CCC about conditions under which photocopies of parts of this publication may be made in the USA. All other copyright questions, including photocopying outside of the USA, should be referred to the publisher. Printed in The Netherlands V LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS E.V. ARTYUSHKOV J.P. CADET Institute of Physics of the Earth Laboratoire de Géologie Dynamique U.S.S.R. Academy of Sciences Université de Orléans Moscow, U.S.S.R. F-46067 Orléans, France M.A. BAER S.W. CAREY Ministry of Geology of the U.S.S.R. 24 Richardson Avenue Moscow, U.S.S.R. Dynnyrne, Tasmania 7005 Australia L. BECCALUVA Dipartimento di Scienza della Terra A. CASTELLARIN Via Mezzocannone 8 Istituto di Geologia Napoli, Italy Università degli Studie 1-40127 Bologna, Italy V.V. BELOUSSOV Institute of Physics of the Earth P. de CLARENS U.S.S.R. Academy of Sciences SNEA (P) Moscow, U.S.S.R. Tour Elf F-92078 Paris la Défense, France E. BIJU-DUVAL IFREMER S.A.P.L. CLOETINGH 66 Avenue d'Iena Institute of Earth Sciences F-75763 Paris, France University of Utrecht 3508 TA Utrecht, The Netherlands R. BLANCHET GIS Oceanologie et Géodynamique A.R. CRAWFORD Université de Bretagne Occidentale Department of Geology F-29283 Brest, France University of Canterbury Christchurch, New Zealand J.-P. BOUILLIN Laboratoire de Géologie J. DEBELMAS Méditerranéenne Geology Department Université de Toulouse University of Grenoble F-31400 Toulouse, France F-38031 Grenoble, France J.-C. BOUSQUET J. DOSTAL Laboratorie de Géologie Structurale Department of Geology Université des Sciences et St. Mary University Techniques du Languedoc Halifax, N.S., Canada F-34060 Montpellier, France VI M. DURAND-DELGA E. LOCARDI Laboratoire de Geologie ENEA Méditerranéenne C.R.E. Casaccia Université de Toulouse 1-00060 Roma, Italy F-31400 Toulouse, France W. LOWRIE J.D. FODEN Institut für Geophysik Geology Department ETH-Hönggerberg University of Adelaide CH-8093 Zürich, Switzerland Adelaide, S.A. 5001 Australia A. MASCLE IFP F. FORCELLA F-92506 Rueil Malmaison, France Dipartimento di Scienza della Terra Università degli Studie di Milano B. MERCIER DE LEPINAY 1-20133 Milano, Italy UA215 Université de Paris-Marie Curie F.J. HILGEN Paris, France Institute of Earth Sciences University of Utrecht J.E. MEULENKAMP 3508 TA Utrecht, The Netherlands Institute of Earth Sciences University of Utrecht A.M. HIRT 3508 TA Utrecht, The Netherlands Institut für Geophysik ETH-Hönggerberg N.-A. MÖRNER CH-8093 Zürich, Switzerland Geological Institute University of Stockholm L. JOLIVET S-10691 Stockholm, Sweden Laboratoire de Géologie Ecole Normale Supérieure S. MUELLER F-75231 Paris, France Institut für Geophysik E TH-Höngger ber g K. KOBAYASHI CH-8093 Zürich, Switzerland Ocean Research Institute University of Tokyo H. MUNSCH Tokyo 164, Japan Total CFP F-92069 Paris la Défense, France S. LALLEMAND Laboratoire de Géologie Dynamique Ph. OLIVIER Université de Orléans Laboratoire de Géologie F-46067 Orléans, France Méditerranéenne Université de Toulouse F-31400 Toulouse, France VII G.F. PANZA S. UYEDA Istituto di Geodesia e Geofisica Earthquake Research Institute Università degli Studie University of Tokyo 1-34100 Trieste, Italy Tokyo 113, Japan G. PASQUARE G.B. VAI Dipartimento di Scienza della Terra Istituto di Geologia Università degli Studie di Milano Università degli Studie 1-20133 Milano, Italy 1-40127 Bologna, Italy N. PAVONI R. VARNE Institut für Geophysik Geology Department ETH-Hönggerberg University of Tasmania CH-8093 Zürich, Switzerland Hobart, Tasmania 7001 Australia H. PHILIP Laboratoire de Géologie Structurale L. VEZZOLI Université des Sciences et Dipartimento di Scienzia della Terra Techniques du Languedoc Università degli Studie di Milano F-34060 Montpellier, France 1-20133 Milano, Italy G. SERRI F.-C. WEZEL Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra Instituto di Geologia Via Santa Maria 53 Università di Urbino Pisa, Italy 1-61029 Urbino, Italy J.F. STEPHAN M.J.R. WORTEL GIS Océanologie et Géodynamique Institute of Earth Sciences Université de Bretagne Occidentale University of Utrecht, F-29283 Brest, France 3508 TA Utrecht, The Netherlands A. TIBALDI A. ZANCHI Dipartimento di Scienza della Terra Dipartimento di Scienza della Terra Università degli Studie di Milano Università degli Studie di Milano 1-20133 Milano, Italy 1-20133 Milano, Italy Vili AUTHOR INDEX Artyushkov, E.V. — 191 Locardi, E. — 351 Bear, M.A. - 191 Lowrie, W. — 141 Beccaluva, L. — 481 Mascle, A. — 375 Beloussov, V.V. — 41 Mercier de Lepinay, B. — 401 Biju-Duval, E. — 375 Meulenkamp, J.E. — 327 Blanchet, R. — 401 Mörner, N.-A. — 79 Bouillin, J.-P. — 281 Mueller, S. — 93 Bousquet, J.-C. — 305 Munsch, H. — 375 Cadet, J.P. - 461 Olivier, Ph. - 281 Carey, S.W. - 1 Panza, G.F. - 93 Castellarin, A. - 253 Pasquare, G. — 509 Cloeting, S.A.P.L. - 115 Pavoni, N. — 63 Crawford, A.R. - 423 Philip, H. - 305 Debelmas, J. - 233 Serri, G. - 481 De Ciarens, P. — 375 Stephan, J.F. - 401 Dostal, J. - 481 Tibaldi, A. - 509 Durand-Delga, M. — 281 Uyeda, S. - 435 Foden, J.D. — 159 Vai, G.B. - 253 Forcella, F. — 509 Varne, R. - 159 Hilgen, F.J. - 327 Vezzoli, L. — 509 Hirt, A.M. - 141 Wezel, F.-C. - 529 Jolivet, L. - 461 Wortel, M.J.R. - 115 Kobayashi, K. - 461 Zanchi, A. - 509 Lallemand, S. — 461 IX PREFACE In this volume there is a collection of twenty-three papers which are to be presented as distinguished guest lectures in the International Conference on "The Origin of Arcs" which is to be held at the University of Urbino from the 22nd to the 25th of September 1986, under the joint sponsorship of the European Union of Geosciences and the Italian Geological Society. The workshop on island and mountain arcs has been organized with the aim of increasing our understanding of the intrinsic nature of orogenic and post-orogenic processes, on the basis of empiric factual data, rather than particular theoretic models. Reality, in fact, almost always rejects affirmations and speculations built up around a table. Quite often a trivial piece of field data appears to have much more weight than many fascinating hypotheses put forward by the human mind. This seems to be much more valid in geology, where a special method is necessitated by the special nature of the geological phenomena and the time concept. Every general law deduced should be rooted in the study of the earth's development in geological time. The geological-historical method leads to the recognition of a repetition in time and space of a sequence of events. The deeper causes of these events can only be discussed in the light of a space-time system which remains quite empiric in that it must derive from geological facts and not from preconceived theory. It is the convener's opinion that there must first be an inductive picture by means of geological methods and then it must be interpreted by geophysics in the light of physical laws. The geological method must serve, besides, to test the historical credibility of geophysical theories. It is clear that X these two methods, the geological-historical one and the geophysical one, must be complementary and the one must not substitute the other. Since the problem of the structure and origin of arcs admits of several solutions, different factors being still unexplained, all opinions that have been correctly deduced have been considered by the present editor. Well aware of the many facets presented by complex geological reality, he does not consider himself entitled to reject as naive arguments and interpretations which appear apparently contrary to our present beliefs. The development of geosciences itself provides numerous examples of statements and concepts which were first said to be impossible but later proved perfectly valid. This tolerant attitude towards unorthodox ideas is not merely that of enlightenment and impartiality but reflects also a cautious wisdom in that the heresies of today may perhaps become the truths of tomorrow and the truths of today are not eternally valid dogmas. It is the conviction of the present editor that no-one knows the whole geological reality, but that each one of us, at most, presents some fragments and splinters which appear to us as tiny illuminated spaces fleetingly glimpsed through the great fog of our ignorance. Thus, it is necessary to stimulate the creativity, originality, intuition and eclecticism of young researchers, rather than block them and orientate their minds towards fixed, pre-established doctrines. As Robert M. Pirsig has well said, "We take a handful of sand from the endless landscape of awareness around us and call that handful of sand the world". The interaction amongst the different concepts could possibly, dialectically, spark off some aspects of geological reality. The contributers to this pre-conference volume have been asked to present essential geological results, as concrete as possible, on some basic problems, such as: - Are the island and mountain arcs primary or induced features? - How have these orogenic festoons developed into their similar regular shapes? - What are the relationships between "primary" active arcs and XI "secondary" mountain arcs? - What is the dominant deformational factor in the bulging of the arc? - What is the real nature and tectonic significance of the oblique Benioff zone? The diverse opinions expressed in their papers have been accepted by the editor without screening. Basically the aim of the Arc Conference is to hear and discuss the points of view of these guest speakers, some of whom are recognized masters of geology, selected and invited by the convener because of their preparation and experience in the topics covered by the conference. The papers have been grouped into five more or less natural sections, of which three are defined on the basis of geography. But of course several range broadly and could have been differently grouped. The subdivision, like any classification, is quite subjective and serves only to channel the discussion in a practical way. The generalized geotectonic concepts represent an effort to find answers to questions considered the most fundamental in a particular historical moment. It is wrong and out of place to consider them as the ultimate truths. Their usefulness can be maintained only on condition that they do not degenerate into rigid, universal schemes. The earth's arcuate belts are interpreted by S.W. Carey in the context of his expansionist hypothesis, according to which orogeny is a diapiric process analogous to that of ocean-spreading. He underlines, besides, the importance of two global torsions, viz. the Tethyan sinistrai torsion and the conjugate Pacific dextral counter torsion. The similarity in the geological development between the continental orogenic areas and the island arcs is pointed out by V.V. Beloussov. Their arcuate shape is thought by him to be controlled by the contours of the stable median zones and of the subsidences bounding them. According to N. Pavoni mountain and island arcs represent the zone of convergence and shearing of the lithosphère due to large-scale movements away from the central Pacific and African antipodal
The list of books you might like
