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Michihei Hoshino Published by E.G. SERVICE, 2007, 5000 yen Makomanai 138-86, Minami-ku, Sapporo, 005-0861 JAPAN Tel. +81-11-583-8881 Fax. +81-11-583-5457   CONTENTS PART I HISTORY OF THE EARTH 1. ACCUMULATION OF THE CHONDRITES 2. THE GRANITIC STAGE 3. THE TRANSITIONAL STAGE 4. THE BASALTIC STAGE PART II THE GEOLOGICAL CONCEPT OF SEA LEVEL 1. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SEA LEVEL 2. INDICATIONS OF A PALAEO-SEA LEVEL 3. EUSTASY 4. TRANSGRESSION AND REGRESSION 5. CRUSTAL UPLIFT AND SUBSIDENCE 6. SUBSIDENCE AND SEDIMENTATION 7. PLATFORM AND GEOSYNCLINE PART III GEOLOGY OF SOUTHWEST JAPANESE ISLANDS 1. CENTRAL PLATFORM OF THE JAPAN BASIN 2. GEOLOGICAL DIVISION OF SOUTHWEST JAPANESE ISLANDS 3. THREE VARISCAN OPHIOLITE ZONES IN THE SOUTHWEST JAPANESE ISLANDS 4. THE FIRST GRANITE OF SOUTHWEST JAPANESE ISLANDS IN THE BASALTIC STAGE 5. SECONDARY GRANITIC ACTIVITY IN THE BASALTIC STAGE 6. REVIVAL OF THE VARISCAN OROGENY IN THE MIDDLE MIOCENE 7. FOSSA MAGNA 8. HISTORY OF THE SEA OF JAPAN FROM STANDPOINT OF A RISING SEA LEVEL 9. SOME PROBLEMS IN THE QUATERNARY PERIOD PREFACE I consider that the expansion of the earth is a fundamental concept of geology and many geological laws can be explained by this hypothesis. In my idea, expansion is on a small scale especially when compared with a popular earth-expansion hypothesis which proposed increases in earth's radius on a scale of several thousand Kilometres since the late Palaeozoic. My idea of earth expansion requires the formation of Mg-basaltic and granitic layers in the Archean Era, with the grater part of Mg-basaltic layer eroded in the Proterozoic, a layered igneous layer in the Proterozoic and Palaeozoic Eras, and then the basaltic layer in the Mesozoic and Cenozoic Eras. The formation of these outer layers of the earth caused the increase of the earth's radius by about 100 km. When I published my former book entitled of "The Expanding Earth", some geologists commented that this small increase of earth's radius is cannot be regarded as an expansion, while another critic referred to my idea as a micro-expansion of the earth. I consider that this micro-expansion of the earth, due to the formation of the surface layers of the earth, controlled various geological phenomena through crustal uplift and sea level rise. One of the proposers of a large expansion of the earth when asked about the cause of expansion replied, "My first answer is I do not know. Empirically I am satisfied that the earth is expanding", and, "My second answer is that I may not necessarily be expected to know" (Carey, 1976). However, I consider that my hypothesis of micro-expansion of the earth may offer a solution to a number of geological problems through the analysis of actual geological phenomena. Crustal uplift and submergence, related to sea level rise, are two facets of an expanding earth. The large-scale rise of sea level through earth's history suggests a uniform expansion of the earth's hydrosphere and the uneven crustal uplift suggests the expansion of the solid earth's crust. In the past, many geologists explained the evolution of geosyncline to orogeny －the formation of a sedimentary basin and the uplift of the mountains－ as crustal subsidence preceding crustal uplift. However, as described in this book, I consider that the crustal uplift (expansion) preceded the formation of the sedimentary basin. The expansion of the earth is a basis phenomenon in the development of the earth. I consider that a weak point of geology is a lack of clarity regarding the early history of the earth, which leaves unsolved problems of substance. The history of the earth begins with the inhomogeneous accumulation of chondrites, which evolved with the formation of the three surface layers, and earth may die through the ageing (consolidation) of its surface layers caused by the diminishing heat source of the earth's interior. The process of earth's history is not uniform and some places may show revival phenomena. This book considers the birth and development of the earth in Part I. Then in Part II I try to explain several geological themes using the idea of sea level rise, which resulted from the expansion of the earth. Finally, in Part III, I describe the geological development of the Japanese Islands based on my ideas of sea level rise. About forty years ago I was the general secretary of the publishing committee for "The Geological Development of the Japanese Islands" (eds., M. Minato et al., 1965). Since that time, the main current of geological science has changed drastically, but I cannot support the new global tectonic hypothesis, and Part III is my ?tude which describes the development of the Japanese islands according to my ideas of sea level change. |