Amount of clockwise rotation of Southwest Japan — fan shape opening of the southwestern part of the Japan Sea

Abstract

Paleomagnetic measurements have been carried out on welded tuffs ranging in age between 58 Ma and 112 Ma from Yamaguchi and Go¯river areas in the central part of Southwest Japan. The new data, together with those of younger igneous rocks published previously, define the change of paleomagnetic field direction during the late Mesozoic/ Cenozoic period for Southwest Japan. The paleomagnetic direction from this area has pointed 56 ± 3° clockwise from the expected field direction estimated from APWP (apparent polar wandering path) of the whole of Eurasia during the period between 100 and 20 Ma. In comparison with the expected one from the eastern margin of Eurasia (Korea, China, Siberia), the Cretaceous field direction of Southwest Japan shows the clockwise deflection by 44–49°. These results establish that while the eastern margin of Eurasia, including Southwest Japan, was rotated more or less with respect to the main part of Eurasia during last 100 Ma, Southwest Japan was rotated clockwise through more than 40° with respect to the eastern margin of Eurasia since 20 Ma. The large amount of rotation for Southwest Japan implies that it is rotated by an opening of the southwestern part of the Japan Sea, which widens northeastward (fan shape opening). The tectonic feature of Southwest Japan and the Japan Sea is analogous to that of Corso-Sardinia and the Ligurian Sea in the Mediterranean, indicating that the fan shape opening is a specific feature of the rifting of the continental sliver at the continental rim.