Research history of the Green Tuff region in NE Japan in relation to the Sea of Japan formation

Abstract

Green Tuff comprising altered Neogene volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks occurs on the Sea of Japan side of Hokkaido, Fossa Magna, and Southwest Japan, and is widely distributed in Northeast Japan. This paper presents a review of the history of research on the geological development of the Green Tuff in Northeast Japan in relation to the opening of the Sea of Japan. Research before 1970 was based mainly on the geosyncline paradigm; research after 1970, when the concept of plate tectonics was introduced, progressed in two stages. From early 1970 to about 2000, conventional stratigraphic data were summarized and tectonic models related to the opening of the Sea of Japan were presented. From about 2000 until now, new data have been provided by improved dating methods, paleomagnetic measurements, detailed restoration of paleoenvironments from sedimentary facies analysis, and restoration of stress fields, allowing the reconstruction of more advanced tectonic models.