2013 Volume 122 Issue 3 Pages 448-471
Fluvial and marine terraces have been used as geomorphic indicators to reconstruct the paleoenvironment and estimate crustal movements. This study focuses on the west coast of Ise Bay, where fluvial terraces are widely distributed and active faults have developed. The region is located far from active volcanoes; therefore, terrace chronology and processes of terrace formation during the late Quaternary have been poorly established. This study applies a tephra analysis of aeolian deposits covering terrace surfaces to identify invisible tephra horizons, and discusses the chronology and processes of terrace formation. Furthermore, it estimates crustal movements during the late Quaternary using altitudes of climatic terrace surfaces and data on subsurface geology.
The tephra analysis identifies widespread tephras such as Kikai-Akahoya tephra (K-Ah: 7.3 ka) and Aira-Tn tephra (AT: 26–29 ka) from aeolian deposits. Whether or not Kikai-Tozurahara tephra (K-Tz: 95 ka) covered terrace surfaces is assessed from the existence of β-quartz. Based on these tephras and geomorphic features, it is deduced that terrace formation in the study area corresponds to climate changes. In particular, L2 and Md1 terraces that formed during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 2 and MIS 5e are important landforms for discussing the processes of terrace formation in response to climate changes. The process of L2 terrace formation indicates that a decrease in precipitation is a major factor of terrace formation upstream during glacial periods.
Uplift and subsidence rates during the late Quaternary are estimated not only along active faults but also in areas remote from them. The distribution of uplift and subsidence is consistent with geomorphic and geologic features. This implies that movements of active faults greatly affected geomorphic and geologic development in the study area since they began to move. Based on uplift and subsidence rates across the faults, vertical slip rates of the Yoro, Kuwana, and Yokkaichi faults are estimated at > 1.7 mm/yr, 1.0–1.2 mm/yr, and 0.5 mm/yr, respectively.
