[M-IS23] New frontiers in geology

[MIS23-09] Structural geology: Appeal of quantitative discussions from the outcrops

*Makoto Otsubo¹ (1.Geological Survey of Japan, Research Institute of Earthquake and Volcano Geology)

Keywords:Geology, Time, Space, Structure, Heterogeneity

Structural geology is a field of geology that studies the mechanical processes of movement and deformation of the crust and rocks. Starting from a natural history approach that describes the diversity of nature on the earth and finds regularities in it, it is a discipline that tries to quantitatively understand the events that occur on the earth based on these regularities. It is important to know what elements, under what conditions, and how they work on the target motions and deformations. In particular, these phenomena are spatially and temporally heterogeneous, and it is a great challenge to theorize and understand their multiple effects. Returning to the natural history approach, one of the attractions of structural geology is the ability to determine, for example, where (space), how much (quantity), and how (variation) of an outcrop, as well as whether or not a fracture in a rock is present, by one's own investigation. The data obtained in this way are not limited to structural geology, but are also key to understanding phenomena in geophysics, geochemistry, geomorphology, hydrogeology, and many other disciplines. Therefore, structural geological studies also have an important role to play in deepening discussions by sharing data in cross-disciplinary forums such as JpGU, where knowledge accumulated in individual fields can be integrated.
In this presentation, I show examples of outcrop-scale studies in structural geology and introduce the attractiveness of obtaining quantitative data from outcrop-scale structures.

Reference:
Atsushi Yamaji (2000) Introduction to the Theories of Tectonics: Approach from Structural Geology. Asakura Publ., 287p.