14:00 〜 14:15
[MZZ44-02] Geology of Thailand and two UNESCO Global Geopar
★Invited Papers
キーワード：UNESCO Global Geopark, IGCP, Thailand, Satun, Khorat, Southeast Asia
Post-Paleozoic tectonics in East Asia, Southeast Asia, and South Asia is represented by the breakup of the Gondwana in the south, drifting in the Tethys and its convergence into the Laurasia in the north. One of the key regions in this study of breakup and convergence is the Indochina Peninsula. In particular, Thailand is located in the center of the Indochina Peninsula and given the long history of cultural exchange between Japan and Thailand, conducting geological research in Thailand is expected to yield very meaningful results. Therefore, in this study, I will summarize the geological formation history of Thailand and discuss the significance and challenges of the two UNESCO Global Geoparks (Satun and Khorat in Thailand) currently approved.
Geological research on Southeast Asia, including Thailand, has progressed rapidly since the 1980s. Bunopas (1982) clarified the geological formation process of the Indochina Peninsula. He proposed that two separate microcontinents, Shan-Thai and Indochina, were joined by collision after the Mesozoic era. The Shan-Thai includes western Thailand and the peninsula, eastern Myanmar, northwestern Laos, western Yunnan, western Malay Peninsula, and eastern Sumatra; the Indochina also includes northern Thailand, Cambodia, most of Laos, Vietnam, and eastern Malaysia. As a result of the collision of these microcontinents, a tectonic line called the Nan suture was formed. Although both microcontinents are thought to originate from Gondwana, detailed paleomagnetic, biogeographic, and stratigraphic information indicates that Indochina shows a strong affinity with the southern China block. It was also located adjacent to southern China and probably adjacent to the north-northeast of the Australian continent (e.g., Charusiri et al., 2002).
The history of the formation of Thailand, in conjunction with the development history of the Japanese islands and the Alps-Himalayan orogenic belt, has long been carried forward in research by UNESCO's International Geoscience Program (IGCP). IGCP Projects 224, 321, 411, 516, 589 and 710 (Pre-Jurassic Evolution of Eastern Asia (1985-1990); Gondwana Dispersion and Asian Accretion (1991-1997); Geodynamics of Gondwana-derived Terranes in E & S Asia (1998-2002); Geological Anatomy of East and South East Asia (2005-2009); Development of the Asian Tethyan Realm: Genesis, Process and Outcomes (2012-2017); Western Tethys meets Eastern Tethys(2020-2024). A portion of this is published, for example, in Metcalfe, Hisada et al. Guest Editors (2012).
Recently, the Khorat UNESCO World Geopark became the second one in Thailand to be approved. This geopark is located in Indochina and corresponds to the central Khorat Plateau of Cretaceous dinosaur bones-occurrence area. On the other hand, the Satun UNESCO World Geopark was certified in 2018 and is located in Satun, bordering Malaysia (Hisada, supervising translation), 2024). During the Paleozoic era, especially the Cambrian red sandstone and Ordovician limestones were widely developed, and the Ordovician limestone’s caves are known as some of the best in Southeast Asia due to their size and beauty. Therefore, the UNESCO Global Geopark in Thailand is based on the carbonate deposits (Shan-Thai) that developed on the continental shelf of Gondwana in the early Paleozoic Era, which broke up in the late Paleozoic Era, moved northward together with Indochina, which also split from Gondwana, and the two microcontinents collided. It was later incorporated into the Asian continent from the Triassic period onwards and became a habitat for dinosaurs mainly from the Cretaceous period onwards. In conclusion, Thailand's geoparks, unlike other global geoparks in Southeast Asia, are expected to play a major role in educating the general public in understanding the formation history of the eastern half of the Asian continent since the Paleozoic era.
Bunopas, S. (1982) Palaeogeographic history of Western Thailand and adjacent parts of Southwest Asia-a plate tectonics interpretation. Geological Survey paper, No.5, Geological Survey Division, Department of Mineral Resources, Thailand.
Charusiri, P., Daorerk, V., Archibald, D., Hisada, K. and Ampaiwan, T. (2002) Geotectonic Evolution of Thailand : A new synthesis. Jour. Geol. Soc. Thailand, No.1, 1-20.
Hisada, K. Supervised translation (2024) Satun UNESCO World Geopark (Photo album). Corp. Ltd. Dank.
Metcalfe, I., Hisada, K., Jin X. and Lee, C.P. Guest Editors (2012) Geological Anatomy of East and South Asia (Special Issue). Jour. Asian Earth Sci., 61.
Geological research on Southeast Asia, including Thailand, has progressed rapidly since the 1980s. Bunopas (1982) clarified the geological formation process of the Indochina Peninsula. He proposed that two separate microcontinents, Shan-Thai and Indochina, were joined by collision after the Mesozoic era. The Shan-Thai includes western Thailand and the peninsula, eastern Myanmar, northwestern Laos, western Yunnan, western Malay Peninsula, and eastern Sumatra; the Indochina also includes northern Thailand, Cambodia, most of Laos, Vietnam, and eastern Malaysia. As a result of the collision of these microcontinents, a tectonic line called the Nan suture was formed. Although both microcontinents are thought to originate from Gondwana, detailed paleomagnetic, biogeographic, and stratigraphic information indicates that Indochina shows a strong affinity with the southern China block. It was also located adjacent to southern China and probably adjacent to the north-northeast of the Australian continent (e.g., Charusiri et al., 2002).
The history of the formation of Thailand, in conjunction with the development history of the Japanese islands and the Alps-Himalayan orogenic belt, has long been carried forward in research by UNESCO's International Geoscience Program (IGCP). IGCP Projects 224, 321, 411, 516, 589 and 710 (Pre-Jurassic Evolution of Eastern Asia (1985-1990); Gondwana Dispersion and Asian Accretion (1991-1997); Geodynamics of Gondwana-derived Terranes in E & S Asia (1998-2002); Geological Anatomy of East and South East Asia (2005-2009); Development of the Asian Tethyan Realm: Genesis, Process and Outcomes (2012-2017); Western Tethys meets Eastern Tethys(2020-2024). A portion of this is published, for example, in Metcalfe, Hisada et al. Guest Editors (2012).
Recently, the Khorat UNESCO World Geopark became the second one in Thailand to be approved. This geopark is located in Indochina and corresponds to the central Khorat Plateau of Cretaceous dinosaur bones-occurrence area. On the other hand, the Satun UNESCO World Geopark was certified in 2018 and is located in Satun, bordering Malaysia (Hisada, supervising translation), 2024). During the Paleozoic era, especially the Cambrian red sandstone and Ordovician limestones were widely developed, and the Ordovician limestone’s caves are known as some of the best in Southeast Asia due to their size and beauty. Therefore, the UNESCO Global Geopark in Thailand is based on the carbonate deposits (Shan-Thai) that developed on the continental shelf of Gondwana in the early Paleozoic Era, which broke up in the late Paleozoic Era, moved northward together with Indochina, which also split from Gondwana, and the two microcontinents collided. It was later incorporated into the Asian continent from the Triassic period onwards and became a habitat for dinosaurs mainly from the Cretaceous period onwards. In conclusion, Thailand's geoparks, unlike other global geoparks in Southeast Asia, are expected to play a major role in educating the general public in understanding the formation history of the eastern half of the Asian continent since the Paleozoic era.
Bunopas, S. (1982) Palaeogeographic history of Western Thailand and adjacent parts of Southwest Asia-a plate tectonics interpretation. Geological Survey paper, No.5, Geological Survey Division, Department of Mineral Resources, Thailand.
Charusiri, P., Daorerk, V., Archibald, D., Hisada, K. and Ampaiwan, T. (2002) Geotectonic Evolution of Thailand : A new synthesis. Jour. Geol. Soc. Thailand, No.1, 1-20.
Hisada, K. Supervised translation (2024) Satun UNESCO World Geopark (Photo album). Corp. Ltd. Dank.
Metcalfe, I., Hisada, K., Jin X. and Lee, C.P. Guest Editors (2012) Geological Anatomy of East and South Asia (Special Issue). Jour. Asian Earth Sci., 61.