[M-IS17] New frontiers in geology

[MIS17-P01] Structural geology: Fascination of quantitative data from outcrops: Part 2

★Invited Papers

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

Keywords:Fault, Fold, Deformation, Stress, Dynamics

Structural geology is a branch of geology that studies the mechanical processes of movement and deformation of the Earth's crust and rocks. It is a discipline that begins with a natural history approach, describing the diverse natural phenomena on Earth to identify patterns, and then seeks to quantitatively understand the events occurring on Earth based on these patterns. It is crucial to determine what factors influence movements and deformations, under what conditions, and in what ways. In particular, these phenomena are spatially and temporally heterogeneous, and a major challenge is to theoretically explain how multiple effects interact and contribute to their understanding. Returning to the natural history approach, for example, fractures that develop in rocks can be examined not only in terms of their presence or absence in an outcrop but also in terms of their spatial distribution, quantity, and variability. The ability to uncover these aspects through one's own field investigation is one of the key attractions of structural geology. The data obtained in this way are not only valuable for structural geological studies but also serve as essential keys to advancing our understanding of various phenomena in geophysics, geochemistry, geomorphology, hydrology, and other related fields. Therefore, structural geological research plays an important role in integrating knowledge accumulated in different disciplines and facilitating cross-disciplinary discussions at forums such as JpGU. In this presentation, we will introduce several case studies focusing on outcrop-scale structural geology and highlight the appeal of obtaining quantitative data from outcrop-scale structures.