Bouguer Gravity anomalies (ver. 2004) of Japanese Island Arcs and its adjacent seas

The Hydrographic and Oceanographic Department of Japan have been conducted marine gravity surveys since 1965. Based on theses survey results, precise Bouguer gravity anomaly maps of the Japanese Island arcs and its adjacent seas were compiled by a newly developed terrain correction method (Ueda, 2003). Topographic mesh data with the size of 10” x 10” are used as basic mesh data for the terrain corrections of marine gravity survey data with line spacing about 2 mile or less, and 30” x 30” size mesh data for the marine gravity survey data at a scale of 1/500,000. For interpolations of the depths within a rectangular area defined by the 4 basic mesh data points, a weighted gradient interpolation method was used. Japanese island arcs and its adjacent continental shelf regions are covered by 6 sheets of Lambert’s conformal conic projection maps. Besides, the small scale gravity anomaly maps covering whole Japanese islands and its adjacent seas including the Shikoku basin, west Philippine sea, and the northwestern part of the Pacific ocean are also compiled in two sheets. These gravity maps recover the characteristic features of the gravity anomalies as described hereafter. (1) In the Tohoku Japan arc, a relative positive Bouguer anomaly zone runs in N-S in parallel to the Japan trench. This positive zone is separated into two zones at about N38˚00’, E141˚40’, incorespondig to the seaward extension of the Nanbu-Kitagami geological complex. (2) In the Suruga bay, contour lines of Bouguer anomalies are deflected northward sharply, which suggests the uplift of the lower crust beneath the Izu peninsula region. The local Bouguer anomaly highs are recognized in the inner region of the Nankai trough, such as in the vicinity of Shiono-Misaki Cape, MurotoMisaki and Ashizuri-Misaki Cape, and in the southwest of the Tosa Bay. These anomalies may be related with the zonation of the subducting Philippine plate. (3) Bouguer anomalies over the Okinawa trough show a convex feature reflecting the uplift of the lower crust, however, the maximum Bouguer anomaly value (~160mGal) itself is much less than that of the usual oceanic crust, which indicates the existence of the continental crust beneath the Okinawa trough. (4) In the Izu-Ogasawara arc, a high Bouguer anomaly zone is recognized in the fore-arc region, which continues southward to the Bouguer anomaly high associated with the Ogasawara ridge. In the northern arc, Bouguer anomalies decrease step-wisely toward the inner arc, showing two sharp gradient zones to the east of the volcanic front. The across-arc boundaries separating the Izu-Ogasawara arc also confirmed, one is the “Torishima-seiho tectonic line” connecting the places around N30˚30’, E140˚30’ and N29˚40’, E139˚00’ and another is the “Nishinoshima tectonic line” connecting N27˚50’, E141˚00’ and N26˚, E140˚00’, respectively. (5) Bouguer anomalies in the northern part of the Shikoku basin decrease eastward with gentle gradient, and, Free-air anomalies, oppositely, increase eastward. The relative Bouguer anomaly lows are recognized over the Amami Plateau, Daito Ridge, Oki-daito Ridge as well as Kyusyu Palau ridge, which may suggest the existence of the continental crusts beneath these ridges. The Bouguer anomalies associated with basins are as follows; Kikai basin is +320mGal, Kita-Daito basin is 300~370mGal, Minami-Daito basin is 270~330mGal and that of the Philippine basin in the south of the Oki-Daito Ridge is 370~380mGal respectively. These variations reveal the different thickness of the oceanic crusts. In the Philippine basin, The gravity features change drastically at the line connecting the places around N24˚, E131˚ and N21˚, E129˚, which may imply the tectonic line separating the Philippine basin in eastern and western part. Key wards: Bouguer gravity anomaly, Free-air gravity anomaly, Japan trench, Japan arc, Suruga trough, Nankai trough, Izu-Ogasawara arc, Okinawa trough, Shikoku basin, Amami Plateau, Daito ridge, Oki-Daito ridge, Kyusyu-Palau ridge, Philippine basin.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Ueda, Yoshio
Format: Journal Contribution biblioteca
Language:Japanese
Published: 2005
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1834/15712
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