Book Description

This book, written by a group of internationally known experts, describes the evolution of the Pacific Ocean margins in terms of their interaction with oceanic plates. The work reflects changes in recent years in accepted views concerning the evolution of these margins. It is now thought that much of the crust of the margins may have grown through the gradual addition of discrete terranes of "foreign origin"--that is, of earth materials transported from other locations by tectonic processes. The margins discussed are those of western North America, Asia, Japan, Eastern China, Southeast Asia, New Zealand, and South America. Also reviewed are the general concepts of oceanic plateaus and transported terranes, and the past motion of the Pacific Ocean Plate.