Abstract

A new research programme, entitled “Metallogenesis, Hydrocarbons and Tectonic Patterns in East Asia”, has been initiated in the East Asia region as part of the International Decade of Ocean Exploration (IDOE). The programme is sponsored by the Committee for Co-ordination of Joint Prospecting for Mineral Resources in Asian offshore Areas (CCOP) and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC). Field research is presently underway by the United States and the CCOP member countries.

A major objective of the investigation is to gain a better understanding of the relationship between plate tectonics, evolution of island arc structures, and the origin of metalliferous ores and hydrocarbons within island arc systems. Central to this effort are comprehensive geological-geophysical studies planned along seven critically selected transects of the various East Asian island arcs.

As an introduction to this programme, existing knowledge of the structures along the transects is reviewed, and common features of island arcs, which may be evidence of general tectonic processes in island arc development, are described. Presently active tectonic zones, in and near the East Asian island arcs, are examined for evidence of how the origin of hydrocarbon and metal-bearing structures may have been influenced by plate tectonics.