Paradoxes in Geology

An interesting volume presenting the papers collected for the Festschrift "Paradoxes in Modern Geology" in honor of Professor Ken Jinghwa Hsu on the occasion of his 70th birthday.

Paradox, as defined in a dictionary, is a statement contrary to accepted opinion. That a broad discussion of paradoxes is fruitful for the advancement of science in general, and geosciences in particular, has been amply demonstrated by Professor Hsu throughout his distinguished career. Not only has he propelled the geoscience community forward with his controversial statements, a number of his former students, who are currently in key positions at universities and in industry, are influencing in a similar open minded way the present day thinking. The wide scope this reasoning encompasses is demonstrated by the contributions to this book, delineating paradoxes and problems in the fields of tectonics, basic and applied geosciences, petrology, paleoceanography, paleoclimatology and paleogeography, kinematics and modelling.

Introduction

1. Ken Hsu and paradoxes of modern geology (Shu Sun).
2. The editors' forewords (U. Briegel, Wen-Jiao Xiao). Tectonics
3. The paradox of geosyncline hypothesis and orogenic analysis (Ji-Liang Li).
4. The early Mesozoic collapse of the late Paleozoic archipelago in South China (Wen-Jiao Xiao).
5. Mesozoic tectonics of Fujian, Eastern China (Zuyi Zhou).
6. Songpan-Garze Belt: forearc accretion or backarc collapsing? (Guitang Pan).
7. Rotational collision and the Tan-Lu transform fault (Qingchen Wang).
8. The paradox of an ocean-dipping Benioff Zone-example from Taiwan (Chia-Yu Lu).
9. Thin-skinned plate tectonics: The re-invention of a crazy idea (P. Finckh).
10. Oil in holes-in-the-continent (Relict Oceanic Basins) (S. Aplanov).
11. Structural rocks: Stratigraphic implications (C. Sengör). Mechanics of Overthrusting and Landsliding
12. Rock mechanics and the paradox of overthrusting mechanics (U. Briegel).
13. The flow of giant landslides (C.R. Kilburn). Petrology
14. Concepts that led to mechanisms of movement of mass and energy in earth (F.W. Dickson).
15. Crystallisation histories of alkaline intrusions in West Texas (M.F. Carman).
16. A paradox - The ultramafic rock belt as a metamorphosed tectonic melange in northern Dabie Mountains (Shutong Xu).
17. Nd isotopes vs. Ken Hsu's tectonic facies (Xin-Hua Zhou). Paleogeography, Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology
18. The messinian salinity crisis in the Mediterranean (M.-B. Cita).
19. A review of the catastrophic extinction at the end of Cretaceous and its scientific implications (Qixiang He).
20. The oldest biogenous pelagi