Thinking on Chinese tectonics——Duty and responsibility of Chinese geologists

The geosyncline-platform theory prevalent from the middle decades of the 19^th century to the middle of the 20^th century was established on the basis of the research on the geology of Europe and eastern North America in the Atlantic hemisphere by western geoscientists. The theory of plate tectonics that originated in the 1960s was grounded on geological and geophysical surveys of modern oceans. However, the earliest explanation for continental tectonics used by plate tectonics was based on the analysis of the Paleozoic orogenic belts of Europe and North America on both sides of the Atlantic. It is obvious that the tectonics theories and models based on the research results of Europe and North America are not comprehensive in that valuable geological data and information of Asia in the Pacific hemisphere, especially those of China and its adjacent areas, are not included. Through the compilation of the International Geological Map of Asia at a 1:5, 000, 000 scale (IGMA5000) and comparative studies of global tectonics, the authors have found that China and its adjacent areas situated in the center of Asia are the most complex region in geological structure and evolutionary processes during the Phanerozoic in Asia, even in the world. The Ural-Mongolia-Hinggan Paleozoic orogenic belt in the Paleo-Asian tectonic domain is the largest in scale, the longest in evolution history, and the most complicated in geological structure on the earth. Southwestern China, especially the Tibetan Plateau, has the biggest exposure width, and possesses the most complete geological records within the Tethyan orogenic belt on the globe. The Pacific domain of eastern China is characterized both by the East Asian margin Mesozoic orogenic belt and the West Pacific Cenozoic trench-arc-basin system, and by the wide marginal Pacific pericontinental reactivated zone. All of these characteristics make China and its adjacent areas the most necessary locality in carrying out the Phanerozoic tectonic research. We, Chinese geoscientists, must use to the best regional advantage of China in global tectonic research, with the multisphere tectonic view of earth system serving as a guide in studying the tectonics of China and make our contribution to the development of international geoscience and the improvement of modern tectonic theory.