Detailed research on constraints of metamorphic mineral stability fields allows accurate inference of previous regional thermal and barometric conditions.
Paired metamorphic belts are the product of subducted colder crustal rocks, which are taken to depth, metamorphosed and then exhumed.
Paired metamorphic belts permit the inference of subduction directions and relative plate motions at various points in the past.
Whereas the Hidaka/Kamuikotu paired metamorphic belt on the western coast of Japan exhibits opposite orientation, indicating a different subduction direction.
[4] In recent years, greater knowledge of processes along convergent plate boundaries has caused skepticism about this simplistic model.