南海海盆东-西部地质特征存在巨大差异

南海中部存在巨大的中南断裂将南海海盆分割为东-西两部分,至少自1亿年以来,在沉积环境与沉积厚度、洋陆边界的属性与特征、大陆破裂的时代、岩浆活动的来源与程度、减薄大陆架和大陆坡的宽度、洋壳年龄与磁性层结构、磁异常条带特征、岩石化学等诸多方面都存在巨大差异,它们主要受控于早期地质构造背景的差异、东西部大陆减薄伸展速率的变化以及海底扩张的构造环境的不同,并深刻影响了之后的区域沉积分区和沉降特征。     

The propagation of seafloor spreading in the southwestern subbasin, South China Sea

On the basis of the summary of basic characteristics of propagation, the dynamic model of the tectonic evolution in the South-western Subbasin (SWSB), South China Sea (SCS), has been established through high resolution multi-beam swatch bathymetry and multi-channel seismic profiles, combined with magnetic anomaly analysis. Spreading propagates from NE to SW and shows a transition from steady seafloor spreading, to initial seafloor spreading, and to continental rifting in the southwest end. The spreading in SWSB (SCS) is tectonic dominated, with a series of phenomena of inhomogeneous tectonics and sedimentation.     

南海海盆演变与深部海流

南海在距今34 Ma之前的始新世从陆地变为海洋,古水深不断加深,至距今24 Ma之前的中新世/渐新世之交,由于T60构造运动,南海海盆整体进入深海环境。但是,自中新世以来随着吕宋岛弧向欧亚板块碰撞,南海海盆的半封闭程度在距今10.0、6.5、3.0和1.2 Ma之前加剧,导致南海深部海水只能来自巴士海峡海槛深度2600 m以浅的太平洋。此后,巴士海峡两侧的南海与太平洋深部海水交换,由于全球海平面变化,呈现冰期/间冰期模式。     

南海深海盆的沉积充填

依据大洋钻探井及地震剖面资料,定量确定南海同扩张期和后扩张期深海盆沉积充填差异及沉积物来源变化。研究显示,南海深海盆自渐新世(32 Ma)开始形成,随着南海二次扩张海盆范围逐渐扩大,海盆内主要充填火山碎屑角砾岩及火山灰,碳酸盐岩、超微化石软泥,泥质粘土、粉砂质粘土、泥岩及粉细砂岩。深海盆充填主要沉积物为晚中新世(11.6Ma)以来的陆源碎屑沉积,丰富陆源碎屑的供给与南海闭合过程中同期区域构造事件(如青藏高原快速隆升、菲律宾板块俯冲)密切相关,也与晚中新世以来东亚季风增强以及源区强烈的风化剥蚀有关。     

The barrier layer in the southern region of the South China Sea

By analysing the CTD data in the southernregion of the South China Sea gathered during six cruisesbetween 1989 and 1999, a barrier layer with seasonalvariation just like what exists in the equatorial oceans isfound in this region. It is the first discovery in such amarginal sea yet. It is strong in autumn and a little weak in summer and winter. The thicker the barrier layer, the higher the average temperature of the upper mixed layer. The region with the thicker barrier layer overlaps the region with thehigher average temperature of the upper mixed layer, andaccords with the thicker region of the warm pool in the South China Sea got from the Levitus data. The barrier layer in the southern region of the South China Sea has significantinfluence on the heat storage of the upper ocean there.     

南海深水海山上的新发现

在国家自然科学基金委重大研究计划"南海深部计划"指导下,于2013—2019年期间,分别运用载人或遥控深潜器,针对南海深海盆中的部分海山开展了4个科学探测航次,在南海首次发现了大面积的高丰度铁锰结核分布区、"南溟"古热液区和惊人的冷水珊瑚生态林。这些发现不仅为深入认识南海不同时空尺度演化的复杂过程及相互作用开辟了新的研究领域,还探索实践了中国海洋高新技术发展与前沿基础科学研究紧密结合并相互促进的高效创新研究模式。     

南海成因模式述评

南海的构造演化与其周边的板块构造运动有密切关系,一直是地学研究的热点问题。现对中外学者关于南海成因模式的观点、模式进行综述分析,讨论涉及主动成因10种,被动类成因7种,涉及代表性观点20个,每一观点都能合理解释一些宏观地质现象,也都与另一些地质现象相悖,还需要进一步修正、发展或用新的资料来验证。这是南海研究日趋成熟的表现,未来将会逐渐各个学说融合发展。从史学的角度讨论了"南海观点"之演变,认为未来主要趋向是研究方法多元化、精细化、定量化,认为南海与周围地块之间主被动关系研究、东南亚盆地群响应序列之间对比、岩石圈结构学、区域岩石发展史、不同学说的动力学定量对比与评价是未来的主要研究关注点,并充分考虑外围被动因素,融合南海的发育历史,并将中生代南海的岩石圈禀赋及历史融于其中是南海成因模式研究的重要方向。     

南海生物礁碳酸盐台地演化

南海碳酸盐台地分布自早中新世开始发育,至中中新世达到鼎盛,再到晚中新世大量台地被淹没而逐渐消亡。从分布看,南海碳酸盐台地具有南早北晚、东早西晚的发育规律;从堆积速率看,中中新统速率最大。控制这些台地的诞生、发育演化和消亡的因素十分复杂,可能包括构造活动、相对海平面的变化、陆源碎屑物质输入变化、古海洋环境变化。     

Barrier layer in the northeastern South China Sea and its formation mechanism

A VERTICALLY UNIFORM LAYER OF TEMPERATURE(ISOTHERMAL LAYER),SALINITY(ISOHALINE LAYER)AND DENSITY(MIXED LAYER)IS USUALLY FORMED IN THE UPPER OCEAN DUE TO THE WIND STIRRING.UNDERNEATH IS THE LAYER WITH RELATIVELY STRONG VERTICAL GRADIENT AS THE THERMOCLINE,…     

新生代早期南海北部水系演变

珠江在早渐新世仅是涉及华南沿海地区的小河;到晚渐新世,向西延伸到云贵高原前缘地带;到中新世,现代珠江流域格局初步形成。证据显示,南海北部还发育过一条源自南海西部隆起区的大型水系-昆莺琼古河,后淹没在南海之中,但在南海的沉积充填过程中扮演了重要角色。南海北部水系及沉积环境的重建,对于深刻认识南海新生代早期古地理特征以及该地区的油气勘探均具有重要意义。     

Coastal seafloor observatory at Xiaoqushan in the East China Sea

The seafloor observation system is becoming an important infrastructure for marine research because it is transforming oceanic research from temporal investigation to long term observation.The East China Sea coastal seafloor observatory,located between 30°31′44″N,122°15′12″E and 30°31′34″N,122°14′40″E,is constructed near the Xiaoqushan Island outside the Hangzhou Bay on the inner continental shelf of the East China Sea.The observatory is connected by a submarine optical fiber composite power cable that is more than one kilometer long and consists of a special junction box that transmits power and communication signals to different instruments.The special junction box has a variety of waterproof plugs and connects to three different instruments installed in a trawl preventer.The submarine optical fiber composite power cable is landed on the platform by The East China Sea Branch,State Oceanic Administration and the power is continuously supplied by the solar panels and solar battery on the top of the platform.The real time data are directly sent through the cable to the platform and are transmitted by CDMA wireless to the receiver at the State Key Laboratory of Marine Geology of Tongji University.Measurements at the observatory have been taken since April 20,2009 after installation and the results have been interpreted.The characteristics of the near bottom boundary are constrained by a sediment suspension model using portion of the observed data.In particular,discussion is provided on the sea surface height anomaly at Xiaoqushan Island influenced by the tsunami driven by the 2010 Earthquake in Chile.The successful establishment of the coastal seafloor observatory is the first step toward future development of seafloor observation systems in China.It not only accumulates experiences in technology and engineering,but also paves the way for performing important oceanic research using the long term continuous observation platform.     

Recent progress of deep seismic experiments and studies of crustal structure in northern South China Sea

The South China Sea (SCS) is one of the largest marginal seas in the western Pacific. Its northern part has the features of a passive continental margin. The studies of deep crustal structure in this area are very important for understanding the tectonic nature, evolution history, basin formation of the northern margin, and the origin of the SCS. In the past decades, the deep seismic experiments of crustal studies in the northern SCS have gone through three stages, namely the sonobuoy, two-ship Expanding Spread Profile (ESP), and Ocean Bottom Hydrophone/Seismometer (OBH/OBS). Along the continental slope, the sonobuoy experiments provided useful information about the velocity structure of the upper crust, while the ESP data recorded for the first time the seismic signals from deep crustal structure and Moho interface. And the OBH/OBS profiles revealed the crustal structure in much greater detail. This paper first gives a brief historical review of these deep seismic experiments and studies, then a summary of the latest progress and important research results. The remaining problems and suggestions for further research work are presented as conclusive remarks.     

Cenozoic stratigraphy of Taiwan: Window into rifting, stratigraphy and paleoceanography of South China Sea

Shallow marine sequences of the northern South China Sea (SCS) are uplifted and exposed by plate convergence in the Taiwan mountain belt. These deposits provide detailed geological information about the rifting event, stratigraphy, sedimentology, paleoclimate and paleoceanography of the shallow SCS to compare with what are recorded in the ODP 1148 deep-sea core. Seismic surveys and marine micropalentological studies show that Eocene sequences in the offshore Taiwan Strait and onland Taiwan mountain belt are all deposited in rifting basins and are covered unconformably by the Late Oligocene-Neogene post-rifting strata. Between syn-rifting and post-rifting sequences, there is a regional break-up unconformity throughout the island. Early Oligocene and Late Eocene strata are missing along the break-up unconformity equivalent to the T7 unconformity in the Pearl River Mouth Basin off south China. This may suggest that the SCS oceanic crust could have initiated between 33 and 39 Ma. Neither obvious stratigraphic gap nor slumping features are found in the Oligocene-Miocene transition interval of Taiwan. This observation highly contrasts with what has been documented from the ODP 1148 deep-sea core. This suggests that the stratigraphic gap and slumping features could only be recorded in the SCS deep sea region, but not in the shallow shelf near Taiwan. Compared to the Middle Miocene paleoceanographic re-organization events in the SCS deep sea, the geological history of the Taiwan shallow sequence shows changes of in sedimentation and faunal composition. Due to the Antarctic glacial expansion at~14 Ma, Middle to late Miocene strata of the Western Foothills show progressive regression sedimentations associated with a decrease of benthic foraminif-eral abundance and a sharp faunal turnover event. Many Early-Middle Miocene endemic benthic foraminifers were extinct in 14-13 Ma and new benthic foraminifers of the Kuroshio Current fauna appeared from 10.2 Ma, comparable with new occurrence of Modern benthic foraminifers at 9 Ma in the Java Sea area. This reveals that the Western Boundary Kuroshio Current in the North Pacific could initiate from 10-9 Ma due to closures of the Indo-Pacific seaways by convergent tectonics between the Australian Continent and the Indonesian Arc in 12-8 Ma. Subduction of the SCS oceanic lithosphere since the Middle Miocene resulted in formation of the Hengchun Ridge accretionary prism and the North Luzon Arc. Occurrence of these two bathymetric highs ( 2400 m) since the Middle Miocene and closures of the inter-arc passages in the North Luzon arc in the last 3.5 Ma would control the water exchanges between the West Pacific and the deep SCS. Accordingly, the tectonic evolution in the Central Range-Hengchun Peninsula accretionary prism and the arc-forearc Coastal Range not only control directly the route for water exchanges between the West Pacific and the SCS, but also indirectly shows a great influence on the geochemistry of deep SCS waters. The latter is best shown by much negative carbon isotope values of benthic foraminifers in the ODP 1148 deep-sea core than the West Pacific records in the last 14 Ma.     

琼东南盆地深水区长昌凹陷构造演化及其对层序样式的控制

运用平衡剖面技术对长昌凹陷的3条典型地震测线进行平衡复原,揭示长昌凹陷不同构造演化阶段的同沉积构造活动及其所形成的古构造格架,通过对凹陷内次级古构造单元及其演化类型的识别,综合分析构造演化对层序样式的控制,构建研究区沉积层序综合演化模式。研究结果表明:长昌凹陷的构造格局依次经历了始新世-早渐新世断陷期、晚渐新世断坳转换期和新近纪坳陷期3个发展阶段,由此产生了3个具有不同古构造格架背景的盆地原型相互叠加。在裂陷Ⅰ幕和裂陷Ⅱ幕主要发育上倾坡脚型断裂陡坡带层序样式和多级陡坡断阶带层序样式,而裂陷Ⅲ幕发育下倾坡脚型断裂陡坡带层序样式和多级缓坡断阶带层序样式,在裂后热沉降阶段主要发育断裂型挠曲带层序样式以及少量下倾坡脚型断裂陡坡带层序样式,而裂后加速沉降阶段则发育简单挠曲带层序样式。与断坡带和挠曲带相关的大型低位三角洲、低位扇以及下切谷充填是长昌凹陷构造岩性或岩性油气藏的有利发育区。     

Rifting process and formation mechanisms of syn-rift stage prolongation in the deepwater basin,northern South China Sea

Based on the latest seismic and geological data, tectonic subsidence of three seismic lines in the deepwater area of Pearl River Mouth Basin （PRMB）, the northern South China Sea （SCS）, is calculated. The result shows that the rifting process of study area is different from the typical passive continental margin basin. Although the seafloor spreading of SCS initiated at 32 Ma, the tectonic subsidence rate does not decrease but increases instead, and then decreases at about 23 Ma, which indicates that the rifting continued after the onset of seafloor spreading until about 23 Ma. The formation thickness ex- hibits the same phenomenon, that is the syn-rift stage prolonged and the post-rift thermal subsidence delayed. The formation mechanisms are supposed to be three： （1） the lithospheric rigidity of the northern SCS is weak and its ductility is relatively strong, which delayed the strain relaxation resulting from the seafloor spreading; （2） the differential layered independent extension of the lithosphere may be one reason for the delay of post-rift stage; and （3） the southward transition of SCS spreading ridge during 24 to 21 Ma and the corresponding acceleration of seafloor spreading rate then triggered the initiation of large-scale thermal subsidence in the study area at about 23 Ma.     

南海东北部陆缘基底磁异常反演与解释

在对南海东北部陆缘的磁场资料展开多尺度分析处理的基础上,结合中生代深度资料,反演求取了前中生代基底的视磁化强度分布.通过对现有综合钻井和地震等资料进行综合分析,论述了基底视磁化强度分布,推测研究区视磁化强度高值带北段可能受制于陆壳,而南段特高值则可能是受次洋壳的改造作用,研究区西部的视磁化强度低值区是一套古生代浅变质岩系,视磁化强度负值区的潮汕坳陷及其东南部基底具有洋壳或准洋壳性质.     

Seasonal features of the Sverdrup circulation in the South China Sea

Based on the Sverdrup relation, using climatological wind stress data, the basin scale Sverdrup transport in the South China Sea(SCS) is calculated and the basic seasonal features of the Sverdrup circulation are obtained. A comparison of these calculated features with observations proves that the wind-driven circulation in the SCS is very important for the formation of the SCS upper oceanic circulation in winter, summer and fall. It is shown that the non-uniform sea surface wind is one of the causes to form multi circulation centers in the basin of the SCS. The westward current at 18°N is caused by the local wind, which is stronger in fall and winter. The seasonal variation of circulation in the southern SCS is much more remarkable than that in the north. The wind in spring is helpful to the seasonal reversal of the circulation in the central SCS. The northward transport of the cyclonic circulation reaches the maximum in fall.     

Distribution and identification of the low-velocity layer in the northern South China Sea

The low-velocity layer (LVL), closely related with tectonic activities and dynamic settings, has always been a hot topic in the deep crustal structure studies. The deep seismic (OBS/OBH) and onshore-offshore experiments have been extensively implemented in the northern South China Sea (SCS) since the 1990s. Six seismic profiles were finished on the northern margin of SCS by domestic and international cooperations. The features of crustal structures were revealed and five velocity-inversion layers were discovered. Among them three LVLs with 3.0—3.5 km?s^-1 velocity are located in the sedimentary structure (2.0—6.0 km in depth and 2.0—4.6 km in thickness) of the Yinggehai Basin and Pearl River Mouth Basin. They were identified by the reflective and refractive phases for their shallow depth. The other two LVLs with 5.5—6.0 km?s^-1 velocity generally existed in the middle crust (7.0—18.0 km in depth) with an about 2.5—6.0 km thickness in the transitional crustal structure of the northeastern and northwestern SCS. They were detected by the refractive phase from their overlain and underlying layers. We explored the possible tectonic formation mechanisms combining with previously reported results, which provided evidence for the formation and evolution of SCS.     

Distribution and identification of the low-velocity layer in the northern South China Sea

The low-velocity layer (LVL), closely related with tectonic activities and dynamic settings, has always been a hot topic in the deep crustal structure studies. The deep seismic (OBS/OBH) and onshore-offshore experiments have been extensively implemented in the northern South China Sea (SCS) since the 1990s. Six seismic profiles were finished on the northern margin of SCS by domestic and international cooperations. The features of crustal structures were revealed and five velocity-inversion layers were discovered. Among them three LVLs with 3.0—3. 5 km·s-1 velocity are located in the sedimentary structure (2.0—6.0 km in depth and 2.0—4. 6 km in thickness) of the Yinggehai Basin and Pearl River Mouth Basin. They were identified by the reflective and refractive phases for their shallow depth. The other two LVLs with 5.5—6.0 km·s-1 velocity generally existed in the middle crust (7.0—18.0 km in depth) with an about 2.5—6.0 km thickness in the transitional crustal structure of the northeastern and northwestern SCS. They were detected by the refractive phase from their overlain and underlying layers. We explored the possible tectonic formation mechanisms combining with previously reported results, which provided evidence for the formation and evolution of SCS.