Evolution of the South China Sea and monsoon history revealed in deep-sea records

As the third summary report of ODP Leg 184 to the South China Sea (SCS), this paper discusses the evolution of the East Asian monsoon and the SCS basin. A multi-proxy approach, involving geochemistry, micropale-ontology, pollen and other analyses, was adopted for reconstructing the evolutionary history of the East Asian monsoon, which was characterized by a series of paleo-climate events especially at 8, 3.2, 2.2 and 0.4 Ma. The new record indicates similar stages in the development of the East and South Asian monsoons, with an enhanced winter monsoon over East Asia being the major difference. The rich spectrums of monsoon variability from the southern SCS also reveal other characteristic features of the low latitude ocean. Evidence for the evolution of the SCS includes the hemipelagic Oligocene sediments, implying the existence of deep water environments during the early seafloor spreading stage of the SCS basin. The four major unconformities and some remarkabl ediagenetic features in upper Oligocene deposits indicate the strongest tectonic events in the region. From a careful comparison of lithologies and sedimentation rates, we conclude that the prominent differences in sedimentary environments between the southern and northern SCS were established only by ～3 Ma.     

Advances in research on the deep South China Sea circulation

Deep sea circulation is important for world climate and has been a substantial research area in ocean science, leading to various breakthroughs and discoveries. With the rapid advance in research on ocean science, these matters have received increasing attention from the oceanography community. In this article, we attempt to convey the progress made in recent years. We first provide an overview of existing observations, theories, and simulations of deep South China Sea circulation. Finally, we discuss remaining issues.     

Deep-sea pollen research in China

This paper briefly presents the progress of deep-sea pollen research in China since the beginning of ninetieths of the last Century. All the deep-sea pollen contri-butions mainly come from the South China Sea (SCS) and the East China Sea (ECS). The German-Chinese joint cruise (Sonne 95) and ODP 184 cruise initiated by Chinese scientists in the SCS provided excellent material for the deep-sea pollen research. So far a number of pollen results of 20-30 ka and million years from the SCS have been published. A couple of deep-sea pollen records from Okinawa Through of the ECS also came out. The high resolution pollen records obtained from the continuous deposits with high sedimentation rates and reliable age control of the deep-sea sediments provided a high time resolution history (hundred to millennial scales) of vegetation, environment and monsoon evolution of the pollen source areas (southern China and Japan). Spectral analysis of deep-sea pollen records from the SCS discovered orbital (100, 41, 23, 10 ka) and suborbital cyclicities(Heinrich and Dansgaard/Oscheger-O/D events) in the vegetation changes. Moreover, cross spectral analysis showed that the trend of vegetation changes in northern SCS was regulated mainly by changes of the ice volume in the Northern Hemisphere. The pollen record of the last 20 ka from the Okinawa Through of the ECS indicates that the marine environmental change lagged that on the terrestrail by about 1000 year. The asynchronous environmental changes between land and sea were probably caused by the time difference in thermohaline circulation. This study underscored the role of the deep-sea plant fossils as a bridge across the land and sea.     

Clay minerals in surface sediments of the Pearl River drainage basin and their contribution to the South China Sea

Clay minerals have played a significant role in the study of the East Asian monsoon evolution in the South China Sea by being able to track oceanic current variations and to reveal contemporaneous paleoclimaUc changes prevailing in continental source areas. As one of the most important rivers inputting terrigenous matters to the northern South China Sea, the Pearl River was not previously paid attention to from the viewpoint of clay mineralogy. This paper presents a detailed study on clay minerals in surface sediments collected from the Pearl River drainage basin （including all three main channels, various branches, and the Lingdingyang in the estuary） by using the X-ray diffraction （XRD） method. The results indicate that the clay mineral assemblage consists dominantly of kaolinite （35%-65%）, lesser abundance of chlorite （20%-35%） and illite （12%-42%）, and very scare smectite occurrences （generally 〈5%）. Their respective distribution does not present any obvious difference throughout the Pearl River drainage basin. However, downstream the Pearl River to the northern South China Sea, the clay mineral assemblage varies significantly： kaolinite decreases gradually, smecUte and illite increase gradually. Additionally, illite chemistry index steps down and illite crystallinity steps up. These variations indicate the contribution of major kaolinite, lesser illite and chlorite, and very scarce smecUte to the northern South China Sea from the Pearl River drainage basin. The maximum contribution of clay minerals from the Pearl River is 72% to the northern margin and only 15% to the northern slope of the South China Sea. In both glacials and interglacials, kaolinite indicates that the ability of mechanical erosion occurred in the Pearl River drainage basin.     

Sources and transportation of suspended matter and sediment in the southern Yellow Sea： Evidence from stable carbon isotopes

The concentrations of total suspended matter (TSM) and the compositions of organic stable carbon isotopes of TSM and bottom sediments were analyzed to study the sources of TSM and sediments and the transportation processes. For this study, 284 TSM samples and 64 sediment ones taken from 67 stations along 7 transects and in 5 layers were collected in the southern Yellow Sea on the cruise in May, 1998. The main sediment transportation pattern in the southern Yellow Sea was obtained by analyzing the distribution characteristics of TSM concentration and particulate organic carbon δ^13C values. It was confirmed from the pattern that the bottom layer plays a more important role than the surface one in the transportation processes of terrigenous material to the central deep-water area of the southern Yellow Sea. The Yellow Sea circulation is an important control factor in determining the sediment transportation pattern in the southern Yellow Sea. The carbon isotope signals of sedimentary organic matter confirmed that the main material in sediments with high sedimentation rate in the Shandong subaqueous delta originated from the modern Yellow River.The terrigenous sediments in the deep-water area of the southern Yellow Sea are mainly from the abandoned Yellow River and the modern Yellow River, and a small portion of them are from the modern Yangtze material. The amount of terrigenous material from Korean Peninsula and its influence range are relatively limited. The conclusions derived from TSM and stable carbon isotopes were further confirmed by another independent material source tracer--PAHs.     

Sources and transportation of suspended matter and sediment in the southern Yellow Sea: Evidence from stable carbon isotopes

The concentrations of total suspended matter (TSM) and the compositions of organic stable carbon iso- topes of TSM and bottom sediments were analyzed to study the sources of TSM and sediments and the transportation processes. For this study, 284 TSM samples and 64 sediment ones taken from 67 stations along 7 transects and in 5 layers were collected in the southern Yellow Sea on the cruise in May, 1998. The main sediment transportation pattern in the southern Yellow Sea was obtained by analyzing the distribu- tion characteristics of TSM concentration and particulate organic carbon δ~(13)C values. It was confirmed from the pat- tern that the bottom layer plays a more important role than the surface one in the transportation processes of terrigenous material to the central deep-water area of the southern Yel- low Sea. The Yellow Sea circulation is an important control factor in determining the sediment transportation pattern in the southern Yellow Sea, The carbon isotope signals of sedi- mentary organic matter confirmed that the main material in sediments with high sedimentation rate in the Shandong subaqueous delta originated from the modern Yellow River. The terrigenous sediments in the deep-water area of the southern Yellow Sea are mainly from the abandoned Yellow River and the modern Yellow River, and a small portion of them are from the modern Yangtze material. The amount of terrigenous material from Korean Peninsula and its influen- ce range are relatively limited. The conclusions derived from TSM and stable carbon isotopes were further confirmed by another independent material source tracer-PAHs.     

Trends of sea level rise in the South China Sea during the 1990s: An altimetry result

Using 7 years of TOPEX/POSEIDON satellite altimetry data, we have identified a general trend of sea level rising in the South China Sea between January 1993 and December 1999. The estimated bulk rising rate of the entire basin is -1 cm/a. The rise of sea level appears to be spatially non-homogeneous, which shows a highest rate of 2.7 cm/a in the deep basin west of Luzon and generally low (even negative) rates over the shallow continental shelves. It is believed that the observed rapid rising of sea level is a regional phenomenon and is mainly caused by warming of the upper layer of the South China Sea, which showed a bulk warming rate of 0.15℃/a in the same period. It is also suggested that the observed rising trend is mainly a decadal signal, which is possibly associated with decadal variation of the Pacific warm pool region.     

Evolution of the East Asian monsoon and its response to uplift of the Tibetan Plateau since 1.8 Ma recorded by major elements in sediments of the South China Sea

Evolution of the East Asian monsoon and its response to uplift of the Tibetan Plateau has been investigated in the study of global change. Core sediment samples drilled in the South China Sea during ODP Leg184 are the best materials for studying long-term variability of the East Asian monsoon. R-mode factor analysis of major elements in the fine grain-sized carbonate-free sediments (<4 μm) of the upper 185 mcd splice of ODP Site 1146 drilled during Leg184 in the South China Sea shows that Ti, TFe2O3, MgO, K2O, P, CaO, and Al2O3 are representative of a terrestrial factor. The variation in the terrestrial factor score is subject to chemical erosion in the source region and thus indicates the evolution of the East Asian summer monsoon. The terrestrial factor score has three stepwise decreases at ~1.3 Ma, ~0.9 Ma, and ~0.6 Ma, indicating the phased weakening of the East Asian summer monsoon is related to wholly stepwise, quick uplifts of the Tibetan Plateau since 1.8 Ma. The periodic fluctuation of the terrestrial factor score since ~0.6 Ma indicates that the glacial-interglacial cycles have been the main force driving the evolution of the East Asian monsoon. As in the case of Chinese loess, the long-term evolution of the East Asian monsoon recorded in sediments of the South China Sea reflects a coupled effect of the glacial-interglacial cycle and uplift of the Tibetan Plateau.     

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.     

Geochemistry of Pore Water and Associated Diagenetic Reactions in the Diapiric Area of Yinggehai Basin,Northwestern South China Sea

This study examined the geochemical features of pore water in the diapiric area of the Yinggehai Basin, northwestern South China Sea, and illuminated the origin and evolution of basin flu-ids. Pore wat...     

Mo isotopes in the Lower Cambrian formation of southern China and its implications on paleo-ocean environment

Over the past decade, as one of nontraditional stable isotopes, Mo isotope has developed rapidly and now become an important geochemical proxy to trace paleo-oceanic and atmospheric evolution through geological history. In this paper, Early Cambrian formations in southern China are investigated. The results indicate that δ 97/95Mo values of Early Cambrian seawater may have been larger than 1.4‰, values that are close to those of the modern ocean. It was also found that the variations in Mo isotope composition in samples from two sections （Huangjiawan and Gezhongwu in Guizhou） were closely related to changes in redox conditions during sedimentary processes. Combining our results with existing data, a preliminary model for the evolution of seawater Mo isotope composition through geological history was provided. It indicated that Mo isotopic variations were generally consistent with the evolution of atmospheric oxygen.     

An important form of basin-mountain coupling： Orogenic belt and flank basin

Orogeny is always associated with the erosion and sediments carried by both transverse and longitudinal river systems. Those two river systems transport sediments into foreland or hinterland basin and flank basin.Longitudinal river systems prevail in and around the Tibetan Plateau due to the fact that they flow parallel to the strike of structures within the developing mountain belt.The flank basins surrounded the Tibetan Plateau and adjacent areas are developed in different tectonic settings, including inland,continental margin and deep ocean, most of them containing oil and natural gas. Those basins not only have longer evolution histories than foreland basins but also are more complete in their records of deposition. Coupling of orogeny and flank basin deposition also occurred widely in pre-Cenozoic time,in particular, the coupling between the Qinling orogenic belt and Songpan-Ganzi flysch flank basin is the most distinctive.The evolution of ancient latitudinal rivers derived from the Qinling orogenic belt during periods of mountain building was controlled not only by landforms but also by the lateral extrusion of the crustal fragments.     

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.     

Opening and evolution of the South China Sea constrained by studies on volcanic rocks: Preliminary results and a research design

The South China Sea (SCS) is characterized by abundant seamounts, which provide important information about the evolution of the SCS and related deep processes. Cenozoic volcanism in the SCS and its surroundings comprises three stages relative to the spreading of the SCS:prespreading (>32 Ma), syn-spreading (32-16 Ma), and post-spreading (<16 Ma). The pre-spreading magmatism predominantly occurs on the northern margin of the SCS and in South China coastal areas and shows a bi-modal affinity. The syn-spreading magmatic activity was very limited on the periphery of the SCS, but may be concentrated in the SCS. However, seafloor samples of this stage are not available yet because of overlying thick sedimentary deposits. Post-spreading magmatism is widespread in the central and southwest sub-basins of the SCS, Hainan Island, Leizhou Peninsula, Thailand, and Vietnam. These are mainly alkali basalts with subordinate tholeiites, and display OIB-type geochemical characteristics. The Dupal isotope anomaly and presence of high-magnesian olivine phenocrysts suggests their possible derivation from the Hainan mantle plume. The temporal and spatial distribution of Cenozoic volcanism in the SCS and its surroundings may be accounted for either by plate stress re-organization before and after SCS spreading, or by ridge suction of plume flow during opening of the SCS. If the latter is the case, the volcanic rocks within the SCS basin may not be typical mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB). It remains puz-zling, however, that the transition between the South China continental margin and the SCS basin does not have features typical of a volcanic rifted margin. Clearly, the relationship between mantle plume and SCS opening needs further evaluation. A better un-derstanding of the link between deep processes and opening of the SCS not only requires enhanced studies on igneous petrogene-sis, but also is heavily dependent on systematic sampling of seafloor rocks.     

Evolutionary mechanism of water cycle and efficient utilization of water resources in the Haihe River Basin

Water cycle in the river basin constitutes the objective basis of water resources evolution. Whatever their manifestations, water resources problems can all attribute to the imbalances caused by the evolution of water cycle or its associated processes in the river basin. Various types of water activities for solution to water problems are in nature a regulation of "natural-social" dualistic water cycle or its associated processes in the river basin. China is one of those countries which are faced with the most violent water cycle evolution and serious water problems with the Haihe River Basin as the     

Passive-source ocean bottom seismograph （OBS） array experiment in South China Sea and data quality analyses

Long-term passive source ocean bottom seis- mograph （OBS） observatory is challenging due to various technical difficulties. In order to gain experience in this field, and to reveal the lithospheric structure beneath the extinct ridge in the central South China Sea （SCS）, we carried out a passive source OBS array experiment, which includes 18 OBSs, in the deep portion of SCS. Here we present the instrumentation, the OBS deployment and recovery of this experiment, and more importantly, the data quality evaluated by a number of approaches. Through processing and inspecting waveforms from global, regional and local earthquakes, we find that most of recovered OBSs have good data quality with discernible main phases. The ambient noise analyses of OBS recordings show that their noise is higher than the global average, and the horizontal component is noisier than the vertical, indicating current impacts on horizontal components are more severe. In the period range of 5-10 s, there is a noise notch for the SCS OBSs, and noise levels of horizontal components are comparable to the vertical. This feature, which is not seen at OBS stations in open ocean, suggests the distant sources for double frequency microseism in this marginal sea are not significant. In addition, we successfully determined the orientations for 7 OBSs by investigating their Rayleigh wave polarizations; and we demonstrated the dispersion feature of Rayleigh waves through the frequency-time analysis. Finally, we summarized lessons learned from this experiment regarding the passive source OBS investiga- tions in SCS.     

Deep-water Oligocene pollen record from South China Sea

Leg 184 of ODP recovered a record of deepwater sediments spanning the past 32.8 Ma from the South China Sea (SCS). The sediments of the Ofigocene (32.8-23.8 Ma) at Site 1148 contain relatively abundant fossil pollen. The pollen analysis at Site 1148 has established the first pollen assemblage sequence of deep-water Oligocene in the China Sea. The pollen assemblages of the Ofigocene are dominated by montane conifer tree pollen. The abundances of broad-leaved tree pollen are lower in the assemblages.Both of the montane conifer and broad-leaved tree pollen groups include mainly tropical-subtropical components. The pollen of cold and drought-enduring plants is present in lower content. The distinct change in pollen assemblage sequence of deep-water Oligocene of the SCS occurred at 32.0 Ma, indicative of an important shift of the Oligocene climate in the SCS region. The characteristics of the pollen flora of the deep-water Oligocene indicate the tropical montane ralnforest and lowland ralnforest developed on the areas around the SCS before 32.0 Ma, reflecting the warm and wet climatic condition. In the pollen flora of the Oligocene after 32.0 Ma, the temperate montane conifer and cool and drought-en- during deciduous tree taxa remarkably increased, indicating that the climate in the SCS region became comparatively cool and dry.     

Identification and analysis of shear waves recorded by three-component OBSs in northeastern South China Sea

Structure models associated with P- and S-wave velocities contain considerable amount of information on lithology and geophysical properties, which can be used to better understand the complexity of the deep crustal structure. However, records of converted shear waves are less due to the speciality of seismic survey at sea and the rigorous generated conditions. The study on shear waves has always been a weakness for studying the deep crustal structures of South China Sea （SCS）. In this paper, eleven three-component OBSs were deployed along the Profile OBS-2001 in northeastern SCS. After the data processing of polarization and band-pass filter, converted S-wave phases were identified in the radical component records of nine OBSs. Taking the OBS7 as an example, identification and analysis of converted shear waves were presented and discussed in detail. A few phase groups, such as PwSc, PgSs, PnSc, ProS, and PwSn, were found coming from the deep crust or Moho interface by simple theoretical model calculation and ray-tracing simulation. The results not only provide the underlying basis for studies of S-wave velocity structure and Poisson＇s ratio structure, but also reveal the relationship between crustal petrology and seismology, which will be of importance for making full use of S-wave information in the future.     

Identification and analysis of shear waves recorded by three-component OBSs in northeastern South China Sea

Structure models associated with P- and S-wave velocities contain considerable amount of information on lithology and geophysical properties, which can be used to better understand the complexity of the deep crustal structure. However, records of converted shear waves are less due to the speciality of seismic survey at sea and the rigorous generated conditions. The study on shear waves has always been a weakness for studying the deep crustal structures of South China Sea (SCS). In this paper, Eleven three-component OBSs were deployed along the Profile OBS-2001 in northeastern SCS. After the data processing of polarization and band-pass filter, converted S-wave phases were identified in the radical-component records of nine OBSs. Taking the OBS7 as an example, identification and analysis of converted shear waves were presented and discussed in details. A few phase groups, such as P_wSc,PgSs,PnSc,PmS, and P_wSn, were found coming from the deep crust or Moho interface by simple theoretical model calculation and ray-tracing simulation. The results not only provide the underlying basis for studies of S-wave velocity structure and Poisson’s ratio structure, but also reveal the relationship between crustal petrology and seismology, which will be of importance for making full use of S-wave information in the future.     

Redox condition during Ediacaran–Cambrian transition in the Lower Yangtze deep water basin,South China: constraints from iron speciation and δ~(13) Corg in the Diben section,Zhejiang

Cherts of the Piyuancun Formation and black mudstones of the Hetang Formation in Diben Town, Kaihua County, Zhejiang were deposited in a deep water basin of the Lower Yangtze area during the Ediacaran–Cambrian transition(E–C transition), offering an opportunity to reconstruct the ancient redox condition of the deep water basin. Total 53 samples were collected and analyzed for iron speciation, including pyrite iron(FePy), carbonate associated iron(FeCarb), iron oxide and hydroxide(FeOx),magnetite iron(FeMag) and total iron(FeT) as well as d13 Corgto gain a deeper understanding of specific redox condition during the period. The results show that(1) most samples have pyrite concentration \1 %, with the FePy/FeHR ratio ranging from \0.01 to 0.81(mostly \0.5), and the FeHR/FeT ratio between 0.39 and 0.93(mostly [0.5).(2) The E–C boundary in the Diben section occurred at the maximum negative excursion of organic carbon isotope within the Piyuancun Formation, which can be correlated with other sections by using d13 Corg. We thus concluded that the relatively high content of highly reactive iron and low content of pyrite iron in the Diben section indicate a minor occurrence of H2 S and a predominance of anoxic and ferruginous environment, which is similar to other reported sections such as the Longbizui and Yanwutan sections, western Hunan. In addition, oxygen concentration in sea water showed an increasing trend in the interval corresponding to the bottom and upper layer of the Hetang Formation as indicated by the FeHR/FeT ratio, which decreased from 0.7 to 0.38, however, it was not great enough to oxidize the whole deep water. Therefore, during the E–C transition deep water basin in South China was most likely an anoxic and ferruginous enrironment, which prevented metazoon from the evolution in the deep water basin. Our work offers an important reference to better understanding of the spatiotemporal occurrence and dynamic processes of the ‘‘Cambrian Explosion'.