Features and origin of the early Miocene grooves in northern Liwan sag, Pearl River Mouth Basin
Xing Zuo-Chang1, Zhang Zhong-Tao2, Lin Chang-Song3, Feng Xuan2, Hong Fang-Hao1, Gong Yue1
1 School of Energy Resources,China University of Geosciences(Beijing),Beijing 100083,China; 2 Research Institute of Shenzhen Branch,CNOOC,Guangdong Shenzhen 518000,China; 3 School of Ocean Sciences,China University of Geosciences(Beijing),Beijing 100083,China
Abstract：Grooves and their origin are the research hotspots in sedimentology and palaeooceanography in recent years. Based on the high resolution 3D seismic data in Liwan sag of Pearl River Mouth Basin,multi-kilometer scale grooves are identified, for the first time, in the early Miocene strata of the study area. These grooves are located in deep-water basin away from the shelf slope break roughly parallel to the strike of northern South China Sea shelf margin break during the early Miocene. They can be subdivided into four sub-zones. They are straight or arched,or ripple-like in shape and their geometry parameters have different characteristics in different sub-zones. In addition,there are large bands of high amplitude anomalies at the bottom of some grooves,which may correspond to coarse-grained sediments or be rich in natural gas. According to their features,it is inferred that their origin may be related to bottom currents,which was influenced by the intermediate water circulation widespread in the basin. The bottom currents,which were mainly controlled by palaeogeomorphology during the early Miocene,eroded the seabed and formed the grooves. This study not only contributes to the hydrocarbon exploration in ultra-deep water area in northern part of South China Sea,but also provides new evidence for the early Miocene palaeooceanographic research in South China Sea.
Xing Zuo-Chang,Zhang Zhong-Tao,Lin Chang-Song et al. Features and origin of the early Miocene grooves in northern Liwan sag, Pearl River Mouth Basin[J]. JOPC, 2019, 21(2): 339-350.
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