南海成因机制及北部岩石圈热-流变结构研究进展

南海是西太平洋地区最大的边缘海之一,其北部具有被动大陆边缘特征。南海的形成演化动力学过程对理解该区地质、资源、环境等科学问题有重要意义。综述了近年来在南海北部大陆边缘开展的岩石圈热状态、流变学及南海成因机制和国际上伸展盆地成因数值模拟等方面的研究进展。南海北部大陆边缘区的大地热流相对较高,平均为75 mW/m2,其中绝大部分为来自地幔热流的贡献。莫霍面温度亦较高,从陆架向海盆方向,深部地温越来越高。岩石圈具有温度高、强度低和强烈流变分层等特征,且下地壳表现为韧性流动变形。伸展盆地成因模拟研究已从运动学向动力学模拟过渡,并逐渐强调岩石圈流变学性质的影响。目前对南海成因机制的理解仍存在争议,大陆裂解过程中岩石圈热-流变结构随时间的变化是控制南海形成演化的关键因素,对南海形成中岩石圈的热-流变学结构随时间的演化过程需要进行深入研究。     

Variations in Moho and Curie depths and heat flow in Eastern and Southeastern Asia

The Eastern and Southeastern Asian regions witness the strongest land–ocean and lithosphere–asthenosphere interactions. The extreme diversity of geological features warrants a unified study for a better understanding of their geodynamic uniqueness and/or ubiquity from a regional perspective. In this paper we have explored a large coverage of potential field data and have detected high resolution Moho and Curie depths in the aforementioned regions. The oldest continental and oceanic domains, i.e. the North China craton and the Pacific and Indian Ocean have been found thermally perturbed by events probably linked to small-scale convection or serpentinization in the mantle and to numerous volcanic seamounts and ridges. The thermal perturbation has also been observed in proximity of the fossil ridge of the western Philippine Sea Basin, which shows anomalously small Curie depths. The western Pacific marginal seas have the lowest Moho temperature, with Curie depths generally larger than Moho depths. The contrary is true in most parts of easternmost Eurasian continent. Magmatic processes feeding the Permian Emeishan large igneous province could have also been genetically linked to deep mantle/crustal processes beneath the Sichuan Basin. The regionally elongated magnetic features and small Curie depths along the Triassic Yangtze-Indochina plate boundary suggest that the igneous province could be caused by tectonic processes along plate margins, rather than by a deep mantle plume. At the same time, we interpret the Caroline Ridge, the boundary between the Pacific and the Caroline Sea, as a structure having a continental origin, rather than as hotspot or arc volcanism. The surface heat flow is primarily modulated by a deep isotherm through thermal conduction. This concordance is emphasized along many subduction trenches, where zones of large Curie depths often correspond with low heat flow. Local or regional surface heat flow variations cannot be faithfully used in inferring deep thermal structures, which can be better constrained overall through Curie depths detected from surface magnetic anomalies.     

The final rifting evolution in the South China Sea

Seismic reflection data imaging conjugate crustal sections at the South China Sea margins result in a conceptual model for rift-evolution at conjugate magma-poor margins in time and space.The wide Early Cenozoic South China Sea rift preserves the initial rift architecture at the distal margins. Most distinct are regular undulations in the crust–mantle boundary. Individual rift basins are bounded to crustal blocks by listric normal faults on either side. Moho uplifts are distinct beneath major rift basins, while the Moho is downbended beneath crustal blocks, with a wavelength of undulations in the crust–mantle boundary that approximately equals the thickness of the continental crust. Most of the basin-bounding faults sole out within the middle crust. At the distal margins, detachment faults are located at a mid-crustal level where a weak zone decouples crust and mantle lithosphere during rifting. The lower crust in contrast is interpreted as being strong. Only in the region within about 50 km from the Continent–Ocean Transition (COT) we suggest that normal faults reach the mantle, enabling potentially a coupling between the crust and the mantle. Here, at the proximal margins detachment fault dip either seaward or landward. This may indicate the presence of exhumed mantle bordering the continental margins.Post-rift shallow-water platform carbonates indicate a delay in subsidence during rifting in the South China Sea. We propose that this is an inherent process in highly extended continental margins and a common origin may be the influx of warm asthenospheric material into initially cool sub-lithospheric mantle.On a crustal-scale largely symmetric process predominate in the initial rifting stage. At the future COT either of the rift basin-bounding faults subsequently penetrates the entire crust, resulting in asymmetry at this location. However, asymmetric deformation which is controlled by large scale detachment faulting is confined to narrow areas and does not result in a margin-wide simple-shear model. Rather considerable along-margin variations are suggested resulting in alternating “upper and lower plate” margins.     

日本南海海槽俯冲带的地质特征及其构造意义

日本西南部的南海海槽是一个典型的俯冲系统,由菲律宾海板块向欧亚板块俯冲形成,其俯冲板片包含了九州-帕劳洋脊（KPR）、Kinan海山链、四国海盆和伊豆-小笠原岛弧（IBA）等多种地质单元。为了研究不同地质单元的板块俯冲效应,本文系统分析了南海海槽的地球物理和岩石地球化学特征。重力和热流特征显示南海海槽中部具有低的重力异常（-20–-40 mGal）和高的热流值（60–200 mW/m²）,而东西两侧的热流值（20–80 mW/m²）较低。地震模拟结果显示俯冲板块的地壳厚度为5–20 km。地球化学结果表明俯冲板块的下覆地幔成分从西到东逐渐亏损。无震洋脊（如KPR、Kian海山链和Zenisu洋脊）的俯冲是控制南海海槽俯冲效应的主要因素。首先,无震洋脊的俯冲可能使上覆板块发生变形,沿着增生楔前缘出现不规则的地形凹陷。其次,无震洋脊的俯冲是大型逆冲地震的止裂体,阻碍了南海海槽1944年Mw 8.1和1946年Mw 8.3地震破裂的传播。此外,KPR和热的、年轻的四国海盆的俯冲会导致俯冲板片熔融,在日本岛弧上出现埃达克质岩浆活动,并为斑岩铜金矿床提供成矿物质。地球物理和地球化学特征的差异表明尽管IBA已经和日本岛弧发生碰撞,但作为IBA的残留弧,KPR仍然处于俯冲阶段,与日本岛弧之间有明显的地形分界,呈现单向收敛的状态。     

西太平洋边缘海盆的形成与演化

从地球深部地幔流动引起的地质作用出发，结合裂谷的发展演化规律，认为地幔向东（或南东）的蠕散和流动促使亚洲大陆边缘地壳拉伸、变薄以致破裂，由大陆裂谷发展至弧后裂谷，形成西太平洋边缘海盆。最后提出边缘海盆发展演化的4个阶段，即：新生阶段（郯庐裂谷系）、幼年阶段（冲绳海槽）、青壮年阶段（日本海）和成熟阶段（南海）。     

Seismic anisotropy surrounding South China Sea and its geodynamic implications

Several mechanisms have been proposed for the opening of the South China Sea. Here, we use SKS splitting analysis to investigate the mantle flow surrounding the South China Sea. We use a total of 23 seismic stations and 87 events. We applied spectral analysis and cluster analysis to find a stable splitting solution for each event. The main conclusions are: (1) In northern Vietnam, the NW–SE fast direction is parallel to the absolute plate motion as well as GPS observations with splitting times larger than 1 s, indicating a coupled lithosphere and mantle. In contrast, in southern Vietnam, the NE–SW fast direction suggests that the lithosphere and asthenosphere are decoupled. (2) The fast directions beneath the South China Block and central Taiwan are NE–SW and NS respectively, both parallel to surface deformations with splitting times greater than 1 s, indicating that mantle flow and surface deformation are related. (3) The observed NW–SE fast directions beneath Hainan Island reflect the India–Eurasia collision, and show no signatures of an upwelling mantle plume directly underneath Hainan Island. This implies that Hainan Island is tectonically closely related to the Red River Fault, not the South China Block. (4) In Borneo, the observed NE-SW direction is parallel to the Palawan Trench, consistent with flow associated with the inactive proto-South China Sea subduction system. The SKS splitting observations surrounding South China Sea cannot be explained by a single geologic process, with either the collision-driven extrusion model or the slab pull model fitting the data presented here.     

Heat flow and matter composition of the lithosphere of the World Ocean

An analysis of the geothermal data on the World Ocean, including those obtained by the author from research vessels of the Russian Academy of Sciences, shows that the heat flow depends on the petrological composition of the oceanic lithosphere. Mean heat flow values are observed in the regions with a lherzolite lithosphere (300–500 mW/m² depending on the age of the floor). The regions where the lithosphere contains harzburgite enriched with olivine are characterized by high heat flow values, while those with a lithosphere with an average mineral composition feature minimal heat flow values (～20–30% of the average heat flow). The intermediate contents of olivine correspond to intermediate heat flow values. Based on the calculations performed and on a combined analysis of the thermal and physical parameters of the mantle rocks of the ocean, we inferred that the dependence of the heat flow values on the petrological composition of the lithosphere is valid for marginal basins as well, including basins characterized by diffuse spreading. The results of the geothermal studies in the Tyrrhenian Sea, whose central part is formed due to diffuse spreading, indicate that, in the region of the Vavilov Seamount, the lithosphere is composed of rocks with a lherzolite composition, while the lithosphere in the region of the Marsili Seamount consists of harzburgites of an average mineral composition.     

南海海盆及其周缘岩浆岩地球化学特征对岩浆过程及地幔结构的指示意义

本文通过对昆嵩高原,三水盆地以及玳瑁海山岩浆岩的地球化学研究来揭示南海海盆以及周边地区的岩浆过程以及地幔源区的性质。昆嵩,三水及玳瑁海山玄武质岩浆的地球化学特征均反应这些岩浆并非来源于一个起源于核幔边界的深部地幔柱,而是来源于较浅的岩浆源区,例如岩石圈下地幔或者软流圈地幔。此外,南海海盆岩浆岩的地幔源区较昆嵩高原和三水盆地岩浆岩的地幔源区更加亏损并且表现出较低的地幔温度。这些差异可能表明三水盆地内的岩浆活动被南海的开张所抑制,而之后又在昆嵩高原复苏。研究区的地幔表现出不均一性,其中的富集地幔端元表现出EM2的特征。这个EM2富集端员是由于伴随着大陆沉积物的中生代古南海板块俯冲到研究区地幔中所形成的。     

构造地质过程对冲绳海槽热液活动及成矿作用的控制研究综述

在对冲绳海槽及邻区构造地质学和热液地质学调查研究成果进行全面总结的基础上,将深部地球动力学机制、冲绳海槽形成演化、岩浆作用过程、热液系统结构、流体循环模式和成矿作用特征等多方面的问题,纳入到统一的框架下,探讨了冲绳海槽构造地质过程对热液活动和成矿作用的控制机理。分析认为,区域中尺度地幔流引起了东亚大陆边缘岩石圈向东的蠕散,并驱动了菲律宾海板块沿琉球海沟向欧亚板块之下的俯冲。在弧后小尺度地幔对流、岩石圈减薄、板片反卷和俯冲后退的共同作用下,冲绳海槽发生弧后张裂。张裂作用在岩石圈内形成了网状破裂系统,为岛弧和弧后岩浆上涌提供了通道,并且引起了不同来源岩浆的干扰和混合。侵位到地壳浅部的岩浆为热液活动提供了热源和主要成矿物质来源,是影响热液活动分布的主要因素。沉积层覆盖改变了流体的浅部循环结构和原始流体成分。热液区内普遍存在的流体相分离过程,导致了广域成矿作用的发生。     

Gravity modeling of the Muertos Trough and tectonic implications (north-eastern Caribbean)

The Muertos Trough in the northeast Caribbean has been interpreted as a subduction zone from seismicity, leading to infer a possible reversal subduction polarity. However, the distribution of the seismicity is very diffuse and makes definition of the plate geometry difficult. In addition, the compressive deformational features observed in the upper crust and sandbox kinematic modeling do not necessarily suggest a subduction process. We tested the hypothesized subduction of the Caribbean plate’s interior beneath the eastern Greater Antilles island arc using gravity modeling. Gravity models simulating a subduction process yield a regional mass deficit beneath the island arc independently of the geometry and depth of the subducted slab used in the models. This mass deficit results from sinking of the less dense Caribbean slab beneath the lithospheric mantle replacing denser mantle materials and suggests that there is not a subducted Caribbean plateau beneath the island arc. The geologically more realistic gravity model which would explain the N–S shortening observed in the upper crust requires an overthrusted Caribbean slab extending at least 60 km northward from the deformation front, a progressive increase in the thrusting angle from 8° to 30° reaching a maximum depth of 22 km beneath the insular slope. This new tectonic model for the Muertos Margin, defined as a retroarc thrusting, will help to assess the seismic and tsunami hazard in the region. The use of gravity modeling has provided targets for future wide-angle seismic surveys in the Muertos Margin.     

Three Kings Ridge: a west-facing arc

The Three Kings Ridge has been described as a remnant arc or an east-facing arc on the western side of the South Fiji Basin under which symmetric South Fiji Basin magnetic anomaly lineations have been lost. We find evidence of neither arc-trench morphology on the eastern flank of the ridge nor collision tectonism within the adjacent South Fiji Basin that might have obliterated it. We believe there is room for the missing magnetic lineations within the South Fiji Basin and we recognize the distinctive island-arc morphology characteristic of a west-facing arc on the western flank of the Three Kings Ridge. Our interpretation requires that arc volcanism postdated formation of much of the South Fiji Basin and that oceanic lithosphere from the adjacent Norfolk Basin must have been subducted beneath the west-facing Three Kings Arc.     

Macrobenthic community structure over the continental margin of Crete (South Aegean Sea, NE Mediterranean)

Macrobenthic faunal composition, abundance, biomass and diversity together with a suite of sedimentary environmental parameters were investigated on a seasonal basis in order to determine factors regulating faunal distribution over the oligotrophic continental margin of the island of Crete (South Aegean Sea, North Eastern Mediterranean). Macrofaunal species composition was similar to that of the western Mediterranean and the neighboring Atlantic having several common dominant species. Mean benthic biomass, abundance and diversity decreased with depth, with a major transition zone occurring at 540 m, beyond which values declined sharply. At comparable depths biomass and abundance values were considerably lower to those found in the Atlantic, high-lighting the extreme oligotrophy of the area. The continental margin of Crete was characterised by a high diversity upper continental shelf environment (dominated by surface deposit feeding polychaetes) and a very low diversity slope and deep-basin environment (dominated by carnivorous and filter feeding polychaetes). Classification and ordination analyses revealed the existence of four principle clusters divided by a faunal boundary between 200 and 540 m, as well as beyond 940 m depth. Significant correlations between macrofauna and sediment parameters led to the conclusion that besides depth, food availability (as manifested by the concentration of chloroplastic pigments) is the principle regulating factor in the system. Such being the case, the prevailing hydrographic features that structure the pelagic food web and are directly responsible for the propagation of organic matter to the benthos also affect its community structure.     

Morphology of a Pre-collisional, Salt-bearing, Accretionary Complex: The Mediterranean Ridge (Eastern Mediterranean)

The Eastern Mediterranean Sea is a remnant of a deep Mesozoic oceanic basin, now almost totally consumed as a result of long-term plate convergence between Eurasia and Africa. The present-day surface morphology of the Eastern Mediterranean relates both to the early history of formation of the deep basins and the recent geodynamic interactions between interfering microplates. Among the most conspicuous morphologic features of the basin is an arc-shape, elongated and wide, bathymetric swell bisecting the entire basin from the Ionian to Levantine areas, known as the Mediterranean Ridge. During the last decade this tectono-sedimentary accretionary prism, which results from the Hellenic subduction, has been intensively surveyed by swath mapping, multichannel seismic profiling and deep dives. We present here, and briefly discuss, the main morphological characteristics of this feature as derived from swath bathymetric data that considerably help to better assess the lateral and north–south morphostructural variability of the Mediterranean Ridge. This study reveals that the characteristics and morphostructural variability of the Mediterranean Ridge are related to: (1) a specific incipient collision geodynamic setting south of Crete, where the African and Aegean continental margins are nearly in contact, (2) a unique regional kinematics, controlled by frontal convergence south of Crete (central Mediterranean Ridge) and oblique subduction with opposite sense of shear for the western (Ionian) and eastern (Levantine) domains of the Mediterranean Ridge, that explain the lateral variations of deformation and (3) particularities of its sedimentary cover, which includes massive salt layers within the outer Mediterranean Ridge and local salt deposits within the inner domains, that control the north–south morphostructural variability of the sedimentary wedge.     

Deformation mechanisms in a continental rift up to mantle exhumation. Field evidence from the western Betics,Spain

The identification of the structures and deformation patterns in magma-poor continental rifted margins is essential to characterize the processes of continental lithosphere necking. Brittle faults, often termed mantle detachments, are believed to play an essential role in the rifting processes that lead to mantle exhumation. However, ductile shear zones in the deep crust and mantle are rarely identified and their mechanical role remains to be established. The western Betics (Southern Spain) provide an exceptional exposure of a strongly thinned continental lithosphere, formed in a supra-subduction setting during Oligocene-Lower Miocene. A full section of the entire crust and the upper part of the mantle is investigated. Variations in crustal thickness are used to quantify crustal stretching that may reach values larger than 2000% where the ductile crust almost disappears, defining a stage of hyper-stretching. Opposite senses of shear top-to-W and top-to-E are observed in two extensional shear zones located close to the crust-mantle boundary and along the brittle-ductile transition in the crust, respectively. Where the ductile crust almost disappears, concordant top-to-E-NE senses of shear are observed in both upper crust and serpentinized mantle. Late high-angle normal faults with ages of ca. 21 Ma or older (⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar on white mica) crosscut the previously hyper-stretched domain, involving both crust and mantle in tilted blocks. The western Betics exemplify, probably better than any previous field example, the changes in deformation processes that accommodate the progressive necking of a continental lithosphere. Three successive steps can be identified: i/a mid-crustal shear zone and a crust-mantle shear zone, acting synchronously but with opposite senses of shear, accommodate ductile crust thinning and ascent of subcontinental mantle; ii/hyper-stretching localizes in the neck, leading to an almost disappearance of the ductile crust and bringing the upper crust in contact with the subcontinental mantle, each of them with their already acquired opposite senses of shear; and iii/high-angle normal faulting, cutting through the Moho, with related block tilting, ends the full exhumation of the mantle in the zone of localized stretching. The presence of a high strength sub-Moho mantle is responsible for the change in sense of shear with depth. Whereas mantle exhumation in the western Betics occurred in a backarc setting, this deformation pattern controlled by a high-strength layer at the top of the lithosphere mantle makes it directly comparable to most passive margins whose formation lead to mantle exhumation. This unique field analogue has therefore a strong potential for the seismic interpretation of the so-called “hyper-extended margins”.     

Crustal transect across the North Atlantic

Two dimensional crustal models derived from four different ocean bottom seismographic (OBS) surveys have been compiled into a 1,580 km long transect across the North Atlantic, from the Norwegian Møre coast, across the extinct Aegir Ridge, the continental Jan Mayen Ridge, the presently active Kolbeinsey Ridge north of Iceland, into Scoresby Sund in East Greenland. Backstripping of the transect suggests that the continental break-up at ca. 55 Ma occurred along a west-dipping detachment localized near the western end of a ca. 300 km wide basin thinned to less than 20 km crustal thickness. It is likely that an east-dipping detachment near the present day Liverpool Land Escarpment was active during the late stages of continental rifting. A lower crustal high-velocity layer (7.2–7.4 km/s) interpreted as mafic intrusions/underplating, was present beneath the entire basin. The observations are consistent with the plume hypothesis, involving the Early Tertiary arrival of a mantle plume beneath central Greenland and focused decompression melting beneath the thinnest portions of the lithosphere. The mid-Eocene to Oligocene continental extension in East Greenland is interpreted as fairly symmetric and strongly concentrated in the lower crustal layer. Continental break-up which rifted off the Jan Mayen Ridge, occurred at ca. 25 Ma, when the Aegir Ridge became extinct. The first ca. 2 m.y. of oceanic accretion along the Kolbeinsey Ridge was characterized by thin magmatic crust (ca. 5.5 km), whereas the oceanic crustal formation since ca. 23 Ma documents ca. 8 km thick crust and high magma budget.     

Southern Segment of the European Geotraverse — a wide-angle seismic refraction experiment in the Sardinia Channel

The Sardinia Channel dataset was collected as part of the European Geotraverse (EGT)—a 4000 km seismic refraction line running from Northern Norway to the Sahara, designed to investigate the structure of the lithosphere beneath Europe. Wideangle seismic data recorded by ocean bottom seismometers deployed in the Sardinia Channel as part of the Southern Segment of the EGT, together with gravity data, were used to constrain the final crustal model. In the centre of the Channel the crust is identified as thinned continental in nature, with a crystalline thickness of 10 km overlain by 4 km of sediments and 2.5 km of water in the most extended region. High velocities in the lower crust in the central region are thought to represent an area of underplating or intrusion by igneous material caused by extension related to the opening of the Tyrrhenian Sea. The crust overlies an anomalously low velocity upper mantle.     

New Development of Eastern Mediterranean Circulation based on Hydrological Observations and Current Measurements

Abstract. A number of recent studies based on hydrographic observations and modelling simulations have dealt with the major climatic shift that occurred in the deep circulation of the Eastern Mediterranean. This work presents hydrographic observations and current measurements conducted from 1997 to 1999, which reveal strong modifications in the dynamics of the upper, intermediate and deep layers, as well as an evolution of the thermohaline characteristics of the deep Aegean outflow since 1995. The reversal of the circulation in the upper layer of the north/central Ionian is worthy of note. The observations indicate a reduction of Atlantic Water in the northern Ionian with an increase on the eastern side of the basin. In the intermediate layer, the dispersal path of the Levantine Intermediate Water (LIW) is altered. Highly saline (>39.0) and well-oxygenated intermediate waters were found near the Western Cretan Arc Straits. They flow out from the Aegean, thus interrupting the traditional path of the LIW, and spread prevalently northwards into the Adriatic Sea. In the deep layer, dense waters, exiting from the Adriatic (σ_ø−29.18 kg · m⁻³), flow against the western continental margin in the Ionian Sea at a depth of between 1000–1500 m. Dense waters of Aegean origin (> 29.20 kg · m⁻³), discharged into the central region of the Eastern Mediterranean during the early stages of the transient, propagate prevalently to the east in the Levantine basin and to the west in the northern Ionian Sea. Near-bottom current measurements conducted in the Ionian Sea reveal unforeseen aspects of deep dynamics, suggesting a new configuration of the internal thermohaline conveyor belt of the Eastern Mediterranean.     

Tectonic Significance of the Taitung Canyon, Huatung Basin, East of Taiwan

Since the beginning of formation of Proto-Taiwan, the subducting Philippine (PH) Sea plate has moved continuously through time in the N307° direction with respect to Eurasia (EU), tearing the EU plate. The subducting EU plate includes a continental part in the north and an oceanic part in the south. The boundary B between these two domains corresponds to the eastern prolongation of the northeastern South China Sea ocean-continent transition zone. In the Huatung Basin (east of Taiwan), the Taitung Canyon is N065° oriented and is close and parallel to B. Seismic profiles show that the southern flank of the canyon corresponds to a fault with a normal component of a few tens of meters in the sediments and possible dextral shearing. Several crustal earthquakes of magnitude >%6 are located beneath the trend of the Taitung Canyon and focal mechanisms suggest that the motion is right-lateral. Thus, faulting within the sedimentary sequence beneath the Taitung Canyon is a consequence of underlying dextral strike-slip crustal motions. As the continental part of the EU slab located north of B has been recently detached, some subsequent dextral strike-slip motion might be expected within the EU slab, along the ocean-continent transition zone, which is a potential zone of weakness. We suggest that the dextral strike-slip motion along the ocean-continent boundary of the EU slab might trigger the observed dextral strike-slip motion within the overlying PH Sea crust and the associated faulting within the sediments of the Huatung Basin, beneath the Taitung Canyon. An erratum to this article is available at .     

Structural differences between the western and eastern Qiongdongnan Basin: evidence of Indochina block extrusion and South China Sea seafloor spreading

Located at the intersection between a NW-trending slip system and NE-trending rift system in the northern South China Sea, the Qiongdongnan Basin provides key clues for us to understand the proposed extrusion of the Indochina Block along with Red River Fault Zone and extensional margins. In this paper we for the first time systematically reveal the striking structural differences between the western and eastern sector of the Qiongdongnan Basin. Influenced by the NW-trending slip faults, the western Qiongdongnan Basin developed E–W-trending faults, and was subsequently inverted at 30–21 Ma. The eastern sector was dominated by faults with NE orientation before 30 Ma, and thereafter with various orientations from NE, to EW and NW during the period 30–21 Ma; rifting display composite symmetric graben instead of the composite half graben or asymmetric graben in the west. The deep and thermal structures in turn are invoked to account for such deformation differences. The lithosphere of the eastern Qiongdongnan Basin is very hot and thinned because of mantle upwelling and heating, composite symmetric grabens formed and the faults varied with the basal plate boundary. However, the Southern and Northern Uplift area and middle of the central depression is located on normal lithosphere and formed half grabens or simple grabens. The lithosphere in the western sector is transitional from very hot to normal. Eventually, the Paleogene tectonic development of the Qiongdongnan Basin may be summarized into three stages with dominating influences, the retreat of the West Pacific subduction zone (44–36 Ma), slow Indochina block extrusion together with slab-pull of the Proto-South China Sea (36–30 Ma), rapid Indochina block extrusion together with the South China Sea seafloor spreading (30–21 Ma).     

Crustal structure and inferred rifting processes in the northeast South China Sea

TAIGER project deep-penetration seismic reflection profiles acquired in the northeastern South China Sea (SCS) provide a detailed view of the crustal structure of a very wide rifted continental margin. These profiles document a failed rift zone proximal to the shelf, a zone of thicker crust 150 km from the shelf, and gradually thinning crust toward the COB, spanning a total distance of 250–300 km. Such an expanse of extended continental crust is not unique but it is uncommon for continental margins. We use the high-quality images from this data set to identify the styles of upper and lower crustal structure and how they have thinned in response to extension and, in turn, what rheological variations are predicted that allow for protracted crustal extension. Upper crustal thinning is greatest at the failed rift (β_uc ≈ 7.5) but is limited farther seaward (β_uc ≈ 1–2). We interpret that the lower crust has discordantly thinned from an original 15–17 km to possibly less than 2–3 km thick beneath the central thick crust zone and more distal areas. This extreme lower crustal thinning indicates that it acted as a weak layer allowing decoupling between the upper crust and the mantle lithosphere. The observed upper crustal thickness variations and implied rheology (lower crustal flow) are consistent with large-scale boudinage of continental crust during protracted extension.