Marginal basins of the NW Pacific and Eastern Eurasia

ABSTRACT

The broad zone between old oceanic lithosphere of the NW Pacific and Eastern Eurasian continental lithosphere is home to a chain of marginal basins. Different from oceans, marginal basins are more influenced by the underlying subduction zone both geophysically and geochemically and are more likely to be blanketed by sediments from the nearby continent. This special issue collects 19 papers that explore the tectonic, magmatic, sedimentary and fluid activity features of marginal basins during rifting, spreading and post-spreading stages. Most papers in this special issue focus on South China Sea marginal basins, where abundant research provides interesting insights into how marginal sea basins evolve. Because South China Sea basins are fully evolved and their key features have not been overprinted by younger deformation, the results of this special issue are very useful for understanding the evolution of other marginal basins.     

A Comparative Study of the Coal‐forming Characteristics of Marginal Sea Basins and Epicontinental Sea Basins

The coal-forming characteristics,as well as the similarities and differences between epicontinental sea basins and continental marginal sea basins developed during different time periods,were analyzed in this study by adopting comparative analysis thoughts and methods.The results obtained in this study revealed that epicontinental basins and marginal sea basins are both characterized by the main development of thin coal seams or extremely thin coal seams.In addition,changes in sea levels were determined to be the main controlling factors for coal formation,and there were similarities in the continent-sea interactions and coal-forming sedimentary systems of the different basins.However,there were also significant differences observed in the sea level change events,basin basement structural characteristics,coal seam stability levels,accumulation and aggregation characteristics,and the migration patterns of coal-forming materials.For example,the marginal sea basins in the South China Sea were found to be characterized by strong tectonic activities,diversity and complexity.The basin structures showed complex patterns of depressions,uplifts and concave or sag uplifts,which tended to lead to greater complexity in the paleogeographic patterns of the coal formations.This had subsequently resulted in complex coal-forming processes and paleogeographic characteristics,in which the coal-forming zones displayed bead-like distributions,and the enrichment areas and centers were scattered.The practical significance of studying the similarities and differences of the coal-forming characteristics between epicontinental basins and marginal sea basins is that the results can potentially be used to guide the predictions of coal-measure coal seam distributions in South China Sea,as well as provide valuable guidance for future explorations of natural gas reservoirs related to coal measures in the South China Sea area.     

Late Cretaceous-Eocene marginal seas in the Black Sea-Caspian region: Paleotectonic reconstructions

A series of seven reconstructions is presented to illustrate the evolution of marginal seas in the Black Sea-South Caspian segment of the margin of the Tethys Ocean from the Late Jurassic to the middle Eocene. After Middle Jurassic inversion and until the Aptian Age, no marginal (backarc) basins were formed in the region, while the Pontides-Rhodope margin developed in the passive regime. The retained relict of the Late Triassic-Early Jurassic backarc basin includes the southeastern part of the Greater Caucasus, the northern part of the South Caspian Basin, and the shallow-water Kopetdagh Basin. The basins of the southern slope of the Greater Caucasus, Balkans (Nish-Trojan Trough), and Dobrogea developed as flexural foredeeps in front of the Middle Jurassic fold systems. The next, Aptian-Turonian epoch of opening of marginal seas was related to the origination of subduction zones at the Pontides-Rhodope margin and to the incipient consumption of the Vardar Basin lithosphere with formation of the West Black Sea Basin and its western continuation in the Bulgarian Srednogorie. The backarc rifting in the Greater Caucasus resulted in transformation of the foredeep into the backarc basin. Two basins approximately 2000 km in total extent were separated by the bridge formed by the Shatsky and Andrusov rises. The last, late Paleocene-middle Eocene epoch of the formation of backarc basins was associated with the newly formed subduction zone south of the Menderes-Taurus Terrane that collided with the active margin in the early Paleocene. The Greater Caucasus Basin widened and deepened, while to its south the East Black Sea Basin, the grabens in the Kura Depression, and the Talysh Basin, all being separated by a chain of uplifts, opened. The Paleogene South Caspian Basin opened in the course of the southward motion of the Alborz volcanic arc at the late stage of closure of the Iranian inner seas.     

华南晚中生代陆弧迁移与海域盆地演化

陆弧和弧前盆地是俯冲体系中具有密切联系的构造单元。中生代以来,华南受多期板块俯冲的控制,发育大规模岩浆岩带及海域广泛分布的弧前盆地。但陆域弧岩浆岩较少,海域又缺乏足够钻井,各时期陆弧的位置存在较大争议,同时,南海北部至东海一带弧前盆地也缺乏系统认识,因此,亟须新的研究思路深化对华南晚中生代俯冲体系和俯冲过程的认识。本文以前人研究为基础,对海域钻遇中生界的典型钻井进行了详细分析,系统开展了海域盆地区域构造和沉积对比,将弧前盆地发育与岛弧变迁相结合综合分析。结果表明早侏罗世—早白垩世陆弧位于南海北部—东海靠近陆域一侧,经历了早侏罗世局限陆弧、中晚侏罗世沿海陆弧带、早白垩世向海沟方向的迁移。在此过程中,华南海域弧前盆地群于中侏罗世正式形成,早白垩世发育盆缘角度不整合,粗碎屑相带向海沟方向迁移,晚白垩南海北部与东海各自进入新的构造体制,结束弧前盆地的发育。华南沿海海域中生代盆地的发育可为陆弧的展布提供重要约束,弧岩浆岩带的迁移控制了弧前盆地的演化。     

南海岩石圈结构与油气资源分布

南海是中国唯一发育有洋壳的边缘海,是世界四大海洋油气聚集中心之一。油气勘探表明,南海的油气田分布在北部、西部和南部陆缘沉积盆地内,而大中型油气田集中分布在西部海域盆地中,自北而南有莺歌海—琼东南盆地、万安盆地、湄公盆地、曾母盆地和文莱—沙巴盆地,且以含气为主,含油次之。此外,这一区域深水区还存在多个潜在的大型含油气盆地。研究发现,南海的油气分布与深部岩石圈结构有密切关系。在构造上,南海的含油气盆地位于岩石圈块体边缘或之上,受控于大型岩石圈断裂的发育与演化。在油气富集的盆地中,莫霍面显著凸起,与盆地基底形成镜像,地壳厚度最薄处仅数千米厚,热流值明显较周围地区高,热岩石圈厚度大大减薄。地震层析成像结果反映,这些盆地深部发育一条规模宏大的北西向上地幔隆起带,自红河口向东南穿越南海西部海盆,一直延伸到婆罗州东北部地区,在宏观上控制了南海的油气分布与富集。     

Specifics of magmatism in marginal continental and marginal-sea pull-apart basins: Western periphery of the Pacific Ocean

The paper presents data on pull-apart (synchronous with strike-slip faulting) extensional structures formed in relation to Indo-Eurasian collision and including continental marginal rifts in East Asia and adjacent marginal sea basins. The evolution of Cenozoic pull-apart basins (developing synchronously with strike-slip faulting) in the western surroundings of the Pacific ocean corresponds to a basaltoid sequence in which the onset of rifting and the stage of maximum extension are marked by the first and last members of this sequence that have, respectively, calc-alkaline and tholeiitic depleted composition. The predominance of intermediate members with mixed isotopic-geochemical signatures testifies to the interaction of diverse magmatic melts. The opening of pull-apart basins (including those of marginal sea) was associated with magmatism whose sources were localized, judging from geochemical indicators, in the modified continental lithospheric mantle and depleted asthenosphere. The sources in the lithospheric mantle that was affected by long-lasting metasomatic recycling in the geological past dominated during the initial stages of continental extension and gave way to depleted asthenospheric sources. This model is consistent with the deep structure of the territories: extensional basins correspond to asthenospheric upwelling, with the ascent of asthenospheric diapirs positively correlated with the intensity of extension of the continental lithosphere and the degree of depletion of the accumulated basaltoids. The discovery of widespread calc-alkaline rocks (which are genetically related to the ancient metasomatized lithospheric mantle) in zones of continental rifting and marginal basins of the strike-slip fault nature significantly broadens the compositional range of volcanics typical of extensional geodynamic environments. At the same time, this testifies to the polygeodynamic nature of calc-alkaline volcanics, which can accumulate without any relations with coeval subduction zones.     

南海北部新生代海陆变迁与不同盆地的沉积充填响应*

新生代以来南中国海的多幕旋回运动形成了其北部陆坡性质各异、演化有别的多个陆缘沉积盆地。依据各盆地新生界发育特征、主干地震剖面及钻井资料对南海北部的相对海平面变化与沉积环境进行系统分析,采用年代地层对比的方法探讨南海北部构造演化序列与海陆变迁规律的内在联系,再现了南海北部陆缘新生代的海陆变迁过程,从而建立了南海北部陆缘裂谷盆地、走滑拉分盆地和陆内裂谷盆地的构造—沉积充填一体化模式。新生代海平面整体呈上升趋势,古近纪各盆地以陆相河流、粗粒三角洲湖相沉积为主;而新近纪主要发育滨浅海及三角洲相,呈现出明显的早陆后海的规律。靠近陆地一侧的陆内裂谷盆地北部湾盆地海侵最晚,其古近系充填厚度明显大于新近系,以发育近源扇三角洲为特色;而靠近海域一侧的走滑拉分盆地(莺歌海盆地)则以新近纪海相沉积占优势;陆缘裂谷盆地(琼东南与珠江口盆地)古近纪陆相与新近纪海相相对均衡发育,发育大型三角洲与碳酸盐岩台地。不同盆地的沉积充填特征主要受构造运动与海侵规模控制,并由此奠定了不同盆地的资源前景。     

南海北部陆缘盆地形成的构造动力学背景

摘要：南海北部陆缘盆地处于印度板块与太平洋及菲律宾海板块之间,但三大板块对南海北部陆缘盆地的影响是不同的。通过对三大板块及古南海演化的研究,可知南海北部陆缘地区应力环境于晚白垩世发生改变。早白垩世处于挤压环境,晚白垩世以来转变为伸展环境并且不同时期的成因不同。晚白垩世-始新世,华南陆缘早期造山带的应力松弛、古南海向南俯冲及太平洋俯冲板块的滚动后退导致其处于张应力环境。始新世时南海北部陆缘裂陷盆地开始产生,伸展环境没有变,但因其是由太平洋板块向西俯冲速率的持续降低及古南海向南俯冲引起的,南海北部陆缘盆地继续裂陷。渐新世-早中新世,地幔物质向南运动及古南海向南俯冲导致南海北部陆缘地区处于持续的张应力环境;渐新世早期南海海底扩张;中中新世开始,三大板块开始共同影响着南海北部陆缘盆地的发展演化。     

Lithology and late postglacial stratigraphy of bottom sediments in isolated basins of the White Sea coast exemplified by a small lake in the Chupa settlement area (Northern Karelia)

The complex lithological, geochemical, geochronological, and micropaleontological (diatoms, spores, pollen) investigations of stratified bottom sediments that constitute facies-variable sedimentary sequences in a small isolated lake located near the upper limit of the sea on the White Sea coast made it possible to define lithostratigraphic units (LSU) forming the complete sedimentary succession in deep parts of isolated basins. It is shown that stratigraphy of heterogeneous sequences is determined by two regional transgressive–regressive cycles in relative sea level fluctuations: alternating late Glacial and Holocene transgressions and regressions. The lower part of a clastogenic clayey–sandy–silty sequence successively composed of freshwater (LSU 1) and brackish-water (LSU 2) sediments of the ice-marginal basins and marine postglacial facies (LSU 3) was formed during the late Glacial glacioeustatic marine transgression. Its upper part formed in different isolated basins at different stages of the Holocene is represented depending on its altimetric position on the coastal slope by costal marine sediments (LSU 4) and facies of the partly isolated inlet (LSU 5). The organogenic sapropelic sequence, which overlies sediments of the marine basin and partly isolated bay, corresponds to lithostratigraphic units represented by Holocene sediments accumulated in the meromictic lake (LSU 6), onshore freshwater basin (LSU 7), and freshwater basin with elevated water mineralization (LSU 8) deposited during maximum development of Holocene transgression and lacustrine sediments (LSU 9) formed in coastal environments during terminal phases of the Holocene. The defined lithostratigraphic units differ from each other in lithological, micropaleontological, and geochemical features reflected in structural and textural properties of their sediments, their composition, inclusions, and composition of paleophytocoenoses and diatom assemblages.     

Alkaline basaltic volcanism of the Sea of Japan and the Philippine Sea: Similar and distinct geochemical and genetic features

The results of study of the deep sources of volcanic rocks from the Sea of Japan and the Philippine Sea with continental and oceanic basements, respectively, are presented. This problem is considered with the example of alkaline volcanic rocks of the Middle Miocene to Pliocene complex of the Sea of Japan and the Eocene–Oligocene Urdaneta Plateau of the Philippine Sea. The rocks have a similar geochemistry typical of OIBs, which indicates their deep (plume) origin. The presence of the Oligocene calc-alkaline volcanic rocks, which were formed prior to the marginal sea volcanism in the Sea of Japan, however, is the main difference in volcanism of the Sea of Japan from that of the Urdaneta Plateau, and this is explained by the different basements of these seas.     

Petroleum Geology in Deepwater Settings in a Passive Continental Margin of a Marginal Sea: A Case Study from the South China Sea

Deepwater oil and gas exploration has become a global hotspot in recent years and the study of the deep waters of marginal seas is an important frontier research area.The South China Sea(SCS)is a typical marginal sea that includes Paleo SCS and New SCS tectonic cycles.The latter includes continental marginal rifting,intercontinental oceanic expansion and oceanic shrinking,which controlled the evolution of basins,and the generation,migration and accumulation of hydrocarbons in the deepwater basins on the continental margin of the northern SCS.In the Paleogene,the basins rifted along the margin of the continent and were filled mainly with sediments in marine-continental transitional environments.In the Neogene–Quaternary,due to thermal subsidence,neritic-abyssal facies sediments from the passive continental margin of the SCS mainly filled the basins.The source rocks include mainly Oligocene coal-bearing deltaic and marine mudstones,which were heated by multiple events with high geothermal temperature and terrestrial heat flow,resulting in the generation of gas and oil.The faults,diapirs and sandstones controlled the migration of hydrocarbons that accumulated principally in a large canyon channel,a continental deepwater fan,and a shelf-margin delta.     

南海大陆边缘盆地构造演化差异性及其与南海扩张耦合关系

南海大陆边缘盆地由于边界条件的差异,不仅形成了不同类型的陆缘盆地,如离散型、走滑伸展型和伸展挠曲复合型,而且这些盆地构造演化存在明显的非同步性。这些陆缘破裂过程与南海扩张作用过程呈现明显不一致性。研究表明,南海扩张时期南海南、北大陆边缘均形成了一系列裂陷盆地,然而,南海南部、北部大陆边缘盆地裂陷作用结束时间不同,北部大陆边缘盆地裂陷作用结束于23 Ma或21 Ma,而南部大陆边缘盆地裂陷作用结束于15.5 Ma,显然北部大陆边缘盆地裂陷结束时间明显早于南部大陆边缘盆地。南海扩张停止后,南海南、北部陆缘仍表现出明显差异,北部陆缘仍以伸展作用为主,晚中新世以来出现快速沉降幕,而南海南部陆缘则以挤压作用为主,且其挤压时间及强度呈现南早北晚的特点,即南部曾母盆地明显早于南薇西盆地和北康盆地。南海南、北大陆边缘盆地形成演化的差异性,特别是构造转型差异变化,为新生代南海扩张的迁移性提供了有力的佐证,可以推断南海不同期次海盆扩张可能存在向南的突然跃迁。因此,本次研究梳理出的南海不同陆缘盆地张裂伸展的非同步性可为南海洋盆扩张演化过程解释提供新的证据。     

On the origin of the western Mediterranean Sea basins

This is a report of a symposium organized by the Netherlands Commission for the Upper Mantle Project. The data relative to the generation of the western Mediterranean Sea basins, presented during this symposium, are summarized in the Appendix.

Several modes of origin have been discussed:

1. (1) the basins are remnants of a former larger ocean;

2. (2) they are formed in the wake of drifting continental blocks;

3. (3) by an erosion and denudation of a continental crust;

4. (4) by an upheaval and later subsidence of an ocean floor; or

5. (5) by sub crustal erosion of a continental crust.

It is concluded that, although many data are in agreement with the drift model, this process cannot have been the sole agent in the generation of the basins.     

试论南中国海盆地新生代板块构造及盆地动力学

南海地处欧亚、印度—澳大利亚和菲律宾海板块的交互带,是西太平洋地区面积最大的边缘海之一,其成因机制和演化过程对探讨特提斯构造域和太平洋构造域相互作用及油气勘探等问题具有重要意义,虽备受关注但仍存争议.综合目前该区及外围已有的大地构造等方面的资料,本文从探讨南海外围的构造格架及中-新生代演化过程入手,分析了南海及外围板块...     

Sedimentary basins of Yemen: their tectonic development and lithostratigraphic cover

This paper describes the updated stratigraphy, structural framework and evolution, and hydrocarbon prospectivity of the Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic basins of Yemen, depicted also on regional stratigraphic charts. The Paleozoic basins include (1) the Rub’ Al-Khali basin (southern flanks), bounded to the south by the Hadramawt arch (oriented approximately W–E) towards which the Paleozoic and Mesozoic sediments pinch out; (2) the San’a basin, encompassing Paleozoic through Upper Jurassic sediments; and (3) the southern offshore Suqatra (island) basin filled with Permo-Triassic sediments correlatable with that of the Karoo rift in Africa. The Mesozoic rift basins formed due to the breakup of Gondwana and separation of India/Madagascar from Africa–Arabia during the Late Jurassic/Early Cretaceous. The five Mesozoic sedimentary rift basins reflect in their orientation an inheritance from deep-seated, reactivated NW–SE trending Infracambrian Najd fault system. These basins formed sequentially from west to east–southeast, sub-parallel with rift orientations—NNW–SSE for the Siham-Ad-Dali’ basin in the west, NW–SE for the Sab’atayn and Balhaf basins and WNW–ESE for the Say’un-Masilah basin in the centre, and almost E–W for the Jiza’–Qamar basin located in the east of Yemen. The Sab’atayn and Say’un–Masilah basins are the only ones producing oil and gas so far. Petroleum reservoirs in both basins have been charged from Upper Jurassic Madbi shale. The main reservoirs in the Sab’atayn basin include sandstone units in the Sab’atayn Formation (Tithonian), the turbiditic sandstones of the Lam Member (Tithonian) and the Proterozoic fractured basement (upthrown fault block), while the main reservoirs in the Say’un–Masilah basin are sandstones of the Qishn Clastics Member (Hauterivian/Barremian) and the Ghayl Member (Berriasian/Valanginian), and Proterozoic fractured basement. The Cenozoic rift basins are related to the separation of Arabia from Africa by the opening of the Red Sea to the west and the Gulf of Aden to the south of Yemen during the Oligocene-Recent. These basins are filled with up to 3,000 m of sediments showing both lateral and vertical facies changes. The Cenozoic rift basins along the Gulf of Aden include the Mukalla–Sayhut, the Hawrah–Ahwar and the Aden–Abyan basins (all trending ENE–WSW), and have both offshore and onshore sectors as extensional faulting and regional subsidence affected the southern margin of Yemen episodically. Seafloor spreading in the Gulf of Aden dates back to the Early Miocene. Many of the offshore wells drilled in the Mukalla–Sayhut basin have encountered oil shows in the Cretaceous through Neogene layers. Sub-commercial discovery was identified in Sharmah-1 well in the fractured Middle Eocene limestone of the Habshiyah Formation. The Tihamah basin along the NNW–SSE trending Red Sea commenced in Late Oligocene, with oceanic crust formation in the earliest Pliocene. The Late Miocene stratigraphy of the Red Sea offshore Yemen is dominated by salt deformation. Oil and gas seeps are found in the Tihamah basin including the As-Salif peninsula and the onshore Tihamah plain; and oil and gas shows encountered in several onshore and offshore wells indicate the presence of proven source rocks in this basin.     

Coal seam development characteristics and distribution predictions in marginal sea basins: Oligocene Yacheng Formation coal measures,Qiongdongnan Basin,northern region of the South China Sea

Abstract

Coal measures located in marginal sea basins are important hydrocarbon source rocks. For the purpose of effectively guiding future oil and gas exploration, the characteristics and distribution patterns of coal seams in coal measures of a marginal sea basin are systematically outlined. Coal measures in marginal sea basins can have large thicknesses, but the individual coal seams can be very thin and lack lateral continuity. In the study area, the organic micro-components of the coal are dominated by vitrinite, with very low amounts of inertinite and liptinite. The amount of inorganic microscopic components is large, but with limited drilling results, few cores and thin coal seams, which are easily overlooked during logging activities, a comprehensive analysis of the logging data may improve efficiency in coal-seam identification and thickness determination. The development and distribution of coal seams in marginal sea basins are controlled by various factors, including (1) paleoclimatic and paleobotanic conditions, which could fundamentally limit coal formation, (2) coal-forming sedimentary environmental conditions that may limit the scope of coal-seam development from a macroscopic perspective, and (3) paleotectonic and paleotopographic conditions that define the coal-forming structures. Therefore, the descending and rising cycles of base-levels, along with changes in the growth rates of the accommodation spaces, can be used to determine the horizons that are potentially favourable for coal formation and can also indicate the migration trends of coal-forming environments on the structural plane. Seismic wave impedance inversion methods could be utilised for semi-quantitative assistance for prediction of coal seams. In summary, for models of coal-seam development in marginal sea basins, the grades should be divided according to reliability, and the different reliability levels should be predicted separately.

1. The characteristics of coal seams developed in marginal sea basins are described.

2. The macerals of coals developed in marginal sea basins have been ascertained.

3. A development model and distribution prediction method for coal seams are assessed according to the control factors.

4. A model for the prediction of coal-seam distribution is presented.

     

East Sakhalin island arc paleosystem of the Sea of Okhotsk region

It has been established that volcanic rocks of the Schmidt, Rymnik, and Terpeniya terranes are fragments of the compound Early to Late Cretaceous-Paleogene East Sakhalin island arc system of the Sea of Okhotsk region. This island arc paleosystem was composed of back-arc volcano-plutonic belt, frontal volcanic island arc, fore-arc, inter-arc, and back-arc basins, and the Sakhalin marginal paleobasin. The continental volcanic rocks dominate in the back-arc volcano-plutonic belt and frontal volcanic island arc. The petrochemical composition of basalts, basaltic andesites, andesites, and trachytes from the frontal island arc formed in submarine conditions are typical of oceanic island arc or marginal sea rocks (IAB). The petrochemical composition of volcanic rocks from the island arc structures indicates its formation on the heterogeneous basement including the continental and oceanic blocks.     

南海东北部潮汕坳陷中生代构造特征及其油气勘探潜力

钻探资料证实南海东北部发育海相中生界。潮汕坳陷是南海东北部最大残留坳陷,面积达3. 7×10 4 km2,经历了晚三叠世张裂初期、侏罗纪坳陷期、晚侏罗世末期第一次构造反转期、早白垩世再沉降期、晚白垩世晚期第二次构造反转期及新近纪区域热沉降期等6个构造演化阶段,充填了滨浅海、半深海等海相沉积及河湖相等陆相沉积。潮汕坳陷侏罗系半封闭海湾型烃源岩有机质丰度相对较高,泥岩地层厚,生烃能力强,油气地质条件好,具有较好的油气勘探前景。     

Tectonic evolution of the triple junction off central Honshu for the past 1 million years

We discuss several models of the evolution of the trench-trench-trench triple junction off central Honshu during the past 1 m.y. on the basis of plate kinematics, morphology, gravity and seismic reflection profile data available for the area. The study area is characterized by large basins, 7–8 km deep on the inner lower trench slope on the Philippine Sea side and the deep (9 km) Izu-Bonin Trench to the east. Between the basins and the trench, there are 6–7 km-deep basement highs. The triple junction is unstable due to the movement of the Philippine Sea plate at a velocity of 3 cm/yr in WNW direction with respect to Eurasia (Northeast Japan), subparallel to the strike of the Sagami Trough. Generally we can expect the boundary area between the Philippine Sea and Pacific plates to be extended because the Pacific plate is unlikely to follow the retreating Philippine Sea plate due to the obstruction of the southeastern corner of Eurasia. The above peculiar morphology of the junction area could have resulted from this lack of stability. However, there are several possible ways to explain the above morphology.

Our gravity model across the trench-basement high-basin area shows that the basement highs are made of low-density materials (1.8–2 g/cm³). Thus we reject the mantle diapir model which proposes that the basement highs have been formed by diapiric injection of serpentinites between the retreating Philippine Sea plate and the Pacific plate.

The stretched basin model proposes that the basins have been formed by stretching of the Philippine Sea plate wedge. We estimated the extension to be about 10 km at the largest basin. We reconstructed the morphology at 1 Ma by moving the Philippine Sea plate 20 km farther to the east after closing the basins, and thus obtained 8 km depth of the 1 Ma trench, which is similar to that of the present Japan Trench to the north. Although this stretched basin model can explain the formation of the basins and the deep trench, other models are equally possible. For instance, the eduction model explains the origin of the basin by the eduction of the Philippine Sea basement from beneath the basement high, while the accretion model explains the basement highs by the accretion of the Izu-Bonin trench wedge sediments. In both of these models we can reconstruct the 1 Ma trench depth as about 8 km, similar to that of the stretched basin model.

The deformation of the basement of the basins constitutes the best criterion to differentiate between these models. The multi-channel seismic reflection profiles show that the basement of the largest basin is cut by normal faults, in particular at its eastern edge. This suggests that the stretched basin model is most likely. However, the upper part of the sediments shows that the basement high to the east has been recently uplifted. This uplift is probably due to the recent (0.5 Ma) start of accretion of the trench wedge sediments beneath this basement high.     

Tectonics and types of riftogenic basins of the Scotia Sea,South Atlantic

Western, central, and eastern provinces are recognized in the Scotia Sea. They are distinguished by their bottom topography, geophysical characteristics, and crustal structure, which record their different origin and evolution. The western province is characterized by the oceanic crust that formed on the West Scotia Ridge, where active spreading may have ceased as a result of a collision between propagating rift and the structural barrier of the thick continental lithosphere of the Falkland Plateau. The central province is a series of blocks mainly composed of continental crust that subsided to various depths depending on the degree of extension in the course of rifting. These blocks are separated by local areas with oceanic crust formed due to the breakup of the continental crust and diffusive spreading. These areas are characterized by deep bottom and high values of Bouguer anomalies. The southern framework of the central province consists of subsided continental blocks and microcontinents divided by small spreading-type basins formed by lithospheric extension complicated by strike-slip faulting. The eastern province is composed of oceanic crust formed on the backarc spreading East Scotia Ridge. The results of density analysis, analog, and numerical simulations allowed us to explain some features of the structure and evolution of these provinces. The insight into tectonic structure of the provinces and their evolution allowed us to recognize several types of riftogenic basins differing in geodynamics, age, and geological and geophysical characteristics.