Annual variation of sea surface height,dynamic topography and circulation in the South China Sea

TOPEX/Poseidon satellite altimetry data from 1993 to 1999 were used to study mean annual variation of sea surface height anomaly (SSHA) in the South China Sea (SCS) and to reproduce its climatological monthly surface dynamic topography in conjunction with historical hydrographic data. The characters and rules of seasonal evolution of the SCS dynamic topography and its upper circulation were then discussed. Analyses indicate that annual variation of the SCS large-scale circulation could be divided into four major phases. In winter (from November to February), the SCS circulation is mainly controlled by double cyclonic gyres with domination of the northern gyre. Other corresponding features include the Kuroshio intrusion from the Luzon Strait and the northeastward off-shelf current in the area northwest off Kalimantan Island. The double gyre structure disassembled in spring (from March to April) when the northern gyre remains cyclonic, the southern gyre becomes anticyclonic, and the general circulation pattern shows a dipole. There is no obvious large-scale closed gyre inside the SCS basin in both summer (from May to July) and autumn (from August to October) when the SCS Monsoon Jet dominates the circulation, which flows northeastward across the SCS. Even so, circulation patterns of these two phases diverse significantly. From May to July, the SCS monsoon jet flows northward near the Vietnam coast and bends eastward along the topography southeast off Hainan Island at about 18°N forming an anticyclonic turn. It then turns northeastward after crossing the SCS. From August to October, however, the monsoon Jet leaves the coast of Vietnam and enters interior of the basin at about 13°N, and the general circulation pattern becomes cyclonic. The Kuroshio intrusion was not obvious in spring, summer and autumn. It is suggested from these observations that dynamic adjustment of the SCS circulation starts right after the peak period of the prevailing monsoon.     

Sea surface height and transport stream function of the South China Sea from a variable-grid global ocean circulation model

The study on the South China Sea (SCS) circulation has a history of more than 40 years. Nevertheless, the SCS circulation is not fully understood compared with the Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea and East China Sea (ECS). Many numerical studies on the SCS circulati…     

Annual variation of sea surface height, dynamic topography and circulation in the South China Sea —— A TOPEX/Poseidon satellite altimetry study

The South China Sea (SCS) is a semi-enclosed deep basin with complex topography includ-ing broad continental shelves, steep slopes, and a large deep basin. It is dominated by prevailing southwest monsoon in summer and by much stronger northeast monsoon in…     

菲律宾海板块与南海协同构造演化探讨

菲律宾海板块(Philippine Sea Plate,PSP)与南海(South China Sea,SCS)处于欧亚板块、太平洋板块和澳大利亚板块的交汇区域,其构造演化对东南亚、西太平洋乃至全球板块构造重建具有重要意义.虽然PSP和SCS的构造演化模型已经分别建立,但二者之间的协同演化关系还不明确.本文综述了PSP和SCS的古地磁数据、海底磁异常条带资料,并结合地震层析成像以及其他地质结果的约束,对二者的演化关系进行了探讨.PSP四国盆地与SCS在渐新世开始时,受控于统一的地球动力学系统,两者具有地质意义上的亲缘性.早中新世,澳大利亚板块与东南亚地块碰撞,致使PSP发生旋转,四国盆地开始与SCS发生分离,并逐渐向北运动和顺时针旋转,直至演化至现今位置.本文最后提出了这种协同构造演化模式有待解决的问题以及未来的研究展望.

     

南黄海南部与东海北部之间的深部构造

针对南黄海南部与东海之间的深部构造，根据前一段地球物理研究的结果，与有关文献进行对比探讨，发现其差异．在重力和三维地震层析成像结果基础上，探讨分析了该海域的深部构造，给出分布在南黄海南部与东海北部之间的苏浙-济州岛构造带的分布位置、形态特征，并讨论了该构造带的性质、与周边构造体系和构造演化的关系．并指出这一构造由于朝鲜半岛西缘断裂带的存在而并未延伸进入朝鲜半岛．     

Sediment mass and distribution in the South China Sea since the Oligocene

The sediment macro-distribution patterns and their evolutionary characteristics in the South China Sea (SCS) are discussed based on a quantification of the sediment mass from the be- ginning of seafloor spreading in the Oligocene to the Present. Above the pre-Oligocene base, the total sediment mass for the whole SCS is estimated to be 1.44×1016 t, with the highest average accumulation rate of ~22 g·cm-2·ka-1 in the Oligocene. Having no large abyssal fans but fast accumulation in sedimentary basins on the continental shelf and slope, the SCS shows quite different sedimentary characters not only from the open ocean but also from small backarc basins along the marginal West Pacific, apparently controlled by the coupling between local tectonics and global climate changes.     

Pleistocene radiolarian biostratigraphy in the South China Sea*

Based on a quantitative radiolarian analysis, 5 radiolarian zones (NR1-NR5) have been defined at Core. 17957-2 from the South China Sea, considering radiolarian zonations from low latitudes. The absolute age assignment of the radiolarian zones and the ranges of the six marker species is based on the direct correlation with the paleomagnetic and isotopic record, respectively. A comparison of the radiolarian stratigraphic data obtained from Core 17957-2 from the South China Sea with those from the equatorial Pacific and the tropical Indian Ocean shows a close similarity to the ages defined in the equatorial Pacific. The obtained biostratigraphic data provide an excellent tool for further dating of Pleistocene sediments in the China Sea. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 49291100) and by the German Federal Ministry for Education, Science, Research and Technology (BMBF) as part of a GermadChinese scientific cooperation program. This is Alfred Wegener Contribution No. 1473.     

华南及南海北部地区瑞利面波层析成像

基于华南及周边地区106个宽频带地震台站多年记录的MS≥5.0中浅源地震事件, 开展瑞利面波层析成像和速度结构特征研究, 获得了华南大陆及南海北部地区10~100 s瑞利波群速度分布图像和典型剖面下方地壳上地幔速度结构, 为理解该地区构造演化和深部过程提供约束.考虑到实际地震射线的覆盖情况以及华南地区主要构造的主体展布特征, 本文同时采用传统的规则网格剖分和平行主要构造走向的非规则网格剖分方法, 分别进行分格频散反演, 开展了不同参数化方案对反演结果影响的对比分析研究.基于瑞利面波层析成像结果, 进行了典型剖面横波速度结构反演, 重建了华南地区由内陆至南海海域主要构造单元的壳幔横波速度结构.研究结果表明, 扬子和华夏块体地壳上地幔结构特征差异显著, 扬子块体地壳和岩石圈厚度均大于华夏地块, 且扬子块体上地幔顶部速度较华夏块体低, 岩石圈厚度在雪峰山造山带下方发生过渡和转换;南海北部陆缘和南海海盆上地幔速度较高且形态相对完整, 表现为非火山型大陆边缘和已停止扩张海盆的壳幔结构特征.     

南海北部地震危险性分析

在建立了比较可靠的南海北部地震目录以后,采用编制中国地震动参数区划图（2001）的方法,重新划分了南海北部海域的潜在震源区和调整了相关的地球物理参数,最终计算了南海北部海域50年超越概率10％的地震动峰值加速度。南海北部的地震动峰值加速度可分成东部高值区和西部低值区。东区的地震动峰值加速度在0．160g以上,西区大部分海域的地震动峰值加速度小于0．114g,并且与它们北侧的陆区大致相似。     

Tectono-thermal modeling of the Yinggehai Basin,South China Sea

Based on the observed data, the average value of surface heat flow in the Yinggehai Basin is calculated and it turns out to be 84.1 mW/m². The thermal evolution of the basin since the Cenozoic era has been attempted by tectono-thermal modeling. Three-phase extension made the basin become hotter and hotter, reaching its climax in paleo-temperature history since 5.2 Ma. And nowadays, the basin is in the heat flow decreasing period. During the Cenozoic era, the basement heat flow remained at 50–70 mW/m² all the time. This is related to the degree of each extension phase, stretching rate mode and also the limited basin scale. Modeling results also show that, the surface heat flow is controlled mainly by the basement heat flow, and less than 20% comes from radiogenic heat production in the sediments of the basin     

南海地震与海啸

地震海啸的形成要具备3个条件:一是有深海盆地,可以容纳巨量海水;二是海底地形隆起与拗陷反差强烈;三是存在倾滑型活断层,可发生6级以上倾滑型的地震。查南海及其周边地形地貌,北西南三面都有宽阔的大陆架,中部又是平坦的深海平原,都不具备发生地震海啸的条件,惟独东侧马尼拉海沟才具备产生地震海啸的条件。南海地壳属于大洋型地壳与大陆型地壳之间的过度类型。其断裂构造非常发育,不同地段具有明显差异。北部为拉张型,南部为挤压型,西部为剪切型,东部为俯冲型,中部是扩张型。按断裂展布方向可分为NE向、NW向、EW向、SN向4组;按断裂切割深度,可分为岩石圈断裂、地壳断裂、基底断裂和盖层断裂。这些断裂多数为活动断裂,而东缘俯冲型断裂又是发震断裂。从地震分布、震源机制解分析,南海北、西、南以及中部都不具备引发地震海啸的条件,只有台南—菲律宾地震带东西两侧的贝尼奥夫带发生的倾滑型或具倾滑分量的走滑型6级以上地震,才有可能引发海啸,并可能对南海及我国东南沿海诸省以及港澳地区产生影响。     

南海磁性基底分布特征的地球物理研究

利用南海最新的磁力资料,在岩石物性分析基础上,选择南海一条典型剖面拟合反演其密度与磁性结构并以拟合结果作为约束,反演全海域磁性基底的宏观分布.对南海磁力数据进行了低纬度化极处理,利用Halo小波基对化极磁异常进行了多尺度分析并依据磁力异常特征进行了磁场分区.根据剖面与全海域磁性基底反演结果认为：南海北部陆缘更倾向于非火山型的构造属性.磁性基底对浅部沉积作用的控制关系在莺歌海一带表现得非常明显.中—西沙和南沙块体的磁性基底特征十分相似,推测在海盆拉张之前,二者为同一块体.     

南海油气资源潜力及勘探现状

南海的油气资源极为丰富,享有“第二个波斯湾”的美誉.南海地貌类型多样,地形复杂,其战略位置极为重要,是东亚及相邻各国必经之路.资源之争,使得周边各国使出浑身解数,发展海洋经济与技术,1981年至2002年,越南就从南沙海域的油田中开采了1亿吨石油、15亿多立方米的天然气,获利250亿美元,南海石油已成为越南国民经济的第一大支柱产业.近半世纪中国南海油气勘探工作取得巨大的成就,发现了26个新生代盆地,取得了南海海域的基本石油地质成果,为南海的勘探开发奠定了基础.南海具有巨大的勘探空间及技术发展空间,每一次的技术进步,都会带来南海油气勘探的质的飞跃.     

Levels of endocrine disrupting compounds in South China Sea

The occurrence of estrogens in the aquatic environment has become a major concern worldwide because of their strong endocrine disrupting potency. In this study, concentrations of four estrogenic compounds, estrone (E1), 17β-estradiol (E2), 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2), estriol (E3) were determined with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analyses in surface water from South China Sea, and distributions and potential risks of their estrogenic activity were assessed. The estrogenic compounds E1, E2 and E3 were detected in most of the samples, with their concentrations up to 11.16, 3.71 and 21.63 ng L⁻¹. However, EE2 was only detected in 3 samples. Causality analysis, EEQ values from chemical analysis identified E2 as the main responsible compounds. Based on the EEQ values in the surface water, high estrogenic risks were in the coastal water, and low estrogenic risks in the open sea.     

Records of Toba eruptions in the South China Sea

Three layers of volcanic tephra, sampled from ODP 1143 Site in the South China Sea, were observed at the mcd depth of 5.55 m, 42.66 m, and 48.25 m, and named, in this paper, layers of A, B, and C, respectively. All of these tephra layers have an average thickness of ca. 2 cm. They were constrained in age of ca. 0.070 Ma, ca. 0.80 Ma, and ca. 1.00 Ma, respectively, by the microbiostratigraphy data. These tephra layers were predominated by volcanic glass shards with a median grain size of 70–75 μm in diameter. Major chemical compositions analyzed by EMPA and comparison with the previous data from other scatter areas suggest that these three layers of tephra can correspond to the three layers of Toba tephra, YTT, OTT, and HDT, respectively, erupting during the Quaternary. The occurrence of these tephra layers in the South China Sea implies that the Toba eruptions often occurred in the summer monsoon seasons of the South China Sea during the Quaternary, and that the strength of eruptions was probably stronger than that previously estimated.     

南海岩石层及边界构造的地球物理特征

南海经历了中生代主动大陆边缘到新生代被动大陆边缘的转换,其岩石层地球物理场具有明显的块、带特征.本文通过综合分析南海地区深地震探测、面波层析成像、重磁异常以及地热与岩石层流变学等各种地质地球物理资料,对南海地壳及岩石层的综合地球物理特征进行了深入总结,发现深地震探测剖面所确定的洋、陆壳转换位置与空间重力异常梯级带位置较为一致,据此拟定了南海洋、陆壳的转换边界;依据多条地壳结构剖面中拉张减薄的程度确定了正常减薄陆壳、洋陆壳过渡带及洋壳等属性特征,并初步圈定了南海下地壳高速层的分布范围.对比分析了南、北陆缘地壳结构及其拉张减薄的变化特征,从综合地球物理特征的相似性上推测了北部陆缘的中西沙陆块与南部陆缘的南沙礼乐滩陆块具有共轭对称性.依据S波速度梯度变化确定了南海岩石层厚度分布情况,揭示出南海北部陆缘存在一条岩石层厚度的减薄带,且该减薄带与高热流带具有较好的一致性.在综合分析的基础上,以深地震探测剖面与重、磁异常变化的对应性为基础,划定了南海边界构造的位置.     

南海北部雾状层分布和特征的地震海洋学研究

利用地震海洋学方法在南海北部陆架和上陆坡区域发现了15个雾状层.这些雾状层的延伸长度从几千米到几十千米,厚度十几米到一百米,其顶界所处水深在135 m至715.5 m范围之间.雾状层在地震海洋学剖面上表现为强反射特征.不同于其他传统声学或光学方法,地震海洋学方法分辨率高,且能在短时间内对整个水体进行成像,可以记录到雾状层的时空变化特征,实现对雾状层的"四维"观测.南海北部上陆坡区域是内孤立波浅化、能量耗散集中的区域,在此过程中内孤立波会导致较大的波致流速,侵蚀海底使得表面沉积物再悬浮,进入水体,形成和维持雾状层的存在.     

南海北部海底热流测量及分析

广州海洋地质调查局用德国产的微型温度传感器和自行研制的重力取样器组装成海底热流探针,并用该设备在中国南海北部开展了海底热流测量,这是国内首次独立开展此项工作,也是我国海洋地质和地球物理调查技术方法的新尝试.通过实测数据分析以及与1985年中美合作获得的西沙海域地热流测量剖面数据对比,表明测量数据可靠并具有良好的一致性.此项工作的成功,将有助于地热流测量工作的深入开展,进而提高我国海底天然气水合物的勘探和海洋地质基础研究的水平.     

Disequilibria between ~(210)Po and ~(210)Pb in surface waters of the southern South China Sea and their implications

Naturally occurring 210Po (half-life 138.4d) is the granddaughter of 210Pb (half-life 22.3a), both are members of 238U decay series and have been inten-sively utilized to study kinetic aspects of material cy-cling in the ocean[1]. Based on radioactive disequilibria in the 226Ra-210Pb-210Po system, oceanographical processes with different timescales have been widely studied. Rama et al.[2] first detected excess 210Pb rela-tive to its precursor 226Ra in surface waters, and considered this exc…     

Texture and tectonic attribute of Cenozoic basin basement in the northern South China Sea

Based on the drilling data,the geological characteristics of the coast in South China,and the interpretation of the long seismic profiles covering the Pearl River Mouth Basin and southeastern Hainan Basin,the basin basement in the northern South China Sea is divided into four structural layers,namely,Pre-Sinian crystalline basement,Sinian-lower Paleozoic,upper Paleozoic,and Mesozoic structural layers.This paper discusses the distribution range and law and reveals the tectonic attribute of each structural layer.The Pre-Sinian crystalline basement is distributed in the northern South China Sea,which is linked to the Pre-Sinian crystalline basement of the Cathaysian Block and together they constitute a larger-scale continental block—the Cathaysian-northern South China Sea continental block.The Sinian-lower Paleozoic structural layer is distributed in the northern South China Sea,which is the natural extension of the Caledonian fold belt in South China to the sea area.The sediments are derived from southern East China Sea-Taiwan,Zhongsha-Xisha islands and Yunkai ancient uplifts,and some small basement uplifts.The Caledonian fold belt in the northern South China Sea is linked with that in South China and they constitute the wider fold belt.The upper Paleozoic structural layer is unevenly distributed in the northern South China.In the basement of Beibu Gulf Basin and southwestern Taiwan Basin,the structural layer is composed of the stable epicontinental sea deposit.The distribution areas in the Pearl River Mouth Basin and the southeastern Hainan Basin belong to ancient uplifts in the late Paleozoic,lacking the upper Paleozoic structural layers.The stratigraphic distribution and sedimentary environment in Middle-Late Jurassic to Cretaceous are characteristic of differentiation in the east and the west.The marine,paralic deposit is well developed in the basin basement of southwestern Taiwan but the volcanic activity is not obvious.The marine and paralic facies deposit is distributed in the eastern Pearl River Mouth Basin basement and the volcanic activity is stronger.The continental facies volcano-sediment in the Early Cretaceous is distributed in the basement of the western Pearl River Mouth Basin and Southeastern Hainan Basin.The Upper Cretaceous red continental facies clastic rocks are distributed in the Beibu Gulf Basin and Yinggehai Basin.The NE direction granitic volcanic-intrusive complex,volcano-sedimentary basin,fold and fault in Mesozoic basement have the similar temporal and spatial distribution,geological feature,and tectonic attribute with the coastal land in South China,and they belong to the same magma-deposition-tectonic system,which demonstrates that the late Mesozoic structural layer was formed in the background of active continental margin.Based on the analysis of basement structure and the study on tectonic attribute,the paleogeographic map of the basin basement in different periods in the northern South China Sea is compiled.