The Sedimentary Sequence and Palaeogeographic Changes of the South Yellow Sea Since the Olduvai Subchron

According to the alternation of terrestrial beds and transgressive beds, the sedimentary sequence of the South Yellow Sea since the Olduvai subchron can be divided into 15 stratigraphical intervals. According to the facies analysis, there are 7 transgressive beds and one bed with transgression marks, and classical transgressive-regressive facies sequence also appears in the major transgressive beds.Palaeogeographic evolution in the shelf area involved 4 periods: (1) 1.70-0.5 Ma B. P. was the stage for the development of the Palaeo-Yangtze River alluvial plain and delta. Tide influenced -river channel sediments formed during the Olduvai have been found in borehole QC2. The river mouth was located near 124°E and during the transgressive stage from 0.97-0.73 Ma B.P. to the east of 122.2°E, a large-scale undersea delta was formed. In the regressive stage, the shelf area became an alluvial plain. (2) 0.50-0.75 Ma B.P. was a multi-transgressive fluctuation stage during which 3 transgressive beds (HVI, HV, H     

Geochemistry Characteristics of Sediment and Provenance Relations of Sediments in Core NT1 of the South Yellow Sea

The contribution of substance from Yellow River, Yangtze River, and Korean rivers to the sedimentation of Yellow Sea is studied through geochemical analysis and through characterization of the source of the substance about sediment from Core NT1 among the lutaceous area in Central South Yellow Sea. The research finds out that the sediment in Core NT1 mainly comes from Yangtze River and Yellow River, the sediment between 0-7.70 m in upper Core NT1 mainly belongs to Yangtze River source; the sediments between 7.70-16.60 m and 42.0-54.80 m in middle Core NT1 are mainly from Yellow River, the 26 m thick sediment interlayer in it mainly comes from Yangtze River; and the sediment between 54.80-69.76 m in the bottom of Core NT1 is mainly from Yangtze River. The results demonstrate that Yangtze River has been playing a main role in the lutaceous area in the Central South Yellow Sea since early Late Pleistocene, and Yellow River started to influence the continental sedimentation of Yellow Sea from early Warm Glaciation of late Late Pleistocene.     

Crustal structure in an onshore–offshore transitional zone near Hong Kong,northern South China Sea

To study the crustal structure beneath the onshore–offshore transitional zone, a wide-angle onshore–offshore seismic experiment was carried out in northern South China Sea near Hong Kong, using large volume airgun sources at sea and seismic stations on land. The crustal velocity model constructed from traveltime fitting shows that the sedimentary thickness abruptly increases seaward of the Dangan Islands based on the characteristics of Pg and Multiple Pg, and the crustal structure beneath the sedimentary layer is relatively simple. The Moho depth is about 25–28 km along the profile and the P-wave velocity increases gradually with depth. The velocities in the upper crust range from 5.5 to 6.4 km/s, while that in the lower crust is 6.4–6.9 km/s. It also reveals a low velocity zone with a width of more than 10 km crossing the crust at about 75–90 km distance, which suggests that the Littoral Fault Zone (LFZ) exists beneath the onshore–offshore transitional zone. The magnetism anomalies, bouguer gravity anomalies and active seismic zone along the coastline imply the LFZ is a main tectonic fault in the onshore–offshore area. Combined with two previously published profiles in the continental South China (L–G profile) and in the northern margin of South China Sea (OBS1993) respectively, we constructed a land-sea super cross-section about 1000 km long. The results show the onshore–offshore transitional zone is a border separating the unstretched and the stretched continental crust. The low velocity layer (LVL) in the middle crust was imaged along L–G profile. However, the high velocity layer (HVL) in the lower crust was detected along OBS1993. By analyzing the mechanisms of the LVL in the middle crust and HVL in the base of crust, we believe the crustal structures had distinctly different attributes in the continental South China and in the northern SCS, which indicates that the LFZ could be the boundary fault between them.     

Discussion on “sandwich” structures and preservation conditions of shale gas in the South Yellow Sea Basin

In order to make a breakthrough in Mesozoic-Paleozoic shale gas exploration in the South Yellow Sea Basin, a comparison of the preservation conditions was made within the Barnett shale gas reservoirs in the Fortworth Basin, the Jiaoshiba shale gas reservoirs in Sichuan Basin and potential shale gas reservoirs in Guizhou Province. The results show that the “Sandwich” structure is of great importance for shale gas accumulation. Therein to, the “Sandwich” structure is a kind of special reservoir-cap rock assemblage which consist of limestone or dolomite on the top, mudstone or shale layer in the middle and limestone or dolomite at the bottom. In consideration of the Mesozoic-Paleozoic in the Lower Yangtze, and Laoshan Uplift with weak Paleozoic deformation and thrust fault sealing on both flanks of the Laoshan Uplift, a conclusion can be drawn that the preservation conditions of shale gas probably developed “Sandwich” structures in the Lower Cambrian and Permian, which are key layers for the breakthrough of shale gas in the South Yellow Sea. Moreover, the preferred targets for shale gas drilling probably locate at both flanks of the Laoshan Uplift.     

Types and Distribution of Geological Hazards in the South China Sea

Various types of geological hazards exist in the South China Sea. In dynamics sense, they can be categorized into 5 principal genetic types related to effects of hydraulic dynamics, gaseous activity, soil mechanics, gravity and tectonism, respectively. Integrated analyses indicate that the geological hazards associated with volcanoes, earthquakes and fractures are mainly distributed in tectonically active regions, whereas those resulting from mudflows, landslides and diapirs are usually concentrated in the region of slope, that shallow gas, high pressure gas pockets and soft intercalations are major potential geological hazards in the inner shelf, and that strong hydraulic dynamics, especially storm tide, is one of the major causes of geological hazards in the littoral areas. The geological hazards that occurred in the South China Sea are also characterized by periodicity, succession and, to a certain extent, unpredictability in addition to regionalization.     

REE Geochemistry of Surficial Sediments from the Yellow Sea of China

REE geochemical studies of surficial sediment samples from the Yellow Sea of China have shown:(1)The average content of RE2O3 in the Yellow Sea sediments is 175 ppm,close to that in the East China Sea sediments.The REE distribution patterns in the Yellow Sea sediments are also similar to anomalies.These REE characteristics are typical of the continental crust.(2)The contents of REE are controlled mainly by the sediment grain size,i.e.,REE contents increase gradually with decreasing sediment grain size.REE are present mainly in clay minerals.In addition,REE contents are controlled obviously by heavy minerals.REE abundances in heavy minerals are much greater than those in light minerals.(3)Correlation analysis shows that REE have a close relationship with siderophile elements,especially Ti,which has the largest correlation coefficient relative to REE.Terrigenous clastic materials subjected to weathering and transport are suggested to be the main source of REE in the Yellow Sea sediments.     

Oxygen Isotope Records of Core 8KL of the South China Sea and Sea - level Change

Based on a comparison between the oxygen isotope records of benthic and plank tonic foraminifers from core 8KL of the South China Sea and sea-level change records derived from the Huon Peninsula, New Guinea, it is found that both records are very similar from 72 K a B.P. to the present, especially for the benthic oxygen isotope record. The linear regression shows that δ18O changes (0.9995‰ for benthic foraminifers and 1.022‰ for planktonic foraminifers) are equal to 100 m in sea-level fluctuation. After making temperature correction in the δ18O record of benthic foraminifers from 72 to 120 Ka B.P., the curve of sea-level oscillation of the South China Sea since 186 Ka B.P. has been reconstructed. The lowermost sea - level that occurred in the last glacial maximum and oxygen isotope stage 6 is approximately - 130 m.     

Well log analysis and hydrocarbon potential of the Sa'ar–Nayfa reservoir,Hiswah Oilfield,eastern Yemen

Sa'ar–Nayfa reservoir is mainly made up of carbonate sediments with bands of shale that contain a substantial amount of proven oil in the Hiswah Oilfield, Sayun–Masila Basin, eastern Yemen. Several vertical wells have been drilled and penetrated these sequences. This study is concerned on the petrophysical evaluation and well log analysis of the Lower Cretaceous of 11 wells at the Hiswah Oilfield, Hadramawt Governorate, eastern Yemen. Computer-assisted log analyses were used to evaluate the petrophysical parameters such as shale volume, total porosity, effective porosity, water saturation, hydrocarbon saturation, flushed zone saturation and reservoir and pay flags. Cross-plots of the petrophysical parameters versus depth were illustrated. The Lower Cretaceous Sa'ar–Nayfa reservoir reflects that the matrix components are mainly carbonates and shales. Moreover, the lithological-geologic model reflected that these shales are strongly affecting the porosity and, consequently, the fluid saturation in the Sa'ar–Nayfa reservoir. In this study, the thickness of the Sa'ar–Nayfa reservoir increases from central toward north-eastern and north-western parts within the Hiswah Oilfield. The porosities analyses of the investigation of the Sa'ar–Nayfa reservoir for the 11 studied wells concluded that the average total porosity ranges from 5.4 % to 16.8 % while the effective porosity ranges from 5.2 % to 14.8 %. Water saturation of the Sa'ar–Nayfa reservoir ranges from 6.9 % to 75.8 %. On the other hand, hydrocarbon saturation matches with water saturation in a reverse relationship. Sa'ar–Nayfa reservoir is interpreted as good quality reservoir rocks with high average effective porosity reaching to 20 % and high hydrocarbon saturation exceeding 93 %. The Sa'ar–Nayfa reservoir reveals promising reservoir characteristics especially the upper reservoir unit, which should be taken into consideration during future development of the oilfields area. The hydrocarbon saturation map of the Sa'ar–Nayfa reservoir shows a regular pattern of distribution with a general increasing to the northeast, northwest and east directions while decreasing southwest wards, recording the maximum value of 93.1 % at the Hiswah-21 well.     

3D Velocity Structure and Its Tectonic Implications in the East China Sea and Yellow Sea

3D structure of the crust and upper mantle in the studied area has been analyzed from surface wave tomography. The velocity distribution in the uppermost crust is symmetrical on two sides of the central line of the sea, and coincides with the structure of crystalline basement. The essential difference in tectonics between the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea mainly lies in that the velocity structures of their lower crust and upper mantle are identical to those of South China and North China respectively. In the upper mantle there exists a high-velocity zone with a nearly EW strike from the Hangzhou Bay, China, to the Tokara Channel, Japan, along about the latitude of 30°N. It is found that between the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea there are systematical differences in geomorphology, geology, seismicity, heat flow, quality factor and gravity and aeromagnetic anomalies, which is related to both left-lateral shear dislocation and right-lateral tear of the Benioff zone from the Hangzhou Bay to the Tokara Channel.It is inferred that the East China Sea was formed by Cenozoic back-arc extension. The boundary between the North China and South China crustal blocks stretches along the southern piedmont of Mts. Daba-Dabie-Hangzhou Bay-Tokara Channel, and the subduction zone at the Okinawa trench is the eastern boundary of the South China crustal block. The movements of the Pacific plate, Indian plate and upper mantle rather than the Philippine plate subduction have played a dominant role for the modern tectonic movements in East Asia.     

Natural background of hydrocarbon gases (C1–C5) in the waters of the Kara Sea

The distributions of methane and hydrocarbons (HC) C2+ throughout the vertical section of the water mass and sediments of the Kara Sea and the estuaries of the Ob and Yenisei rivers were examine during expeditions aboard the R/V “Akademik Boris Petrov” in 1997–2002. Data obtained during the expeditions and extensive information provided by the complex study of the carbon cycle in the aquatic area were used to analyze the genesis of hydrocarbon gases in marine water. The example of particulate matter was used to demonstrate that hydrocarbon gases of the composition C2–C5 contained in seawater are genetically related to aquatic organic matter (OM), regardless of seawater salinity. The hydrocarbon complex is dominated (80%) by higher C4–C5 homologues. The concentration of C4–C5 hydrocarbons in the estuarine fresh waters is comparable with the high methane concentration (2–3 μl/l), drastically decreases in the zone of water mixing, and then rapidly increases to values several times higher than the methane concentration in seawater outside the outer boundary of the sedimentation depocenter of riverine particulate matter. A direct correlation was established for the concentration of the C4 + C5 homologues with the OM of the water mass, and the leading role was demonstrated to be played by labile OM of the autochthonous biomass (marine phytoplankton) in the genesis of higher hydrocarbon gases (alkenes, alkanes, and isoalkanes) during the early diagenetic stage of OM transformations in water. Along with the biomass of phytoplankton, a significant role in the genesis of C2–C3 hydrocarbons is played by destruction products of terrigenous OM. The destruction of OM and generation of gaseous hydrocarbons, including methane, are restricted to the pycnocline and the water-sediment interface. The absolute predominance of the sum of the C4 + C5 homologues in the hydrocarbon C2+ gases and the presence of unsaturated C2–C4 hydrocarbons are typical of the natural background of hydrocarbons of the Kara Sea water mass.     

Hydrocarbons in the Basement of the South China Sea (Vietnam) Shelf and Structural–Tectonic Model of their Formation

Geotectonics - The paper considers the origin of hydrocarbon accumulations within the Pre-Cenozoic basement of the Vietnam shelf. It is shown that the formation of hydrocarbon deposits is...     

Middle and Late Tertiary Palaeogeography and Palaeoenvironment on the Northern Continental Margin of the South China Sea

Based essentially on research results of calcareous nannofossils, combined with some other microfossil da-ta and several secondary depositional breaks, this paper discusses the criteria of division and comparison of themiddle and late Tertiary marine sediments, palaeogeographical and palaeoenvironmental evolution andpalaeoclimates on the northern continental margin of the South China Sea, comprising the Tainan basin, PearlRiver Mouth basin. Southeast Hainan basin and Beibu Gulf basin. Study shows that the upper Oligocene toPliocene strata in the whole area consist essentially of marine sediments except in the Beibu Gulf basin. Theyinclude littoral. neritic and deltaic sediments as well as carbonate rock-bioherm limestone. The sea advancedfrom southeast to northwest. During the transgression there appeared three culminations coinciding to thestages of deposition of nannofossil zones NN4-5, NN11 and 13-15.     

Elemental and Sr–Nd isotopic compositional disparity of riverine sediments around the Yellow Sea: Constraints from grain-size and chemical partitioning

To obtain a better understanding of the source compositions of the river sediments around the Yellow Sea and their relationship with source rocks, elements and strontium-neodymium (Sr–Nd) isotopes of different grain-sizes (silt and clay populations) and chemical (labile and residual phases) fractionations in riverine sediments were studied extensively. These results clearly revealed a systematic compositional disparity between Korean river (KR) and Chinese river (CR) sediments, especially in the residual (detrital) fraction. The geochemical dissimilarity between these might reflect inherited signatures of their source rocks but with minor control from chemical weathering. In particular, the remarkable enrichment of some elements (iron (Fe) and magnesium (Mg)) and the behavior of large ion lithophile elements (e.g., barium (Ba), potassium (K) and Sr) during weathering as well as less-radiogenic Sr isotopic compositions implies that CR sediments might be weathering products of relatively more mafic rocks, with abundant ferromagnesian and plagioclase feldspar minerals, compared with KR sediments derived from silicic granites with relatively higher quartz and potassium feldspar contents. This different petrological rationale is clearly evident in an A–CN–K diagram, which estimated the source rock of CR sediments as granodioritic, a composition that reflects accurately the average composition of weathered continental crust in China. The recognition of such geochemical systematics in two river sediments, especially in grain-size and chemically partitioned data, may contribute to the establishment of provenance tracers for the Yellow Sea and East China Sea sediments with multi-sources as well the dust deposition in the western Pacific.     

Pliocene–Pleistocene stratigraphy and macrofauna of the Farasan Islands, South East Red Sea, Saudi Arabia

The stratigraphy of the Farasan Islands (Pliocene?CPleistocene deposits) is established on the basis of a detailed study of six stratigraphic sections described and sampled in the field. Detailed examinations involve the microfacies analyses and identification of macrofossils makes it possible to determine two new informal formations, namely, from the base to the top: Esbah formation of Pliocene age and Farasan formation of Pleistocene age. The detected microfacies types of the studied samples are only carbonate facies and include five major types: mudstone, wackestone, packstone, floatstone and boundstone. No grains of quartz sand or igneous mineral were found in the islands. The nomenclature of the biostratigraphic units established in the present work is not intended to define world-wide zonal standards. It is only used to subdivide the sequence into biostratigraphic zones according to 137 macrofaunal species (78 bivalves, 56 gastropods and three echinoids). These biozones, namely: Lithophaga teres zone (Early Pliocene), Clypeaster reticulates?CLaganum depressum zone and Chesapecten madisonius?CNoetia limula interval zone are assigned to the Late Pliocene; meanwhile, Noetia limuli?CAnadara ovalis interval zone and A. ovalis range zone are assigned to the Pleistocene age. The affinity of the Pliocene?CPleistocene fauna recorded from the Farasan Islands increase with time towards the Indo-Pacific realm. The identified bivalves and gastropods are dominated by the Indo-Pacific forms suggesting the connection of the Red Sea rift with the open Indian Ocean via the Gulf of Aden and Bab El Mandab in the latest Miocene and Early Pliocene.     

Deep Structure and Geodynamics of the Black Sea–Caspian Region

Geotectonics - New data on the crust structure of the Black Sea?Caspian region, including the Scythian and Anatolian plate margins, the Caucasus, Black Sea and Southern Caspian structures are...     

Lower Boundary of the Marine Pleistocene in Northern Shelf of the South China Sea

A marine stratigraphic sequence across the Pliocene / Pleistocene boundary has been found in the north-ern continental shelf of the South China Sea. The marine Quaternary deposits in the Yinggehai Basin may ex-ceed 2,000 m in thickness, probably providing the best section for studying the lower boundary of the marinePleistocene in South China. The vertical succession with planktonic foraminifers and nannofossils revealed inboreholes in the basin has been well correlated with that in the international stratotype section of thePliocene / Pleistocene boundary at Vrica, Italy, resulting in the acquirement of a biostratigraphic boundary at1.64 Ma. This boundary, however, does not coincide with any prominent lithological palaeoenvironmentalchanges in the study area and can hardly be used in geological practice. There are, in contrast, significantchanges at the level of LAD of Globorotalia multicamerata sensu lato located below the above-mentionedboundary. The percentage of planktonic foraminifers in the total population and preservation of foraminiferaltests display great changes at this level corresponding to a clear onlap on the seismic profiles and indicating adepositional hiatus at ca. 2.0-2.5 Ma. Since the level can be widely traced in the Pearl River Mouth Basin andthe Beibu Gulf Basin and well corresponds with the marked depositional environmental changes recorded inthe west Pacific and other regions, it is recommended that the Plio / Pleistocene boundary be drawn at the levelof Gr. multicamerata sensu lato LAD, roughly concurrent with the Gauss / Matuyama turn.     

Crustal structure and nature of emplacement of the 85°E Ridge in the Mahanadi offshore based on constrained potential field modeling: Implications for intraplate plume emplaced volcanism

An integrated interpretation of multi-channel seismic reflection, gravity and magnetic datasets belonging to northern most part of the 85°E Ridge in the Mahanadi offshore is carried out to study the crustal structure and mode of its emplacement. The basement structure map of the ridge reveals that it is 130–150 km wide and is composed of an eastern high which appears as a continuous, broad and smooth topographyand the western high characterized by several steep isolated highs. The seismic velocities reported for the first time over the ridge indicate several sedimentary sequences ranging in velocities between 1.6 and 4.0 km/s above the acoustic basement top. The salient aspects of the sedimentary velocities are; a low velocity layer (2.6–3.2 km/s) within the Cretaceous sequence in the intervening depressions encompassing the flank region, and a regionally widespread higher velocity layer (3.5–3.8 km/s) belonging to the Eocene–Oligocene section overlying the ridge. A layer having a velocity of 4.2–4.7 km/s probably made of volcanoclastic rocks is observed immediately below the acoustic basement. The sediment isopach maps presented here for three major horizons are used to compute the 3-D sediment gravity effect to obtain a crustal Bouguer anomaly map of the region. Detailed analysis of the gravity and magnetic anomaly maps clearly demonstrates the continuity of ridge up to the Mahanadi coast at Chilka Lake. Seismically constrained gravity and magnetic models indicate that the ridge is composed of volcanic material that was emplaced on continental crust in the shelf-slope areas and over the oceanic crust in the deep offshore areas. The modeled crustal structure below the ridge further indicates volcanic emplacement of the ridge on a relatively younger lithosphere. We propose two alternative models for the emplacement of the ridge.