Thermal and rheological structures of the Xisha Trough, South China Sea

The Xisha Trough, located in the northwest of the South China Sea (SCS) mainly rifted 30 Ma ago, has been a failed rift since the cessation of the seafloor spreading of the NW subbasin. Based on the velocity–depth model along Profile OBH-4 across the Xisha Trough, a seven-layer density–depth model is used to estimate density structure for the profile. The relationship between seismic velocity and radiogenic heat production is used to estimate the vertical distribution of heat sources in the lower crust. The 2-D temperature field is calculated by applying a 2-D numerical solution of the heat conduction equation and the thermal lithosphere thickness is obtained from the basalt dry solidus (BDS). The rheology of the profile is estimated on the basis of frictional failure in the brittle regime and power-law steady-state creep in the ductile regime. Rheological model is constructed for a three-layer model involving a granitic upper crust, a quartz diorite lower crust and an olivine upper mantle. Gravity modeling supports basically the velocity–depth model. The Moho along Profile OBH-4 is of relatively high heat flow ranging from 46 to 60 mW/m² and the Moho heat flow is higher in the trough than on the flanks. The depth of the “thermal” lithospheric lower boundary is about 54 km in the center, deepens toward two sides, and is about 75 km at the northern slope area and about 70 km at the southern Xisha–Zhongsha Block. Rheological calculation indicates that the two thinnest ductile layers in the crust and the thickest brittle layer in the uppermost mantle lie in the central region, showing that the Xisha Trough has been rheologically strengthened, which are mainly due to later thermal relaxation. In addition, the strengthening in rheology during rifting was not the main factor in hampering the breakup of the Xisha Trough.