Crustal stretching style variations in the northern margin of the South China Sea
- Linking deep seismic profiles with regional-scale gravity inversion is a powerful tool to deduce the architecture of rifted margins and their structural evolution. Here we map upper and lower crustal thicknesses of the northern South China Sea (SCS) margin in order to investigate the occurrence of depth-dependent crustal extension from the proximal to the distal margin. By comparing upper and lower crustal stretching factors, we find that the northern margin of the SCS is segmented in three parts: (1) sedimentary basins where upper crust is stretched more than lower crust, (2) distal margin where lower crust is stretched more than upper crust, (3) mostly proximal margin regions where the two layers have similar stretching factors. Our results suggest that sedimentary basins and distal margin prominently feature depth-dependent extension, however accommodated by different processes. While differential thinning within sedimentary basins appears to be governed by lateral pressure variations inducing lower crustal flow, we suggest theLinking deep seismic profiles with regional-scale gravity inversion is a powerful tool to deduce the architecture of rifted margins and their structural evolution. Here we map upper and lower crustal thicknesses of the northern South China Sea (SCS) margin in order to investigate the occurrence of depth-dependent crustal extension from the proximal to the distal margin. By comparing upper and lower crustal stretching factors, we find that the northern margin of the SCS is segmented in three parts: (1) sedimentary basins where upper crust is stretched more than lower crust, (2) distal margin where lower crust is stretched more than upper crust, (3) mostly proximal margin regions where the two layers have similar stretching factors. Our results suggest that sedimentary basins and distal margin prominently feature depth-dependent extension, however accommodated by different processes. While differential thinning within sedimentary basins appears to be governed by lateral pressure variations inducing lower crustal flow, we suggest the distal margin to be affected by a combination of mantle flow-induced lower crustal shearing and sequential fault activity during crustal hyper-extension.…
| Author details: | Yongliang BaiORCiD, Dongdong DongORCiD, Sascha BruneORCiDGND, Shiguo Wu, Zhenjie Wang |
|---|---|
| DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2018.12.012 |
| ISSN: | 0040-1951 |
| ISSN: | 1879-3266 |
| Title of parent work (English): | Tectonophysics : international journal of geotectonics and the geology and physics of the interior of the earth |
| Publisher: | Elsevier |
| Place of publishing: | Amsterdam |
| Publication type: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Date of first publication: | 2018/12/11 |
| Publication year: | 2018 |
| Release date: | 2021/04/20 |
| Tag: | Crustal stretching style; Divergent mantle flow; Gravity inversion; Lower crustal flow; Sediment load; The northern margin of the South China Sea |
| Volume: | 751 |
| Number of pages: | 12 |
| First page: | 1 |
| Last Page: | 12 |
| Funding institution: | National Natural Science Foundation of ChinaNational Natural Science Foundation of China [41506055, 41476046, 41476042, U170120019, 41506085]; Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities ChinaFundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities [17CX02003A, 18CX02064A]; Open Fund of the Key Laboratory of Marine Geology and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences [MGE2017KG01]; Key Research Program of the Chinese Academy of SciencesChinese Academy of Sciences [Y10131]; Helmholtz AssociationHelmholtz Association [VH-NG-1132] |
| Organizational units: | Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Institut für Geowissenschaften |
| DDC classification: | 5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 55 Geowissenschaften, Geologie / 550 Geowissenschaften |
| Peer review: | Referiert |
| License (German): |  Creative Commons - CC0 1.0 - Universell - Public Domain Dedication |
