Zhang Gongcheng

Rifting process and formation mechanisms of syn-rift stage prolongation in the deepwater basin, northern South China Sea

Based on the latest seismic and geological data, tectonic subsidence of three seismic lines in the deepwater area of Pearl River Mouth Basin (PRMB), the northern South China Sea (SCS), is calculated. The result shows that the rifting process of study area is different from the typical passive continental margin basin. Although the seafloor spreading of SCS initiated at 32 Ma, the tectonic subsidence rate does not decrease but increases instead, and then decreases at about 23 Ma, which indicates that the rifting continued after the onset of seafloor spreading until about 23 Ma. The formation thickness exhibits the same phenomenon, that is the syn-rift stage prolonged and the post-rift thermal subsidence delayed. The formation mechanisms are supposed to be three: (1) the lithospheric rigidity of the northern SCS is weak and its ductility is relatively strong, which delayed the strain relaxation resulting from the seafloor spreading; (2) the differential layered independent extension of the lithosphere may be one reason for the delay of post-rift stage; and (3) the southward transition of SCS spreading ridge during 24 to 21 Ma and the corresponding acceleration of seafloor spreading rate then triggered the initiation of large-scale thermal subsidence in the study area at about 23 Ma.

Fingered Intrusion of Shallow Saucer-shaped Igneous Sills: Insights from the Jiaojiang Sag, East China Sea

: An extensive suite of igneous sills was intruded into the Tertiary sedimentary section of the Jiaojiang sag, East China Sea. This suite has been well imaged offshore through 2D and 3D seismic surveys, showing a close relationship with CO2 content in nearby gas discoveries. A new observational model, which incorporates simple upward propagation, simple horizontal propagation, and transgressive propagation, was proposed to interpret these sill intrusions. In this model, the source magma of the saucer-shaped sills was injected from their lowest points near the center. The transgressive propagation can be interpreted as a combination of the vertical and horizontal propagation. Most shallow sub-volcanic intrusions in the Jiaojiang sag exhibit fingered characteristics, both vertically and horizontally. The vertical fingered propagation produced saucer-shaped sills arranged in the flower style. Along the brims of lower sills could usually be found the upper sills, which are interpreted to have formed simultaneously with or later than the lower feeder sills. In the second type, the chilled paths of the older sills were reutilized by subsequent intrusions. The horizontal fingered propagation formed sheet intrusions that exhibit groove, lobate, tubular, and crevasse splay-like geometry in plan view. In 3D view, the sheet intrusions have still preserved the lower center and higher rim that similar with the sub-rounded saucer-shaped sills. Although fracture propagation may be important, flow inflation was the key mechanism of magma intrusion. Further consideration of the mechanisms underlying sill formation may help explain the fingered characteristics of sill propagation.