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Frontiers of Earth Science

ISSN 2095-0195

ISSN 2095-0209(Online)

CN 11-5982/P

Postal Subscription Code 80-963

2018 Impact Factor: 1.205

Front. Earth Sci.    2017, Vol. 11 Issue (4) : 729-739    https://doi.org/10.1007/s11707-016-0610-3
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Tectonic subsidence of the Zhu 1 Sub-basin in the Pearl River Mouth Basin, northern South China Sea
Xiaoyin TANG1,2(), Shuchun YANG3, Junzhang ZHU4, Zulie LONG4, Guangzheng JIANG2, Shaopeng HUANG1,5, Shengbiao HU2
1. Geothermal and Environmental Research Laboratory, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China
2. State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China
3. CNOOC Research Institute, Beijing 100027, China
4. Shenzhen Branch of China National Offshore Oil Corporation Ltd, Guangzhou 510240, China
5. Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1005, USA
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Abstract

The Pearl River Mouth Basin, which is situated on the northern margin of the South China Sea, has attracted great attention not only because of its tectonic setting but also because of its abundant hydrocarbon resources. We have analyzed the Cenozoic tectonic subsidence history of 4 drilled wells and 43 artificial wells from the Zhu 1 Sub-basin of the Pearl River Mouth Basin by back-stripping, using newly interpreted seismic profiles. We also calculated the average tectonic subsidence rates of the four sags in the Zhu 1 Sub-basin. The rifting and post-rifting stages are separated by abrupt changes in the tectonic subsidence curves and average subsidence rates. In the eastern sags of the Zhu 1 Sub-basin, tectonic subsidence started to slow at ca. 30 Ma, compared with ca. 23.8 Ma in the western sags. This probably corresponds to the timing of break-up and suggests that rifting in the Pearl River Mouth Basin ended earlier in the eastern sags than in the western sags. Anomalously accelerated tectonic subsidence occurred at 17.5–16.4 Ma during the post-rifting stage, with average subsidence rates as high as 301.9 m/Myr. This distinguishes the Pearl River Mouth Basin from classical Atlantic passive continental marginal basins, which demonstrate exponentially decaying post-rift tectonic subsidence.

Keywords tectonic subsidence      Zhu 1 Sub-basin      back-stripping      Pearl River Mouth Basin      South China Sea     
Corresponding Author(s): Xiaoyin TANG   
Just Accepted Date: 03 November 2016   Online First Date: 20 January 2017    Issue Date: 10 November 2017
 Cite this article:   
Xiaoyin TANG,Shuchun YANG,Junzhang ZHU, et al. Tectonic subsidence of the Zhu 1 Sub-basin in the Pearl River Mouth Basin, northern South China Sea[J]. Front. Earth Sci., 2017, 11(4): 729-739.
 URL:  
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fesci/EN/10.1007/s11707-016-0610-3
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fesci/EN/Y2017/V11/I4/729
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