The paleo-lithospheric structure and rifting-magmatic processes of the northern South China Sea passive margin

• DOI: 10.1016/j.gr.2022.06.015
• Publication Date: 2022-07-04T00:14:39Z
• Authors: Zhongxian Zhao; Zhen Sun; Ning Qiu; Minghui Zhao; Jiazheng Zhang; Fucheng Li; Jian Lin; Eun Young Lee
• Keywords: Passive margin; Underplating; Forearc

The northern South China Sea has complex rifting-magmatic styles, which are significantly distinct from the Atlantic end-member passive margins that initiated rifting in a craton, and was argued to originate from a subducted setting. Here we propose a new kinematic method to calculate the paleolithospheric structure and reconstruct the rifting processes along a 400 km seismic line in the northern South China Sea margin. The detailed paleo-tectonic setting and its linkage with the rifting-magmatic processes are explored. Seismic-gravity analysis reveals a ‘‘boudin-type” passive margin with a wide distal domain (>200 km) comprising discrete hyperextended zones of the Baiyun Sub-basin, Liwan Subbasin and a narrow continent-ocean transition (