| Author's Name: TIAN Hongxun, FAN Guozhang, WANG Hongping, ZUO Guoping, WANG Xuefeng,
YANG Zhili, ZHANG Qiang, ZHANG Yuanze, LI Li |
| Institution: TIAN Hongxun, FAN Guozhang, WANG Hongping, ZUO Guoping, WANG Xuefeng,
YANG Zhili, ZHANG Qiang, ZHANG Yuanze, LI Li |
| The carbonate platforms that have been widely developed in the South China Sea during the Cenozoic Era not
only contain abundant oil and gas resources, but also record important paleo-climate and paleo-environmental
information, which are of great scientific significance for understanding the regional tectonic evolution and sedimentary
responses of the South China Sea(SCS). Based on the drilling data and high-resolution seismic interpretation, this paper
systematically analyzes the spatiotemporal distribution characteristics of the Cenozoic carbonate platforms developed in
the South China Sea, and also discusses the synergistic controls of tectonic paleogeography, relative sea-level
fluctuations, sediment supply, and paleoclimate on the development and distribution of the carbonate platform under
compressional, extensional, and strike-slip tectonic settings, corresponding to the subduction and cessation of the PaleoSouth China Sea, the progressive expansion of the Neo-South China Sea, and the strike-slip fault system along the
western of the SCS. The research reveals that: (1) Based on the tectonic stress conditions, the Cenozoic carbonate
platforms in the SCS can be classified into five major platform groups: the Dongsha platform group in the northern SCS,
the Guangle-Xisha platform group along the western margin, the Wan′an-Zengxi slope platform group in the
southwestern margin, the Luconia platform in the southern margin, and the Liyue-Palawan platform group in the
southeastern margin of the SCS, exhibiting a general pattern of "the southern carbonate platforms developed earlier than
the north, the eastern carbonate platforms developed earlier than the west, and most of them mainly developed during the
Miocene". (2) Based on regional tectonic settings and ocean-continent position variations, the Cenozoic carbonate
platforms in the SCS are classified into three types tectonic settings: compressional, extensional, and strike-slip, under
each tectonic setting both shelf-margin platforms and isolated platforms are developed. The distribution of the Cenozoic
carbonate platforms in the SCS was primarily controlled by regional tectonic activities and fault systems, terrestrial clastic
sediment supply, and relative sea level fluctuations. The tectonic setting and fault systems determine the location and basic
types of the platforms, the substantial input of terrigenous clastics from large river-delta systems significantly inhibits the
development of shelf-margin carbonate platforms, while exerting limited impact on isolated platforms, and the relative
sea-level fluctuations control accommodation space changes, thereby regulating the growth patterns, structural evolution,
and spatial distribution of biogenic reefs. This study provides critical theoretical support for deep-water hydrocarbon
exploration, global climate change research, and oceanic carbon sequestration. |
