A buried submarine canyon in the northwestern South China Sea: architecture, development processes and implications for hydrocarbon exploration
Authors:Wang, Bin Lv, Fuliang Li, Shuang Li, Jian Yang, Zhili Li, Li Wang, Xuefeng Lu, Yintao Yang, Taotao Wu, Jingwu Sun, Guozhong Ma, Hongxia Xu, Xiaoyong
Volume:40
Published:2021
Document Type:Article
Abstract:High-resolution multichannel seismic data enables the discovery of a previous, undocumented submarine canyon (Huaguang Canyon) in the Qiongdongnan Basin, northwestern South China Sea. The Huaguang Canyon with a NW orientation is 140 km in length, and 2.5 km to 5 km in width in its upper reach and 4.6 km to 9.5 km in width in its lower reach. The head of the Huaguang Canyon is close to the Xisha carbonate platform and its tail is adjacent to the Central Canyon. This buried submarine canyon is formed by gravity flows from the Xisha carbonate platform when the sea level dropped in the early stage of the late Miocene (around 10.5 Ma). The internal architecture of the Huaguang Canyon is mainly characterized by high amplitude reflections, indicating that this ancient submarine canyon was filled with coarse-grained sediments. The sediment was principally scourced from the Xisha carbonate platform. In contrast to other buried large-scale submarine canyons (Central Canyon and Zhongjian Canyon) in the Qiongdongnan Basin, the Huaguang Canyon displays later formation time, smaller width and length, and single sediment supply. The coarse-grained deposits within the Huaguang Canyon provide a good environment for reserving oil and gas, and the muddy fillings in the Huaguang Canyon have been identified as regional caps. Therefore, the Huaguang Canyon is a potential area for future hydrocarbon exploration in the northwestern South China Sea. The result of this paper may contribute to a better understanding of the evolution of submarine canyons formed in carbonate environment.
Author Information
Corresponding Author:Li, S (通讯作者)，Univ Chinese Acad Sci, Beijing 100049, Peoples R China.;Li, S (通讯作者)，Chinese Acad Sci, Key Lab Ocean & Marginal Sea Geol, Guangzhou 510301, Peoples R China.;Li, S (通讯作者)，Chinese Acad Sci, Innovat Acad South China Sea Ecol & Environm Engn, Guangzhou 510301, Peoples R China.
Reprint Address:Li, S (通讯作者)，Univ Chinese Acad Sci, Beijing 100049, Peoples R China.;Li, S (通讯作者)，Chinese Acad Sci, Key Lab Ocean & Marginal Sea Geol, Guangzhou 510301, Peoples R China.;Li, S (通讯作者)，Chinese Acad Sci, Innovat Acad South China Sea Ecol & Environm Engn, Guangzhou 510301, Peoples R China.
Addresses:[Wang, Bin; Lv, Fuliang; Yang, Zhili; Li, Li; Wang, Xuefeng; Lu, Yintao; Yang, Taotao; Wu, Jingwu; Sun, Guozhong; Ma, Hongxia; Xu, Xiaoyong] Petrochina Hangzhou Res Inst Geol, Hangzhou 310023, Peoples R China; [Li, Shuang; Li, Jian] Univ Chinese Acad Sci, Beijing 100049, Peoples R China; [Li, Shuang; Li, Jian] Chinese Acad Sci, Key Lab Ocean & Marginal Sea Geol, Guangzhou 510301, Peoples R China; [Li, Shuang; Li, Jian] Chinese Acad Sci, Innovat Acad South China Sea Ecol & Environm Engn, Guangzhou 510301, Peoples R China
E-mail Addresses:lishuang@scsio.ac.cn