Figure 1 - uploaded by Yi Yan
Content may be subject to copyright.
Tectonic setting of Taiwan and locations of study sections. Four tectonic processes are now operating onland Taiwan and its offshore regions. From south to north they are: intra-oceanic subduction, initial arc-continent collision, advanced arc-continent collision and arc collapse/subduction. These processes also represented four stages of the Taiwan tectonic evolution occurring in 16-6.5, 6.5-1, <1 and 0 Ma, respectively [5-7]. A, Peishihchi section; B, Nanshihchi section; C, Pei-I Highway section; D, Lungtung Cap section; E, Northern-Cross-Island Highway section; F, Kuohsing Peikangchi section; G, Junkeng section; H, Keelung Waimulu section; J, Miaoli Chuhuangkeng section; K, Nantou Tsukeng anticline section; L:Southern-Cross-Island Highway section; N: Nantawushan; HR: Hengchun Ridge accretionary prism; NLA: North Luzon Arc; TT, Taitung Trough; WG-1, PC-1 and PK-3 are drilling wells. Black arrow shows the vector of the Philippine Sea Plate movement relative to the Eurasian continent. Blue arrow marks the inter-arc passage between the Lanyu volcanic island and the Batan volcanic island as the main entrance of the Pacific Deep Water flowing westward into the SCS deep basin.
Source publication
Shallow marine sequences of the northern South China Sea (SCS) are uplifted and exposed by plate convergence in the Taiwan mountain belt. These deposits provide detailed geological information about the rifting event, stratigraphy, sedimentology, paleoclimate and paleoceanography of the shallow SCS to compare with what are recorded in the ODP 1148...
Similar publications
Fragestellung:
„Die Erde drehte sich am Ende der Zeit der Dinosaurier schneller als heute: 372 Mal im Jahr verglichen mit derzeit 365 Mal – nach einer neuen Studie über fossile Weichtierschalen der späten Kreide. Dies bedeutet, dass ein Tag nur 23 und eine halbe Stunde dauerte (…).“ So beginnt die Pressemitteilung der American Geophysical Union (A...
Tephra is a product of large and explosive volcanic events and can travel thousands of kilometers before deposition. Consequently, tephra deposits are common in terrestrial, lacustrine, marine, and glacial environments. Because tephra deposition is a geologically synchronous event, tephras constitute important isochrones in the Quaternary sequence,...
A better understanding of the evolution of bottom current circulation and associated deposits is significant for many applications including paleoclimatology and geological hazard. Besides the large contourite drifts, bottom currents may generate fields of large sediment waves that, depending on their height and velocity of migration, may pose seve...
Citations
... Moreover, the zircon Hf isotopic compositions, which indicate their progressive change with time, suggest an increasing input of juvenile components with a younging trend (Fig. 7). Considering the two-stage Nd model and Hf model ages, we posit that magmas of the Cretaceous granites on Hainan were most likely generated by Chung et al., (1994), Ho et al. (2003, Zhu et al. (2004), Zhou et al. (2009), Huang et al. (2012; the data of Late Cretaceous volcanic rocks in southeast China are from Zhou and Chen (2001) and Chen et al. (2004); the data of Late Cretaceous granitoids are from Lan et al. (1995), Chen et al. (2004Chen et al. ( , 2013, Mao et al. (2006), Wang et al. (2012a); the data of Late Cretaceous mafic dikes are from Ge (2003) partial melting of the regional Mesoproterozoic metabasaltic basement rocks with an input of juvenile components. ...
... In fact, if a straight line is drawn between Lutao and Lanyu and extended to the Coastal Range of Taiwan, then it incepts at the mid-point of the Coastal Range near the town of Changbin (Fig. 2a). In other words, the islands of Lutao and Lanyu are off-set eastward from the youngest volcanic rocks (4.6 ± 0.3 Ma) of the southern Coastal Range (Lo et al., 1994;Huang et al., 2012;Shao et al., 2015;Lai et al., 2018). The morphologies of Lutao and Lanyu appear to be consistent with an eastward shift as both islands have nabla (∇) shapes with distinct southeast trending peninsulas. ...
Mantle xenoliths hosted in volcanic rocks from the island of Lutao offer a glimpse into the nature of the mantle beneath the northern Luzon volcanic arc. The xenoliths are spinel-bearing and composed mostly of harzburgite with one lherzolite and one olivine orthopyroxenite. The olivine (Fo92.5-88.9), orthopyroxene (Mg# = 94.6-89.2), and clinopyroxene (Wo49.1-38.1En57.0-45.4Fs3.0-11.0) compositions are similar to those of abyssal peridotites. The spinel compositions are variable and can be principally divided into high-Al (Cr# < 45) and low-Al (Cr# > 45) groupings. The whole rock compositions are similar to abyssal peridotite (Al2O3 = 0.95-2.07 wt%; Mg# = 88.5-90.9) and have U-shaped chondrite normalized rare earth element patterns. The Sr-Nd isotopes of the xenoliths are broadly chondritic (87Sr/86Sri = 0.704400-0.707908; εNd(t) = 0.0-+1.5). The two-pyroxene equilibrium temperatures range from 900-1200°C with the majority of temperature estimates >1000°C. The olivine-orthopyroxene-spinel oxygen barometry estimates yielded ΔFMQ values from 0 to +2 and correspond to moderately oxidizing to oxidizing conditions. The xenoliths are likely derived from the Philippine Sea Plate lithospheric mantle that was modified by melt extraction and/or fluid enrichment processes. Trace element and isotopic mixing modeling indicate that 1% to 2% contamination by subducted South China Sea sediment can explain the Sr-Nd isotopic enrichment and Th and U elemental variability within the xenoliths assuming an initial composition similar to enriched depleted mid-ocean ridge mantle (E-DMM). The anomalously high two-pyroxene equilibrium temperatures of the Lutao xenoliths relative to other regions of the northern Luzon volcanic arc (Iraya < 1000°C) indicate that they were affected by a high temperature event that was likely a consequence of recent intra-arc rifting that occurred after collision (< 6 Ma) between the Luzon arc and the Eurasian margin.
... The oceanic part of the Eurasian plate is subducting under the Philippine Sea plate along the Manila trench, making Taiwan a rare case of a continent-arc collision. From east to west, the island consists of five major tectonic unites: (i) the Coastal Range, representing the accreted Manila arc of the Philippine Sea plate and consisting of Miocene-Pleistocene volcanic and siliciclastic sedimentary rocks, (ii) the Hsuehshan Range consisting mainly of Cenozoic schists and slates, (iii) the Central or Backbone Range, consisting Cenozoic schists and slates, and pre-Cenozoic metamorphic basement rocks (iv) the Western Foothills, a fold-and-thrust belt of Cenozoic sediments deposited mainly on the Eurasian continental shelf, and (v) the Coastal Plain with its Pliocene to Quaternary sediments (Teng, 1990;Huang et al., 2012). Fossil methane-seep deposits in Taiwan are known from Miocene to Pleistocene strata in the Western Foothills (Wang et al., 2006;Chien et al., 2012;Chien et al., 2013;Wang et al., 2018). ...
... Specifically, studied river in Mainland China are mainly located on tectonically stable Cathasia Block, where the source rocks are predominantly granitic magmatic formations (Bi et al., 2015;Li and Li, 2007). On the contrary, the exposed rocks in Taiwan's rapidly eroding mountainous region mainly comprise slates, schists, sandstones/ metasandstones, and shales, mostly of recycling origins (Deng et al., 2019;Huang et al., 2012). This geological composition contributes to the production of recycled and heterogenous sediments with a lower degree of chemical weathering intensity in the river basins of Taiwan (Bi et al., 2015;Garzanti et al., 2023;Nayak et al., 2022;Selvaraj and Chen, 2006). ...
... Moving from west to east on the Taiwan Island, the major morphotectonic units are as follows: Coast Plain (consisting of unconsolidated sediments), Western Foothills (comprising Miocene-Pleistocene sandstone and shale), Hsüehshan Range (composed of Eocene-upper Oligocene slate and metasandstone), Central Range (encompassing Eocene basement of slate/metasandstone and Miocene slate/turbidites), and Coastal Range (comprising Miocene-Pliocene volcanic arc and Pliocene-Pleistocene forearc turbidite sequences) (Huang et al., 2012). In central Taiwan, the tectono-stratigraphic units exhibit a pattern of increasing metamorphic grade from the Western Foothills, where poorly consolidated sedimentary rocks are found, to the greenschist-grade meta-sediments in the eastern Central Range (Dadson et al., 2003). ...
... The Zhuoshuixi River (also named "Choshuixi"), the largest in Taiwan with a length of 190 km and a catchment area of 3150 km 2 , flows westward and drains the west Central Range, Hsüehshan Range, Western Foothills, and the West Coastal Plain before entering the Taiwan Strait (Deng et al., 2019;Huang et al., 2012). On the other hand, the Liwuxi River in eastern Taiwan, spanning 55 km in length and with a drainage area of 616 km 2 , flows eastward and drains its headwaters in the Backbone Range slate, followed by the schist and marble of the Tailuko Belt, before emptying into the Philippine Sea (Deng et al., 2019) ( Fig. 1). ...
... Taiwan is an active mountain belt that has been forming since the Late Miocene as the result of the collision of the Luzon arc with the deeply subducting Eurasian margin (e.g., Hsu, 1997, 2004;Teng and Lin, 2004;Huang et al., 2014a). The part of the continental margin of the Eurasian margin that is involved in the collision is thought to have evolved from a sub-continental subduction system in the Late Cretaceous (Li et al., 2007;Lan et al., 2008) to a rifting margin by the Early Eocene followed, during the late Early Oligocene, by seafloor spreading and, from the Late Miocene to the present, the subduction of Eurasian Plate beneath the Philippine Sea Plate (Lin et al., 2003;Huang et al., 2012). The Mesozoic pre-rift geology and lithostratigraphy of the margin area that is entering into the Taiwan mountain belt is not well known. ...
ARTICLE INFO Keywords: Taiwan Petrophysics Seismic wavespeeds Composition of the middle and lower crust Mafic ABSTRACT A first-order approximation of the lithological make-up of an orogen's middle and lower crust can provide insights into its structure, as well as the tectono-metamorphic and geodynamic processes taking place there. In this study, we investigate the possible lithological and chemical composition of Taiwan's middle and lower crust by matching in situ physical properties measured by the TAIGER tomography data with isotropic wavespeeds, density , and major element composition for a variety of upper amphibolite and granulite facies rocks modelled at ambient pressure and temperature using the AbersHacker Macro. The modelling suggests that Taiwan's middle crust is possibly comprised of some combination of biotite-poor metapelite, garnet-poor felsic granulite, mafic granulite, amphibolite, and marble. The lower crust is likely comprised of mafic granulite, garnet-rich felsic gran-ulite, biotite-free metapelite, and eclogite. Furthermore, the modelling shows that the modal abundance of gar-net and/or sillimanite has a significant effect on physical properties, elevating seismic wavespeeds and density of felsic rocks to those of mafic rocks. The modelled wt% major oxide composition suggests that Taiwan's middle and lower crust have a more mafic chemical composition than that of global compilations of the continental crust. Nevertheless, this reflects the choices made when assigning rock types for the lithological mix used to calculate the wt% oxides, since increasing the percentage of garnet-rich metapelite and felsic granulite would result in a more felsic bulk composition.
... This formed the North Luzon Arc as shown by petrologic and paleontological evidence (Queaño et al., 2017;Suppe, 1981). The basement of the Taiwan Island is divided into two parts by the Hsingchuang Fault: the Coastal Plain in the west and the Western Foothills in the east (Huang et al., 2012). The west part belongs to the South China Plate (SCB) and the east part belongs to the North Luzon Arc. ...
... The west part belongs to the South China Plate (SCB) and the east part belongs to the North Luzon Arc. Petrological evidence indicates that the North Luzon Arc collided with the South China continental margin at ∼6 Ma (Huang et al., 2012), causing the uplift of the Taiwan Island. The age of ophiolites in the Hengchun Peninsula, southernmost Taiwan, is ∼14-7 Myr (S. ...
Insight into the evolution of Philippine Sea‐South China Sea (SCS) plate motions helps reveal the driving mechanisms of the long‐term tectonic complexity in Southeast Asia. Here, based on the integration of the most recent geological and seismic data, we present a new plate reconstruction model for this region characterized by back‐arc extension and subduction since the Eocene. We suggest that the western boundary of the Philippine Sea Plate was a constant sinistral strike‐slip fault at 55–22 Ma with a clockwise self‐rotation. The connection between the SCS and Shikoku Ridges possibly initiates at 30 Ma, when their spreading times overlapped indicating an affinitive origin and magma source. Regional‐scale geodynamic simulations interfaced with our reconstructed plate motion indicate that the seismic high‐velocity body under the SCS is likely to be the leading edge of the Pacific Slab.
... The northern South China Sea margin has been influenced by contour currents since at least the middle Miocene (Huang et al., 2012), favoring the generation of sediment waves on the continental slope. Late Miocene wave-like geometries display regular spacing of ∼5.5 km and consistent eastward migration (Fig. 1C), which are different from randomly spaced mounded drifts on the Uruguayan margin (Creaser et al., 2017) and the Antarctic Peninsula Pacific margin (Rebesco et al., 2002). ...
Submarine canyons commonly occur on virtually all continental slopes. Their varied origins are widely studied but still debatable. Eastward (along-slope)–migrating submarine canyons, with nearly regular spacing, are well developed at the northern South China Sea. High-resolution three-dimensional seismic data show that these canyons are localized in the troughs between sediment waves. The waves were present on the slope since before ca. 10.5 Ma and were especially well developed during the late Miocene (ca. 10.5–5.5 Ma). This interval can be divided into two units, of which the upper unit (SU II) has larger sediment waves and much better-developed canyons compared to the lower unit (SU I). Submarine fans developed at the canyon mouths within SU II at the downdip termination of the confinement caused by the sediment waves. Gravity currents were captured between the waves, resulting in erosion mainly along the troughs between them. The canyons were forced to migrate eastward by the migration of the confining sediment waves. In this study, we present a new mechanism for the origin of such regularly spaced submarine canyons for the first time, which we attribute to the formation of regularly spaced sediment waves generated by contour currents.
... With decades of commercial exploration and scientific drilling, the Cenozoic stratigraphy of the region has been well established and correlated (Wang et al., 2014b;Wang and Li, 2009). Locally, in west Taiwan, the stratigraphy of the southeast China margin was folded and uplifted from the Pliocene (Fig. 3;Chen, 2016;Huang et al., 2012). In general, sedimentary successions of the region are subdivided according to synrifting and postrifting stages (Fig. 4). ...
Large rivers are the arteries of continents. Those originating from the Tibetan Plateau and traversing East Asia have a relatively young history due to continuous Cenozoic perturbations. However, it has been a long journey to reconstruct their genesis and dynamic evolution, in which many puzzles and challenges remain. The river history is documented by provenance information in the ultimate sediment sinks in the East and South China Seas, but a regional-scale correlation of provenance data is still developing. Here, we explore the promise of this provenance perspective by reconstructing the evolution of three large rivers in China (the Yangtze, Pearl, and Red Rivers) by compiling and reevaluating a large volume of published provenance data (zircon U-Pb geochronology, K-feldspar Pb isotopes, and whole-rock Nd isotopes) from both Cenozoic strata and modern sediments from the East and South China Seas and the large river basins. Unlike traditional approaches that average provenance signatures, intersample variability was carefully evaluated. The general inheritance of zircon age spectral patterns and small fluctuations of Nd isotopes in the Neogene strata suggest provenance stabilization in the East and South China Seas and the establishment of near-modern drainage configurations. The paleodrainage basins before the Miocene are interpreted to have been smaller than their modern sizes, and drainage expansion likely occurred over the Oligocene. Our analysis suggests that the widely accepted models that link drainage between the ancient Yangtze and Red Rivers may be unlikely. The compiled provenance signatures and prior paleocurrent measurements of Paleogene strata distributed in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau margin show sediment supplied from local terranes instead of through-flowing river systems.
... At ca. 15 Ma, convergence direction of the Philippine Sea Plate with the Eurasian Plate rotated anticlockwise to NW direction (Sibuet et al., 2002), which is approximately the same with striking of the faults in the PRMB since Late Hanjiang Phase. At ca. 6.5 Ma, Taiwan orogeny began caused by the collision between the Luzon Arc and Eurasia (Huang et al., 2012). The GPS observation shows that the moving direction of Luzon Arc relative to the Eurasian continental margin is 306 • ± 1 • (Yu et al., 1997), which is essentially the same with direction of plate convergence (309 • ) (Seno, 1977;Seno et al., 1993), and also approximately consistent with the He et al. (2017), the subsidence history in the Zhu I Depression is approximately the same, and the subsidence in the Lufeng Sag represents the subsidence history in the Zhu I Depression; convergence rate and direction between the Indian Plate and the Eurasian Plate is from Lee and Lawver (1995); convergence rate between the Pacific Plate and the Eurasian Plate is from Northrup et al. (1995); convergence direction between the Philippine Plate and the Eurasian Plate is from Sibuet et al. (2002)). ...
... The stratigraphy of northeastern South China Sea was correlated to the detailed studies of southwest Taiwan and adjacent areas (Lin et al., 2003(Lin et al., , 2021Liao et al., 2016). We followed the Cenozoic stratigraphic framework established by Huang et al., (2012) and Lin et al., (2003), which suggest that syn-rift stratigraphy started at 58 Ma and ends at 37-32 Ma. Therefore, S2 and S3 horizons can be correlated to Tg (top basement boundary, ~56 Ma) and T70 (top syn-rift sequence boundary, ~32 Ma), respectively, in other parts of the South China Sea margins (Xie et al., 2019). ...
... The syn-rift strata are less then 2 km in thickness and are predominantly restricted in half-grabens. This observation is compatible with regional setting in the early Cenozoic (37-58 Ma), during which discrete rift faults were widely distributed in a broad area (>200-km-wide rift belt) of the South China Sea (Lin et al., 2003;Huang et al., 2012). This is, however, different from our observations in the necking domain of the northeastern South China Sea, where the dip of faults and fractures change progressively from high-angle (~45°) in the inner necking domain to low-angles (<10°). ...
During rifting, continental crust necks, leading to significant thickness reduction in a few tens of kilometres. However, deformations associated with the necking process remain elusive due to few outcrop examples and a lack of seismic data coverage that clearly images crustal architecture at depth. Here we use deep, high-resolution seismic data across a well-developed necking zone in the northeastern South China Sea passive margin to show the structural style associated with the crustal necking. Seismic stratigraphy in the necking domain can be divided into pre-, syn- and post-rift sequences based on the nature of sequence-bounding unconformities and their relation with faults. Seismic expression of continental crust exhibits two types of reflection characteristics – homogeneous upper crust and layered lower crust. The necking domain shows significant thinning that reduced its thickness from ~30 km to less than over 10 km in a distance of about ~50 km and is characterised by seaward removal of layered lower crust, while the homogeneous upper crust thickness remains largely unchanged in thickness. The necking domain is bounded by inner and outer breakaway complexes that define a portion of flexed crust. Crustal flexure is evidenced by progressive tilting of the necking domain that gradually increases the pre-rift sequence dip from 0° to 10°. Within the tilted necking domain, densely-spaced, landward-dipping minor faults and fractures are organised in a domino configuration, implying a top-to-the-continent movement and a simple shear deformation of the whole continental crust. We suggest that the flexed necking domain could be home to fractured reservoir providing that it is effectively sealed by post-rift sequences.
