The dynamic mechanism of post-rift accelerated subsidence in Qiongdongnan Basin, northern South China Sea

Abstract

A 1-D unloaded tectonic subsidence (air-loaded tectonic subsidence) model is proposed and applied to the Qiongdongnan Basin. Results show that three episodes of subsidence exist in Cenozoic, that is, syn-rift rapid subsidence (Eocene-Oligocene) with subsidence rate at 20-100 m/m.y., post-rift slow thermal subsidence (early-middle Miocene) around 40 m/m.y., and post-rift accelerated subsidence (since late Miocene) 40-140 m/m.y., which is substantially deviated from the exponentially decayed thermal subsidence model. For exploring the mechanism of post-rift accelerated subsidence, the faulting analyses are conducted and results show that there is a dramatically decrease in the numbers of active faults and fault growth rate since 21 Ma, which indicates that no active brittle crust extension occurred during post-rift period. Furthermore, previous studies have demonstrated that the stretching of the upper crust is far less than that affecting the whole crust. Therefore, we infer that the lower crust thinned during the post-rift period and a new model of basin development and evolution is put forward to explain the post-rift accelerated subsidence and depth-dependent crust thinning in the Qiongdongnan Basin, which is supported by gravity data. © 2013 The Author(s).