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.
Similar content being viewed by others
Change history
30 April 2022
An Erratum to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13131-021-1983-z
References
Anderson K S, Graham S A, Hubbard S M. 2006. Facies, architecture, and origin of a reservoir-scale sand-rich succession within submarine canyon fill: Insights from Wagon Caves Rock (Paleocene), Santa Lucia Range, California, U.S.A. Journal of Sedimentary Research, 76(5): 819–838, doi: https://doi.org/10.2110/jsr.2006.066
Baztan J, Berné S P, Olivet J L, et al. 2005. Axial incision: The key to understand submarine canyon evolution (in the western Gulf of Lion). Marine and Petroleum Geology, 22(6–7): 805–826
Bouma A H. 2004. Key controls on the characteristics of turbidite systems. London: The Geological Society of London, 222(1): 9–22, doi: https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2004.222.01.02
Clark J D, Pickering K T. 1996. Architectural elements and growth patterns of submarine channels: Application to hydrocarbon exploration. AAPG Bulletin, 80(2): 194–220
Clift P D, Giosan L, Henstock T J, et al. 2014. Sediment storage and reworking on the shelf and in the Canyon of the Indus River-Fan System since the last glacial maximum. Basin Research, 26(1): 183–202, doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/bre.12041
Clift P D, Sun Zhen. 2006. The sedimentary and tectonic evolution of the Yinggehai-Song Hong basin and the southern Hainan margin, South China Sea: Implications for Tibetan uplift and monsoon intensification. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 111(B6): B06405
Cossu R, Wells M G. 2013. The evolution of submarine channels under the influence of Coriolis forces: experimental observations of flow structures. Terra Nova, 25(1): 65–71, doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/ter.12006
Crossey L J, Fischer T P, Patchett P J, et al. 2006. Dissected hydrologic system at the Grand Canyon: Interaction between deeply derived fluids and plateau aquifer waters in modern springs and travertine. Geology, 34(1): 25–28, doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G22057.1
De Leeuw J, Eggenhuisen J T, Cartigny M J B. 2016. Morphodynamics of submarine channel inception revealed by new experimental approach. Nature Communications, 7: 10886, doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms10886
Ding Weiwei, Li Jiabiao, Li Jun, et al. 2013. Morphotectonics and evolutionary controls on the Pearl River Canyon system, South China Sea. Marine Geophysical Research, 34(3–4): 221–238
Feng Jingchun, Wang Yi, Li Xiaosen, et al. 2015. Production performance of gas hydrate accumulation at the GMGS2-Site 16 of the Pearl River Mouth Basin in the South China Sea. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, 1: 306–320, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jngse.2015.08.071
Fyhn M B W, Nielsen L H, Boldreel L O, et al. 2009. Geological evolution, regional perspectives and hydrocarbon potential of the northwest Phu Khanh Basin, offshore Central Vietnam. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 26(1): 1–24, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2007.07.014
Gong Chenglin, Wang Yingmin, Zhu Weilin, et al. 2011. The central submarine canyon in the Qiongdongnan Basin, northwestern South China Sea: Architecture, sequence stratigraphy, and depositional processes. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 28(9): 1690–1702, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2011.06.005
Green A, Uken R. 2008. Submarine landsliding and canyon evolution on the northern KwaZulu-Natal continental shelf, South Africa, SW Indian Ocean. Marine Geology, 254(3–4): 152–170
Haq B U, Hardenbol J A N, Vail P R. 1987. Chronology of fluctuating sea levels since the Triassic. Science, 235(4793): 1156–1167, doi: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.235.4793.1156
Harris P T, Whiteway T. 2011. Global distribution of large submarine canyons: Geomorphic differences between active and passive continental margins. Marine Geology, 285(1–4): 69–86
Kolla V. 2007. A review of sinuous channel avulsion patterns in some major deep-sea fans and factors controlling them. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 24(6–9): 450–469
Kuang Zenggui, Zhong Guangfa, Wang Liaoliang, et al. 2014. Channel-related sediment waves on the eastern slope offshore Dongsha Islands, northern South China Sea. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 1: 540–551, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2012.09.025
Lamb M A, Anderson K S, Graham S A. 2003. Stratigraphic Architecture of a Sand-Rich, Deep-Sea Depositional System: The Stevens Sandstone, San Joaquin Basin, California. Tulsa, OK, USA: American Association of Petroleum Geologists
Leach A S, Wallace M W. 2001. Cenozoic submarine canyon systems in cool water carbonates from the Otway Basin, Victoria, Australia. In: Hill K C, Bernecker T, eds. Eastern Australasian Basins Symposium, A Refocused Energy Perspective for the Future. Melbourne: Petroleum Exploration Society of Australia, 465–473
Li Chunfeng, Li Jiabiao, Ding Weiwei, et al. 2015. Seismic stratigraphy of the central South China Sea basin and implications for neotectonics. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 120(3): 1377–1399, doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JB011686
Li Xiangquan, Fairweather L, Wu Shiguo, et al. 2013. Morphology, sedimentary features and evolution of a large palaeo submarine canyon in Qiongdongnan Basin, northern South China Sea. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 1: 685–696, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2012.11.019
Lofi J, Berné S. 2008. Evidence for pre-Messinian submarine canyons on the Gulf of Lions slope (western Mediterranean). Marine and Petroleum Geology, 25(8): 804–817, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2008.04.006
Lu Yintao, Li Wei, Wu Shiguo, et al. 2018. Morphology, architecture, and evolutionary processes of the Zhongjian Canyon between two carbonate platforms, South China Sea. Interpretation, 6(4): SO1–SO15, doi: https://doi.org/10.1190/INT-2017-0222.1
Lüdmann T, Wong H K. 1999. Neotectonic regime on the passive continental margin of the northern South China Sea. Tectonophysics, 311(1–4): 113–138
Mayall M, Jones E, Casey M. 2006. Turbidite channel reservoirs—Key elements in facies prediction and effective development. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 23(8): 821–841, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2006.08.001
McHargue T, Pyrcz M J, Sullivan M D, et al. 2011. Architecture of turbidite channel systems on the continental slope: Patterns and predictions. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 28(3): 728–743, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2010.07.008
Mondziel S, Grindlay N, Mann P, et al. 2010. Morphology, structure, and tectonic evolution of the Mona canyon (northern Mona Passage) from multibeam bathymetry, side-scan sonar, and seismic reflection profiles. Tectonics, 29(2): TC2003
Normark WR, Carlson PR. 2003. Giant submarine canyons: is size any clue to their importance in the rock record?. In: Chan M A, Archer A W, eds. Extreme Depositional Environments: Mega end Members in Geologic Time. Boulder, CO, USA: Geological Society of America Special, 1: 175–190
Ortiz-Karpf A, Hodgson D M, McCaffrey W D. 2015. The role of masstransport complexes in controlling channel avulsion and the subsequent sediment dispersal patterns on an active margin: The Magdalena Fan, offshore Colombia. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 1: 58–75, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2015.01.005
Peakall J, Kane L A, Masson D G, et al. 2012. Global (latitudinal) variation in submarine channel sinuosity. Geology, 40(1): 11–14, doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G32295.1
Piper D J W, Normark W R. 1983. Turbidite depositional patterns and flow characteristics, Navy Submarine Fan, California Borderland. Sedimentology, 30(5): 681–694, doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3091.1983.tb00702.x
Posamentier H W, Kolla V. 2003. Seismic geomorphology and stratigraphy of depositional elements in deep-water settings. Journal of Sedimentary Research, 73(3): 367–388, doi: https://doi.org/10.1306/111302730367
Pratson L F, Coakley B J. 1996. A model for the headward erosion of submarine canyons induced by downslope-eroding sediment flows. GSA Bulletin, 108(2): 225–234, doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1996)108<0225:AMFTHE>2.3.CO;2
Puga-Bernabéu Á, Martín J M, Braga J C. 2008. Sedimentary processes in a submarine canyon excavated into a temperate-carbonate ramp (Granada Basin, southern Spain). Sedimentology, 55(5): 1449–1466, doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3091.2008.00952.x
Richards M, Bowman M, Reading H. 1998. Submarine-fan systems I: characterization and stratigraphic prediction. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 15(7): 689–717, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0264-8172(98)00036-1
Ru Ke, Pigott J D. 1986. Episodic rifting and subsidence in the South China Sea. AAPG Bulletin, 70(9): 1136–1155
Scholle P A. 1977. Chalk diagenesis and its relation to petroleum exploration: Oil from chalks, a modern miracle?. AAPG Bulletin, 61(7): 982–1009
Shao Lei, Cui Yuchi, Qiao Peijun, et al. 2017a. Sea-level changes and carbonate platform evolution of the Xisha Islands (South China Sea) since the Early Miocene. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 1: 504–516, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2017.07.006
Shao Lei, Li Qianyu, Zhu Weilin, et al. 2017b. Neogene carbonate platform development in the NW South China Sea: Litho-, bio- and chemo-stratigraphic evidence. Marine Geology, 1: 233–243, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2017.01.009
Shepard F P. 1981. Submarine canyons: Multiple causes and long-time persistence. AAPG Bulletin, 65(6): 1062–1077
Shepard F P, Dill R F. 1966. Marine geology. (Book Reviews: Submarine Canyons and Other Sea Valleys). Science, 154(3755): 1433–1434
Sibuet J C, Yeh Y C, Lee C S. 2016. Geodynamics of the South China Sea. Tectonophysics, 1: 98–119, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2016.02.022
Su Ming, Xie Xinong, Xie Yuhong, et al. 2014. The segmentations and the significances of the Central Canyon System in the Qiongdongnan Basin, northern South China Sea. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 1: 552–563, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2012.12.038
Sun Qiliang, Wu Shiguo, Hovland M, et al. 2011. The morphologies and genesis of mega-pockmarks near the Xisha Uplift, South China Sea. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 28(6): 1146–1156, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2011.03.003
Sun Qiliang, Wu Shiguo, Lü Fuliang, et al. 2010. Polygonal faults and their implications for hydrocarbon reservoirs in the southern Qiongdongnan Basin, South China Sea. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 39(5): 470–479, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2010.04.002
Twichell D C, Roberts D G. 1982. Morphology, distribution, and development of submarine canyons on the United States Atlantic continental slope between Hudson and Baltimore Canyons. Geology, 10(8): 408–412, doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1982)10<408:MDADOS>2.0.CO;2
Van Hoang L, Clift P D, Schwab A M, et al. 2010. Large-scale erosional response of SE Asia to monsoon evolution reconstructed from sedimentary records of the Song Hong-Yinggehai and Qiongdongnan basins, South China Sea. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 342(1): 219–244, doi: https://doi.org/10.1144/SP342.13
Wang Ce, Liang Xinquan, Foster D A, et al. 2016. Zircon U-Pb geochronology and heavy mineral composition constraints on the provenance of the middle Miocene deep-water reservoir sedimentary rocks in the Yinggehai-Song Hong Basin, South China Sea. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 1: 819–834, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2016.05.009
Wang Xiujuan, Collett T S, Lee M W, et al. 2014. Geological controls on the occurrence of gas hydrate from core, downhole log, and seismic data in the Shenhu area, South China Sea. Marine Geology, 1: 272–292, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2014.09.040
Wang Zhenfeng. 2012. Important deepwater hydrocarbon reservoirs: the central canyon system in the Qiongdongnan Basin. Acta Sedimentologica Sinica (in Chinese), 30(4): 646–653
Wu Shiguo, Yang Zhen, Wang Dawei, et al. 2014. Architecture, development and geological control of the Xisha carbonate platforms, northwestern South China Sea. Marine Geology, 1: 71–83, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2013.12.016
Wu Shiguo, Yuan Shengqiang, Zhang Gongcheng, et al. 2009. Seismic characteristics of a reef carbonate reservoir and implications for hydrocarbon exploration in deepwater of the Qiongdongnan Basin, northern South China Sea. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 26(6): 817–823, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2008.04.008
Wynn R B, Cronin B T, Peakall J. 2007. Sinuous deep-water channels: Genesis, geometry and architecture. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 24(6–9): 341–387
Xie Xinong, Müller R D, Li Sitian, et al. 2006. Origin of anomalous subsidence along the northern South China Sea margin and its relationship to dynamic topography. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 23(7): 745–765, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2006.03.004
Yan Pin, Deng Hui, Liu Hailing, et al. 2006. The temporal and spatial distribution of volcanism in the South China Sea region. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 27(5): 647–659, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2005.06.005
Yao Genshun, Yuan Shengqiang, Wu Shiguo, et al. 2008. Double provenance depositional model and exploration prospect in the deep-water area of Qiongdongnan Basin. Petroleum Exploration and Development, 35(6): 685–691, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1876-3804(09)60101-4
Yuan Shengqiang, Wu Shiguo, Thomas L, et al. 2009. Fine-grained Pleistocene deepwater turbidite channel system on the slope of Qiongdongnan Basin, northern South China Sea. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 26(8): 1441–1451, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2009.03.007
Zhang Cuimei, Wang Zhenfeng, Sun Zhipeng, et al. 2013. Structural differences between the western and eastern Qiongdongnan Basin: evidence of Indochina block extrusion and South China Sea seafloor spreading. Marine Geophysical Research, 34(3–4): 309–323
Zhang Guangxue, Liang Jinqiang, Lu Jing’an, et al. 2015. Geological features, controlling factors and potential prospects of the gas hydrate occurrence in the east part of the Pearl River Mouth Basin, South China Sea. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 1: 356–367, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2015.05.021
Zhao Yanyan, Zheng Yongfei. 2010. Stable isotope evidence for involvement of deglacial meltwater in Ediacaran carbonates in South China. Chemical Geology, 271(1–2): 86–100
Zhao Zhongxian, Sun Zhen, Sun Longtao, et al. 2018. Cenozoic tectonic subsidence in the Qiongdongnan Basin, northern South China Sea. Basin Research, 30(S1): 269–288
Zhou Di, Ru Ke, Chen Hanzong. 1995. Kinematics of Cenozoic extension on the South China Sea continental margin and its implications for the tectonic evolution of the region. Tectonophysics, 251(1–4): 161–177
Zhu Weilin, Huang Baojia, Mi Lijun, et al. 2009. Geochemistry, origin, and deep-water exploration potential of natural gases in the Pearl River Mouth and Qiongdongnan basins, South China Sea. AAPG Bulletin, 93(6): 741–761, doi: https://doi.org/10.1306/02170908099
Acknowledgements
The paper benefited from the comments of reviewers whose constructive suggestions greatly improved this manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Foundation item: The National Scientific Foundation of China under contract No.41876054; the National Science and Technology Major Project “the evaluations of deepwater oil and gas geological conditions and targets in Zhongjian area of the South China Sea” under contract No.2017ZX05026006; the CNPC Science and Technology Major Projects under contract No. 2019A-1009&2019D-4309; the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences under contract No. XDA13010101; the National Natural Science Foundation of China under contract No. 41706054.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wang, B., Lü, F., Li, S. et al. A buried submarine canyon in the northwestern South China Sea: architecture, development processes and implications for hydrocarbon exploration. Acta Oceanol. Sin. 40, 29–41 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13131-021-1751-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13131-021-1751-0