The South China Sea: Paleoceanography and Sedimentology

512 Pages·2009·39.579 MB·English

by  Pinxian Wang, Qianyu Li (auth.), Pinxian Wang, Qianyu Li (eds.)

The South China Sea
Developments in Paleoenvironmental Research
VOLUME13
AimsandScope:
Paleoenvironmental research continues to enjoy tremendous interest and progress
inthescientificcommunity.TheoverallaimsandscopeoftheDevelopmentsinPa-
leoenvironmentalResearchbookseriesistocapturethisexcitementanddocument
thesedevelopments.Volumesrelatedtoanyaspectofpaleoenvironmentalresearch,
encompassing any time period, are within the scope of the series. For example,
relevant topics include studies focused on terrestrial, peatland, lacustrine, riverine,
estuarine,andmarinesystems,icecores,cavedeposits,palynology,isotopes,geo-
chemistry, sedimentology, paleontology, etc. Methodological and taxonomic vol-
umesrelevanttopaleoenvironmentalresearcharealsoencouraged.Theserieswill
include edited volumes on a particular subject, geographic region, or time period,
conferenceandworkshopproceedings,aswellasmonographs.Prospectiveauthors
and/or editorsshould consulttheserieseditorsformoredetails.The serieseditors
alsowelcomeanycommentsorsuggestionsforfuturevolumes.
EDITORANDBOARDOFADVISORS
SeriesEditor:
JohnP.Smol,Queen’sUniversity,Canada
AdvisoryBoard:
KeithAlverson,IntergovernmentalOceanographicCommission(IOC),UNESCO,
France
H.JohnB.Birks,UniversityofBergenandBjerknesCentreforClimateResearch,
Norway
RaymondS.Bradley,UniversityofMassachusetts,USA
GlenM.MacDonald,UniversityofCalifornia,USA
Forfuthervolumes:
http://www.springer.com/series/5869
The South China Sea
Paleoceanography
and Sedimentology
Editedby
PinxianWang
StateKeyLaboratoryofMarineGeology,TongjiUniversity,
Shanghai,China
Qianyu Li
StateKeyLaboratoryofMarineGeology,TongjiUniversity,
Shanghai,China
SchoolofEarthandEnvironmentalSciences,TheUniversityofAdelaide,
SouthAustralia5005,Australia
123
Editors
PinxianWang QianyuLi
StateKeyLaboratoryof StateKeyLaboratoryof
MarineGeology MarineGeology
TongjiUniversity TongjiUniversity
1239SipingRoad 1239SipingRoad
200092Shanghai 200092Shanghai
China,People’sRepublic China,People’sRepublic
[email protected] [email protected]
[email protected]
SchoolofEarthandEnvironmentalSciences
TheUniversityofAdelaide
SouthAustralia5005
Australia
[email protected]
Covercreditnote:
Backgroundillustration:VariouscoralsgrowinginthelagoonofMeijiReef,NanshaIslands,photo
byKefuYu
Insert:Pre-Oligocenebasetopographyafteryoungerdepositswereremoved,imagebyHuangandWang
ISBN 978-1-4020-9744-7 e-ISBN 978-1-4020-9745-4
DOI10.1007/978-1-4020-9745-4
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2009920103
(cid:2)c SpringerScience+BusinessMediaB.V.2009
Nopartofthisworkmaybereproduced,storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmitted
inanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,photocopying,microfilming,recording
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Printedonacid-freepaper
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Contents
1 Introduction.................................................... 1
PinxianWangandQianyuLi
References ...................................................... 14
2 OceanographicalandGeologicalBackground ...................... 25
PinxianWangandQianyuLi
Introduction ..................................................... 25
2.1 BathymetryandGeomorphology............................... 26
2.2 Oceanography .............................................. 28
Monsoon ................................................ 29
SurfaceCirculation ........................................ 32
SurfaceTemperatureandSalinity ............................ 34
ThermoclineandUpwelling................................. 38
WaterExchangewithPacificandKuroshioIntrusion............ 40
DeepWaterCirculation .................................... 45
OtherOceanographicFeatures............................... 48
OceanographicSummary................................... 48
2.3 TectonicHistoryandSedimentaryBasins........................ 49
PriorTerrainsandOpeningoftheSCS........................ 51
Step-WiseClosureoftheSeaBasin .......................... 58
FormationofShelf-SlopeSedimentaryBasins ................. 59
SedimentsoftheSCSShelf-SlopeBasins:AnOverview......... 64
SummaryofTectonicsandBasinFormation ................... 67
References ...................................................... 68
3 StratigraphyandSeaLevelChanges .............................. 75
Introduction ..................................................... 75
3.1 LithostratigraphicOverview(LiQ.andZhongG.) ................ 76
Pre-CenozoicBasement .................................... 76
LithostratigraphyofSyn-RiftSediments ...................... 76
Post-RiftSedimentsinShelf-SlopeBasins..................... 80
DeepWaterLithostratigraphy ............................... 86
v
vi Contents
3.2 BiostratigraphicFramework(LiQ.)............................. 93
FloralandShallow-WaterFaunalAssemblages................. 93
PlanktonicForaminiferalandNannofossilBiostratigraphy ....... 95
QuaternaryLithobiostratigraphicEvents ...................... 98
3.3 IsotopicandAstronomicalStratigraphy(TianJ.andLiQ.) .........100
NeogeneIsotopicRecordsatSite1148 .......................100
Pliocene–PleistoceneIsotopicRecordsatSite1143 .............107
3.4 Stratigraphy of Major Shelf and Slope Basins
(ZhongG.andLiQ.) ........................................ 109
NorthernSouthChinaSeaBasins ............................111
SouthernSouthChinaSeaBasins ............................128
3.5 RegionalSeaLevelChanges(ZhongG.andLiQ.) ................147
LateQuaternarySeaLevelChanges ..........................148
Long-TermSeaLevelChangesSincetheOligocene.............149
NewApproachTowardFine-ScaleSeaLevelMagnitude.........151
SummaryofSouthChinaSeastratigraphy............................155
References ......................................................157
4 Sedimentology ..................................................171
Introduction .....................................................171
4.1 SurfaceDepositionPatterns(LiuZ.) ............................172
DepositDistributionPatterns................................172
SedimentTransport........................................178
4.2 TerrigenousDeposition(LiuZ.)................................180
ClayMineralogyandGeochemistryofSourceAreas............180
ClayMinerals ............................................181
Geochemistry.............................................187
TerrigenousSedimentSupplyinGlacialCycles ................192
Long-TermChangesofTerrigenousSedimentSupply ...........199
4.3 BiogenicDeposition .........................................204
Carbonate(LiJ.andWangP.) ...............................204
Opal (WangR.) ..........................................217
4.4 CoralReefs(YuK.andZhaoJ.)................................229
ModernCoralReefDistribution .............................230
CarbonatePlatformSedimentsandCalciumCarbonateProduction 237
ReefHistory..............................................248
4.5 VolcanicDeposition(LiuZ.)...................................255
VolcanicRockDistribution .................................255
VolcanicAshRecords......................................257
CaseStudies:Pinatubo,Toba................................258
4.6 EstimationofDepositMassSincetheOligocene
(HuangW.andWangP.)...................................... 262
DataSourcesandAnalyses .................................263
SedimentDistributionandMass .............................265
Contents vii
EstimationofTerrigenousandCarbonateMasses...............267
DepositionalPatterns ......................................269
MajorCharacteristicsofSCSSedimentation...................276
References ......................................................278
5 UpperWaterStructureandPaleo-Monsoon........................297
Introduction .....................................................297
5.1 SeaSurfaceTemperatureHistory(JianZ.andTianJ.).............298
SSTProxies ..............................................298
Paleo-SSTReconstruction ..................................303
Paleo-SSTPatterns ........................................312
5.2 ThermoclineDepthHistory(TianJ.andJianZ.)..................318
ProxiesofThermoclineDepth...............................318
Paleo-ThermoclineDepth...................................320
5.3 VegetationHistoryinDeep-SeaRecord(SunX.)..................328
PollenDistributioninSurfaceSediments......................329
Long-TermEvolution ......................................331
LastGlacialPollenRecords:North-SouthDifferences...........342
North-SouthComparisonoftheVegetationDuringtheLGM .....349
5.4 MonsoonHistory(JianZ.andTianJ.) ..........................351
MonsoonProxies..........................................352
Tectonic-ScaleLong-TermEvolution.........................360
Orbital-ScaleVariability....................................363
Suborbital-ScaleVariability.................................374
Summary .......................................................381
References ......................................................382
6 DeepWatersandOceanicConnection .............................395
QuanhongZhao,QianyuLiandZhiminJian
Introduction .....................................................395
6.1 ModernDeepWatersandTheirFaunalFeatures ..................396
MarginalSeasintheWesternPacific .........................396
ModernIntermediateandDeepWatersintheSouthChinaSea....397
ModernDeep-SeaBenthicForaminiferaandOstracods..........398
6.2 LateQuaternaryDeep-WaterFaunasandStableIsotopes...........402
6.3 NeogeneandOligoceneDeep-WaterBenthicFaunas
fromODPLeg184Sites ..................................... 405
Site1148BenthicForaminifera..............................405
Site1148Ostracods .......................................412
FaunalIndicationofDeep-WaterMassChanges................412
6.4 DeepWaterEvolution:EvidencefromCarbonate
PreservationandIsotopes..................................... 419
CarbonateDissolution .....................................419
IsotopicRecords ..........................................422
viii Contents
6.5 OceanicConnection..........................................425
Summary .......................................................427
References ......................................................430
7 BiogeochemistryandtheCarbonReservoir ........................439
Introduction .....................................................439
7.1 ProductivityandNutrientDynamicsintheModern
SouthChinaSea(ZhaoM.) ................................... 440
PrimaryProductivity.......................................440
NutrientSupplies..........................................442
CommunityStructure,ExportProductivityandSedimentary
BiogenicContent..................................... 445
7.2 PaleoproductivityReconstructionoftheSouthChinaSea
(ZhaoM.).................................................. 449
PatternsofProductivityChangesDuringGlacial-Interglacial
Oscillations ......................................... 449
Pre-PleistocenePaleoproductivityChanges ....................457
7.3 CarbonReservoirChanges(WangP.,TianJ.andLiJ.).............459
ModernCarbonCycling....................................459
LateQuaternaryδ13CCyclicity..............................463
Long-TermTrendofCarbonIsotopes.........................473
Summary .......................................................476
References ......................................................476
8 HistoryoftheSouthChinaSea–ASynthesis.......................485
PinxianWangandQianyuLi
Introduction .....................................................485
8.1 EvolutionoftheSouthChinaSeaBasin .........................486
Pre-SpreadingStageintheEarlyPaleogene ...................486
SeafloorSpreadingintheOligocene-EarlyMiocene.............487
Post-SpreadingStageSincetheLateMiocene..................488
8.2 EvolutionoftheEastAsianMonsoon...........................489
SummerMonsoonandChemicalWeathering ..................489
WinterMonsoonandNorth-SouthContrast....................491
EastandSouthAsianMonsoons .............................492
8.3 EvolutionofContinent-OceanInteractions.......................494
References ......................................................495
Index .............................................................497
Contributors
WeiHuang StateKeyLaboratoryofMarineGeology,SchoolofOceanandEarth
Sciences,TongjiUniversity,Shanghai200092,China,[email protected]
Zhimin Jian State Key Laboratory of Marine Geology, School of Ocean and
EarthSciences,TongjiUniversity,Shanghai200092,China,[email protected];
[email protected]
JianruLi StateKeyLaboratoryofMarineGeology,SchoolofOceanandEarth
Sciences,TongjiUniversity,Shanghai200092,China,[email protected]
Qianyu Li State Key Laboratory of Marine Geology, School of Ocean and
Earth Sciences, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China; School of Earth
andEnvironmentalSciences,TheUniversityofAdelaide,SouthAustralia5005,
Australia,[email protected];[email protected]
ZhifeiLiu StateKeyLaboratoryofMarineGeology,SchoolofOceanandEarth
Sciences,TongjiUniversity,Shanghai200092,China,[email protected]
XiangjunSun InstituteofBotany,ChineseAcademyofSciences,Beijing100093,
China; State Key Laboratory of Marine Geology, School of Ocean and Earth
Sciences,TongjiUniversity,Shanghai200092,China,[email protected]
JunTian StateKeyLaboratoryofMarineGeology,SchoolofOceanandEarth
Sciences,TongjiUniversity,Shanghai200092,China,[email protected]
Pinxian Wang State Key Laboratory of Marine Geology, School of
Ocean and Earth Sciences, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China,
[email protected];[email protected]
RujianWang StateKeyLaboratoryofMarineGeology,SchoolofOceanand
EarthSciences,TongjiUniversity,Shanghai200092,China,[email protected]
KefuYu SouthChinaSeaInstituteofOceanology,ChineseAcademyofSciences,
Guangzhou510301,China,[email protected]
Jianxin Zhao Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis, University of
Queensland,Queensland4072,Australia,[email protected]
ix