Journal of Tropical Oceanography ›› 2023, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (2): 113-123.doi: 10.11978/2022072CSTR: 32234.14.2022072

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Quantitative analysis of geological environment stability of the Zhongsha Atoll based on K-means clustering AHP model

QIN Maogang1,2(), LONG Genyuan1,2(), LI Haiyun1,2, HUANG Haibo3, CHEN Wanli4, CHEN Wen2   

  1. 1. Hainan Key Laboratory of Marine Geological Resources and Environment, Haikou 570206, China
    2. Marine Geological Institute of Hainan Province, Haikou 570206, China
    3. Key Laboratory of Ocean and Marginal Sea Geology (South China Sea Institute of Oceanology), Guangzhou 511458, China
    4. Institute of Deep-Sea Science and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sanya 572000, China
  • Received:2022-04-08 Revised:2022-05-31 Online:2023-03-10 Published:2022-06-16
  • Contact: LONG Genyuan. email: genyuanl203@163.com
  • Supported by:
    Open Project of Hainan Key Laboratory of Marine Geological Resources and Environment(HNHYDZZYHJKF003); Geological Tectonic research of South China sea(T100731); Natural Science Foundation of China(42176081); Natural Science Foundation of China(42174110); Key Special Project for Introduced Talents Team of Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou)(GML2019ZD0204); Hainan Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China(2021JJLH0047)

Abstract:

The Zhongsha Atoll is in the center of the South China Sea, and is a key location that connects the Dongsha, Xisha and Nansha Islands. This paper is based on the survey data of the Zhongsha Atoll topography, geological sampling, and multi-channel seismic profiles. We selected five influencing factors of water depth, sediment type, structural distance, landslide-prone area, and slope, and used the K-means clustering algorithm and analytic hierarchy process method to quantitatively analyze the stability of the Zhongsha Atoll. The study area was divided into five grades of stability: good, fair, medium, poor, and worse. We discussed the influence of different factors affecting the stability of Zhongsha Atoll. The deposition type, slope, and water depth are the main factors that affect the stability of the platform. The slope’s stability around the platform is mainly controlled by the factors such as slope, structure, and landslide-prone areas. However, the slope factor in the deep-water area outside the slope around the platform has the largest contribution. Overall, the stability of the north and west of the atoll is better than the east and south, in addition, the stability of the platform and the deep-water area outside the slope around the platform is the best. The evaluation results can provide basic geological services for development and planning, submarine pipeline engineering, disaster prevention and mitigation in the study area.

Key words: Zhongsha atoll, geological environment, stability, K-means clustering algorithm