南海珠江口外海底峡谷形成的控制因素及过程

doi:10.11978/j.issn.1009-5470.2013.06.010

Abstract

Abstract:

The Pearl River Canyon is a typical canyon system on the northern continental slope of the South China Sea. The canyon head lies in the continental shelf of the South China Sea, and the course changes its direction several times before finally entering the abyssal basin. Only a small sedimentary fan is developed in the canyon mouth. The Pearl River Canyon acts not only as the main conduit for transferring terrestrial sediments towards the deep sea but also as a trap for the along-shelf transport of sediments. Through swath bathymetry in the canyon area combined with different types of seismic data, we studied the morphotectonics and controlling factors by analyzing the morphology and sedimentary structure of the canyon, as well as the main features of the continental slope around the canyon. Results show that the geomorphologic characteristics of the Pearl River Canyon are closely related to the Cenozoic structural and sedimentary processes and sea level change. Since the Miocene, the Baiyun Sag has undergone a rapid thermal subsidence and become a long-term negative landform. The shelf break belt has migrated northward, to north of the Baiyun Sag. At 21 Ma a major lowstand event occurred, in which sea level fell to the shelf break, exposing the continental shelf. The paleo-Pearl River reached the shelf break, which enhanced the sediment transport with frequent slides, slumps, and other sediment flows. This resulted in an incised slope with multiple canyons. The NW-trending faults probably pre-determined the position of the canyons and caused heavy downcutting erosion. Subsequent episodic sea level changes made vertically-stacked buried channels. The canyons on the northern slope of the Baiyun Sag are the main conduits for transporting terrigenous materials to the lower slope and abyssal basin. The middle and lower reaches of the Pearl River Canyon were developed upon the paleo-terrain of the Baiyun Sag, and have been a depositional environment for a long time, receiving most of the materials transported via the canyon/channel.

Key words: Pearl River Canyon, morphotectonics, sedimentation, controlling factors, South China Sea

CLC Number:

P737.22

DING Wei-wei, LI Jia-biao, LI Jun, HAN Xi-bin. Formation process and controlling factors of the Pearl River Canyon in the South China Sea[J].Journal of Tropical Oceanography, 2013, 32(6): 63-72.

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Formation process and controlling factors of the Pearl River Canyon in the South China Sea

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