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Evolution of the South China Sea and monsoon history revealed in deep-sea records

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Chinese Science Bulletin

Abstract

As the third summary report of ODP Leg 184 to the South China Sea (SCS), this paper discusses the evolution of the East Asian monsoon and the SCS basin. A multi-proxy approach, involving geochemistry, micropaleontology, pollen and other analyses, was adopted for reconstructing the evolutionary history of the East Asian monsoon, which was characterized by a series of paleo-climate events especially at 8, 3.2, 2.2 and 0.4 Ma. The new record indicates similar stages in the development of the East and South Asian monsoons, with an enhanced winter monsoon over East Asia being the major difference. The rich spectrums of monsoon variability from the southern SCS also reveal other characteristic features of the low latitude ocean. Evidence for the evolution of the SCS includes the hemipelagic Oligocene sediments, implying the existence of deep water environments during the early seafloor spreading stage of the SCS basin. The four major unconformities and some remarkable diagenetic features in upper Oligocene deposits indicate the strongest tectonic events in the region. From a careful comparison of lithologies and sedimentation rates, we conclude that the prominent differences in sedimentary environments between the southern and northern SCS were established only by ∼3 Ma.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Marine Geology, MOE, Tongji University, 200092, Shanghai, China

    Pinxian Wang, Zhimin Jian, Quanhong Zhao, Qianyu Li, Rujian Wang, Zhifei Liu, Guoxuan Wu, Lei Shao, Jiliang Wang, Baoqi Huang, Dianyong Fang, Jun Tian & Jianru Li

  2. Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 510640, Guangzhou, China

    Xianhua Li & Gangjian Wei

  3. Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100093, Beijing, China

    Xiangjun Sun & Yunli Luo

  4. China University of Geosciences, 100083, Beijing, China

    Xin Su & Shaozhi Mao

  5. South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 510301, Guangzhou, China

    Muhong Chen

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  1. Pinxian Wang
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Wang, P., Jian, Z., Zhao, Q. et al. Evolution of the South China Sea and monsoon history revealed in deep-sea records. Chin.Sci.Bull. 48, 2549–2561 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1360/03wd0156

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1360/03wd0156

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