Seismic characteristics and sedimentary record of the late Pleistocene delta offshore southwestern Hainan Island, northwestern South China Sea

作者：Yingci Feng, Wenhuan Zhan, Hongjun Chen, Tao Jiang, Jinchang Zhang, Andrzej Osadczuk, Yantao Yao, Wei Li, Jie Sun, Lei Guo, Wenkai Huang, Shun Li, Wenyan Zhang · 发表于：Interpretation · 年份：2018 · DOI：10.1190/int-2018-0012.1 · 被引用次数：17 · 研究领域：Geological and Geophysical Studies、Geology and Paleoclimatology Research、Geological formations and processes

A late Pleistocene delta (Hainan palaeo river delta, HNPD hereafter) exceeding [Formula: see text] offshore Hainan Island, northwestern South China Sea (SCS), is investigated using high-resolution seismic and core data to understand the relationship between subaqueous delta development and climate drivers during the Last Glacial Period. The seismic data indicate general progradational configurations toward the southwest or southeast, indicating that the sediments from the eastern slope offshore southwestern Hainan Island were transported southwestward and southeastward. The average thickness of the delta sediment is approximately 35 m, and it has an arcuate shape surrounding the eastern slope. Therefore, the sediment provenances of the HNPD were mainly from the Red River drainage and Hainan Island. Comparison between the core dating results and the global sea-level curve indicates that the delta formed mainly during marine isotope stage 4 (65–56 ka). The topography of the basin, the sea-level change from low stand to high stand, and the southward oceanic currents driven by the glacial-period strong winter monsoon all contributed to the formation of the delta. Because the development of the delta required large riverine sediment input, we speculate that the main reason that the delta’s development ceased was the migration of the river channel along the eastern slope. Based on a comparison between the palaeobathymetric scenarios derived from published sea-level curves and the d...