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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Mar. Sci.
Sec. Marine Biogeochemistry
Volume 11 - 2024 |
doi: 10.3389/fmars.2024.1433826
This article is part of the Research Topic Linking Source and Sink: Advances in Provenance and Sedimentary Processes of Marine Sediments View all 4 articles
Source-to-sink processes and genetic mechanism of progradational and lateral accretion submarine fans in the Qiongdongnan Basin, South China Sea
Provisionally accepted- 1 State Key Laboratory of Continental Dynamics, Northwest University, Xi'an, China
- 2 Department of Geology, Northwest University, Xi'an, China
- 3 PetroChina Hangzhou Research Institute of Geology, Hangzhou, Jiangsu Province, China
This paper examines the source-to-sink sedimentary processes and deposition of submarine fans, using the Changchang Sag, in the Qiongdongnan Basin in the Northern South China Sea, as an example, which will provide valuable general guidance for deep water oil and gas exploration. Based on the theories of seismic stratigraphy and seismic sedimentology, this paper utilizes techniques such as seismic facies analysis, seismic attribute optimization, paleogeomorphology reconstruction, and source-to-sink sedimentary system analysis to analyze the 3D seismic data of the study area. Research indicates that the Sanya Formation in the Changchang Sag of the Qiongdongnan Basin comprises three depositional units: submarine fan, feeder channel, and Semi-deep marine to deep marine mudstone. The submarine fan is a fan formed by the coupling and convergence of submarine fans sourced from the southwest and southeast. Internally, it is divided into three sub-facies: the proximal fan of the sand-rich submarine fan, the main body of the sand-rich submarine fan lobes, and the distal lobes of the sand-rich submarine fan. The submarine fan sourced from the southwest extends nearly north-south and is primarily fed by sediment transported through three large, banded ancient valleys. The sedimentary filling is characterized by three-phase progradation. The submarine fan sourced from the southeast extends nearly east-west and is primarily fed by sediment transported through a single large, banded ancient valley. The sedimentary filling is characterized by two-phase lateral accumulation. During the deposition period of the SanyaFormation, certain areas of the southern uplift belt were exposed for extended periods and subjected to weathering and erosion. Sediments are transported to large ancient valleys through small supply channels. A large number of sediments were transported to the southern slope of the Changchang sag through the provenance channel system such as large ancient valleys and slope belts and deposited in the center of the sag.These make up a complete system of large ancient uplifts and submarine fan source-to-sink sedimentary systems.The sedimentary model is a lobed submarine fan controlled by semi-restricted ancient valleys and expansive basins.
Keywords: Seismic facies, Submarine fan, ancient gully, Source-to-sink system, sedimentary process
Received: 16 May 2024; Accepted: 02 Aug 2024.
Copyright: © 2024 Feng, Fan, Yang, Xingzong, Song, Li, Qu, Zhang and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Congjun Feng, State Key Laboratory of Continental Dynamics, Northwest University, Xi'an, 710069, China
Guozhang Fan, PetroChina Hangzhou Research Institute of Geology, Hangzhou, 310012, Jiangsu Province, China
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