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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Mar. Sci.
Sec. Marine Biogeochemistry
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmars.2025.1530207
This article is part of the Research Topic Deep-sea Material and Energy Cycles: Insights from Sediments, Fe-Mn Nodules, and Authigenic Carbonates, and Their Carbon Sequestration, Hydrocarbon Accumulation, and Ore-forming Significances View all 4 articles
Quaternary gas hydrate dissociation promotes the formation of Shenhu Canyon Group in the South China Sea
Provisionally accepted
Hui Pan 1
Hui Xie 1*
Zhongxian Zhao 2*
Jinlong Liu 2 Guozhong Jiang 1 Ruilong Li 3 Yuanping Li 4 Eun Young Lee 5 Wen Yan 2- 1 College of Chemistry and Environment, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province, China
- 2 Key Laboratory of Ocean and Marginal Sea Geology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
- 3 South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
- 4 Shenzhen Branch of CNOOC Limited, Shenzhen, China
- 5 University of Vienna, Department of Geology, Vienna, Austria
The Baiyun deepwater region (Shenhu area) of the Pearl River Mouth Basin (PRMB), northern South China Sea (SCS), is characterized by the presence of abundant gas hydrate deposits and dense submarine canyons. However, the relationships between gas hydrate decomposition and formation of submarine canyons remain unclear. Based on the seismic and well data, the variations of the gas hydrate stability zone (GHSZ) thickness were quantitatively calculated. The results indicate that the thickness of the GSHZ, which ranges from 0 to 350m, is distributed in areas where the water depth exceeds 600m. Since ~2.5 Ma, there have been three combinations of sea level and bottom water temperature (BWT) changes that can significantly reduce the thickness of
Keywords: Gas hydrate stability zone, submarine canyons, gas hydrate decomposition, Baiyun deepwater area, Pearl River Mouth Basin
Received: 18 Nov 2024; Accepted: 20 Feb 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Pan, Xie, Zhao, Liu, Jiang, Li, Li, Lee and Yan. 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:
Hui Xie, College of Chemistry and Environment, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province, China
Zhongxian Zhao, Key Laboratory of Ocean and Marginal Sea Geology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
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