Skip to main content
Springer Nature Link
Log in

Basement characteristics of Wan’an Basin in southwestern South China sea based on temporal and spatial evolution

  • Research
  • Published:
Earth Science Informatics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In the evolution of time and space, on the basis of magnetic anomaly reduction-to-the-pole (RTP) and regional field separation data processing techniques, as well as the restriction of geological and drilling data, the basement lithology of Wan’an Basin in the South China Sea has been preliminarily explored in this paper. The result reveals a tripartite basement lithology mainly composed of intermediate-acid granitic intrusive and metamorphic sedimentary rocks, with a small amount of Mesozoic sedimentary rocks. The lithology and structure of basement recorded the tectonic environment of Wan’an Basin in different periods. During the late Jurassic to Cretaceous, based on temporal and spatial evolution, the subduction of the Paleo-Pacific Plate to the East Asian continent resulted in the generation of a large number of intermediate-acid granitoids, which emplaced into the Jurassic and more ancient sedimentary or metamorphic rocks. From the early Paleocene to late Oligocene, the differential uplift caused by lithospheric plate activity resulted in the formation of mountainous paleotopography, leading to the denudation of sedimentary and metamorphic rocks in high structural positions and the preservation of sedimentary rocks at low structural levels. From early Miocene to Quaternary, the Wan’an basin entered a large-scale regional subsidence stage and formed strata more than ten kilometers thick.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

No datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.

References

  • Areshev EG, Dong TL, San NT, Shnip OA (1992) Reservoirs in fractured basement on the continental-shelf of Southern Vietnam. J Pet Geol 15(4):451–464

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bai Y, Dong D, Brune S, Wu S, Wang Z (2019) Crustal stretching style variations in the northern margin of the South China Sea. Tectonophysics 751:1–12

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Batara B, Xu CH (2022) Evolved magmatic arcs of South Borneo: insights into cretaceous slab subduction. Gondwana Res 111:142–164

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cai ZR, Sui X, Yao YJ, Yin ZX, Yang XD, Ju D, Zhu RW, Wang XX, Zhang HD (2024) Preliminary analysis of the indicators and accumulation models of gas hydrates in the central Zhongjiannan Basin, western South China Sea. Mar Pet Geol 167:106942

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheng J, Wang S, Li G, Xu W, Yan W, Luo Y, Tian Y, Wang M (2022) Origin of large-scale variegated reef limestones in the southern South China Sea: implications for Miocene regional and global geological evolution. J Asian Earth Sci 230:105202

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cui Y, Shao L, Li ZX, Zhu W, Qiao P, Zhang X (2021) A mesozoic andean-type active continental margin along coastal South China: New geological records from the basement of the northern South China Sea. Gondwana Res 99:36–52

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cuong TX, Warren JK (2009) Bach Ho field, a fractured granitic basement reservoir, Cuu Long Basin, offshore SE Vietnam: a buried-hill play. J Pet Geol 32(2):129–156

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ding W, Qin L, Feng X, Wu C, Wu G, Diao Y, Yin S, Yang C, Gao J, Li J (2022) A new perspective on the continent-ocean boundary of Palawan continental block identified with geophysical data. Tectonophysics 826:229239

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dung BV, Tuan HA, Van Kieu N, Man HQ (2018) Depositional environment and reservoir quality of Miocene sediments in the central part of the Nam Con Son Basin, southern Vietnam shelf. Mar Pet Geol 97:672–689

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gao J, Wu S, Lüdmann T, Li CF, Li L, Lu Y, Yang Z, Tian L, Qin Y, Song T (2023) Extensional structures and cenozoic magmatism in the northwestern South China Sea. Gondwana Res 120:219–234

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Giao PH, Trang PH, Hien DH, Ngoc PQ (2021) Construction and application of an adapted rock physics template (ARPT) for characterizing a deep and strongly cemented gas sand in the Nam Con Son Basin, Vietnam. J Nat Gas Sci Eng 94:104117

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guan DL, Ke XP, Wang Y (2016) Basement structures of East and South China seas and adjacent regions from gravity inversion. J Asian Earth Sci 117(11):242–255

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hennig-Breitfeld J, Breitfeld HT, Sang DQ, Vinh MK, Long TV, Thirlwall M, Cuong TX (2021) Ages and character of igneous rocks of the Da Lat Zone in SE Vietnam and adjacent offshore regions (Cuu Long and nam con Son basins). J Asian Earth Sci 218:104878

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jia J, Wang C, Su M, Yan W, Zeng L, Cui H (2023) Provenance and dispersal patterns of sediments on the continental shelf of northern South China Sea: evidence from detrital zircon geochronology. Mar Geol 457:107013

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jin J, Wang X, Guo Y, Li J, Li Y, Zhang X, Qian J, Sun L (2020) Geological controls on the occurrence of recently formed highly concentrated gas hydrate accumulations in the Shenhu area, South China Sea. Mar Pet Geol 116:104294

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jing L, Yang YB, Chen L, Gao XL (2017) An improved damping method for reduction to the Pole of magnetic anomalies at low latitudes. Chin J Geophys 60(2):843–850

    Google Scholar 

  • Khy LV (1986) The structure of the Mekong trough. Int Geol Rev 28(1):87–95

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li XJ, Wang Z, Yao YJ, Gao HF, Zhu S, Xu ZY (2023) Formation and evolution of the South China Sea since the late mesozoic: a review. China Geol 6(1):154–167

    Google Scholar 

  • Li Y, Fu T, Tong C, Wang L, Jin H, Lyu W, Li Y, Jiang X, Chen W, Liu G, Yang J, Tu H, Yi L (2024a) Geochronology of a sedimentary core in the northwest of South China Sea and regional paleoenvironmental changes over the last million years. Cont Shelf Res 282:105322

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li H, Li J, Li L, Li Z (2024b) Predicting Turbidite Channel in Deep-Water Canyon based on Grey Relational Analysis-Support Vector Machine Model: a case study of the Lingshui Depression in Qiongdongnan Basin, South China Sea. Energy Eng 121(9):2435–2447

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liang J, Zhang W, Lu J, Wei J, Kuang Z, He Y (2019) Geological occurrence and accumulation mechanism of natural gas hydrates in the eastern Qiongdongnan Basin of the South China Sea: insights from site GMGS5-W9-2018. 418:106042 Marine Geology

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lin L, Cao J, Qian J, Shang J, Zhang W, Lu J, Liang J (2022) Velocity-porosity relationships in hydrate-bearing sediments measured from pressure cores, Shenhu Area, South China Sea. China Geol 5(2):267–275

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu ZH, Zhou MF (2021) Geology of the South China Sea: an introduction. J Asian Earth Sci 220:104922

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu L, Zhang J, Sun Z, Shi H, Ding L, Du J, Yu J, Xie J, Wang J (2019) Constraints of three-dimensional geological modeling on reservoir connectivity: a case study of the Huizhou depression, Pearl River Mouth basin, South China Sea. J Asian Earth Sci 171:144–161

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lu CH, Yen JY, Chyi SJ, Yu NT, Chen JH (2019) Geological records of South China Sea tsunamis on Penghu Islands, Taiwan. J Asian Earth Sci 177:263–274

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lü CL, Zhang GC, Yao YJ, Wu SG (2014) Tectonic evolution of the Wan’an Basin, Southwestern South China Sea. Acta Geol Sinica 88(4):1120–1130

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Madon M, Jong J (2023) Multi-phase subsidence history of the Sarawak continental margin and its regional significance. Bull Geol Soc Malaysia 76:81–99

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morley RJ, Dung BV, Tung NT, Kullman AJ, Bird RT, Kieu NV, Chung NH (2019) High-resolution palaeogene sequence stratigraphic framework for the Cuu Long Basin, offshore Vietnam, driven by climate change and tectonics, established from sequence biostratigraphy. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol 530:113–135

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nguyen VS, Pham VT, Nguyen LV, Andersen OB, Forsberg R, Bui DT (2020) Marine gravity anomaly mapping for the Gulf of Tonkin area (Vietnam) using Cryosat-2 and Saral/AltiKa satellite altimetry data. Adv Space Res 66(33):505–519

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nong AQ, Hauzenberger C, Gallhofer D, Dinh S (2021) Geochemistry and zircon U-Pb geochronology of late mesozoic igneous rocks from SW Vietnam-SE Cambodia: implications for episodic magmatism in the context of the Paleo-Pacific subduction. Lithos, 390-391(3):106101

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nong ATQ, Hauzenberger CA, Gallhofer D, Booth J, Skrzypek E, Dinh SQ (2022) Early mesozoic granitoids in southern Vietnam and Cambodia: a continuation of the Eastern Province granitoid belt of Thailand. J Asian Earth Sci 224:105025

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pei J, Luo W, Guo S, Lin L, Li K (2024) Discovery and petroleum geological significance of delta in the third member of Oligocene Lingshui Formation in southern Baodao Sag, Qiongdongnan Basin, South China Sea. Pet Explor Dev 51(2):337–350

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peng X, Shen C, Mei L, Zhao Z, Xie X (2019) Rift-drift transition in the dangerous grounds, South China Sea. Mar Geophys Res 40:163–183

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qin XW, Zhao B, Li FY, Zhang BJ, Wang HJ, Zhang RW, He JX, Chen X (2019) Deep structural research of the South China Sea: progresses and directions. China Geol 2(4):530–540

    Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt WJ, Hoang BH, Handschy JW, Hai VT, Cuong TX, Tung NT (2019) Tectonic evolution and regional setting of the Cuu Long Basin, Vietnam. Tectonophysics 757:36–57

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Song TS, Li CF, Wu SG, Yao YJ, Gao JW (2019) Extensional styles of the conjugate rifted margins of the South China Sea. J Asian Earth Sci 177:117–128

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tang W, Xie XJ, Wang YB, Xiong LQ, Guo J, Li X (2019) Evolution of Cenozoic sedimentary architecture in Central and Southern South China Sea basins. J Palaeogeography 13(1):35–53

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tao S, Liu K, Yan H, Meng M, Zhang H, Wu Y, Yu K, Shi Q (2024) SST and ENSO activity 282,000 years ago reconstructed from Porites coral in the South China Sea. Glob Planet Change 237:104455

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thanh NT, Cuong DH, Stattegger K, Dung BV, Yang S, Chi NTK, Tung NX, Tinh NV, Nga NT (2021) Depositional sequences of the Mekong river delta and adjacent shelf over the past 140 kyr, southern Vietnam. J Asian Earth Sci 206:104634

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tian HJ, Gu ZW, Zhang GD, Zhao DD, Zhang HZJ, Guo B, Wang YC (2024) Exploration of anomaly separation technology of wide-field electromagnetic method. Appl Geophys 21:343–357

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang YB, Zhao ZG, Xiao XJ, Yang HZ, Shuang S (2019) The cenozoic sedimentary environment and sedimentary filling evolution of Wan’an Basin in the western South China Sea. Petroleum Res 4(3):257–267

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wu SG, Z L, Lei ZY, Qian X, Luo SB, Lu XY, Lüdmann T, Tian L (2023) Extensional structures of the Nan′an Basin in the rifting tip of the South China Sea: implication for tectonic evolution of the southwestern continental margin. Pet Sci 20(1):128–140

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yao BC, Wan L (2010) Variation of the lithospheric thickness in the South China Sea area and its tectonic significance. Geol China 37(4):888–899

    Google Scholar 

  • Yu Z, Fan Y, Metzger EJ (2023) On the anomalous structure of the Southeast Vietnam Offshore Current during 1994 to 2015. Ocean Model 183:102199

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zeng C, Sun Z, Yao Y, Zhang C, Xu X (2024) The oceanic crustal structure and the magmatic accretion history of the South China Sea. Earth Planet Sci Lett 637:118696

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Railway Engineering, Jilin Railway Technology College, Jilin, 132100, China

    Xiangdong Liao, Yanqiu Shi & Gecheng Liu

Authors
  1. Xiangdong Liao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yanqiu Shi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Gecheng Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

Xiangdong Liao and Yanqiu Shi contributed to the conception of the study, wrote the first draft of themanuscript and worked on the coding of tables and figures. Xiangdong Liao and Gecheng Liu contributedto the conception and design of the study. Xiangdong Liao and Yanqiu Shi helped perform the analysis with constructive discussions. All the authors read the manuscript and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xiangdong Liao.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Additional information

Communicated by Mohammad Nishat Akhtar.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Liao, X., Shi, Y. & Liu, G. Basement characteristics of Wan’an Basin in southwestern South China sea based on temporal and spatial evolution. Earth Sci Inform 18, 104 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12145-024-01531-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12145-024-01531-z

Keywords