The relationship between extension of lower crust and displacement of the shelf break

Abstract

With deep sea petroleum explorations become more and more popular, some geological phenomena have emerged: extension of lower crust and upper crust is inhomogeneous; shelf break has been moved rapidly after crustal stretching. These geological phenomena are important to the continental margin evolution. To investigate the thinning of the whole crust and the contribution of the upper crust versus the lower crust to the crustal stretching since the Cenozoic, we calculated the stretching factors of the upper and the lower crust based on the 13 seismic lines in the Baiyun Sag from CNOOC. The results indicated that the whole crustal thickness decreases seaward while the whole crustal stretching factor increases from shelf to slope. Our calculations showed that the lower crustal stretching factor is higher than that of the upper crust in the Baiyun Sag. In the Cenozoic, deformation of the Baiyun Sag is controlled mainly by ductile shearing rather than brittle shearing. Based on the numerical modeling, we can conclude the initial crust in the Baiyun Sag is thermally attenuated. The stretching factor (β) of the lower crust increases from the north to the south of the continental margin, indicating two stretching centers: the Baiyun Sag and the Liwan Sag. The geometry of the shelf break and the β isoline trap have the similar trend in 23.8 and 13.8 Ma, both located in the intense deforming zone of the lower crust, and therefore we conclude the stretching and flowing of the lower crust cause the displacement of the shelf break before and after 23.8 Ma.