Crustal structure of the South China sea rifted margins: the formation of an asymmetric wide rift

VI Simposio Internacional de Ciencias del Mar - VI International Symposium of Marine Sciences (ISMS 2018), 20- 22 June 2018, Vigo.-- 2 pagesRifted continental margins result from extension of continental lithosphere, breakup and subsequent seafloor spreading. Here, we examine the rifting evolution of the South China Sea (SCS) from geophysical and geological observations. We analyze the tectonic structure of the entire rift system from a > 1000 km long seismic transect and study the mechanisms for crustal extension and final breakup. Our observations show the SCS rifted continental margins characterized by a series of ~100 km wide segments that underwent largely simultaneous extensional deformation from early Eocene to late Oligocene – early Miocene. The resulting tectonic structure of the SCS rift system is a ~850 km-wide area of stretched continental crust abutting ~200 km of oceanic crust. The seismic profiles show several areas where continental crust is thinned down to