Seismic sequence stratigraphic analysis of the carbonate platform, north offshore Taiping Island, Dangerous Grounds, South China Sea

TECTO-126875; No of Pages 12 Tectonophysics xxx (2015) xxx–xxx

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Seismic sequence stratigraphic analysis of the carbonate platform, north offshore Taiping Island, Dangerous Grounds, South China Sea Jih-Hsin Chang a,⁎, Ho-Han Hsu a, Char-Shine Liu a, Tung-Yi Lee b, Shye-Donq Chiu a, Chih-Chieh Su a, Yu-Fang Ma c, Ying-Hui Chiu a, Hau-Ting Hung d, Yen-Chun Lin e, Chien-Hsuan Chiu f a

Institute of Oceanography, National Taiwan University, Taipei,Taiwan Department of Earth Science, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan Precision Instrumentation Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan d Offshore Exploration & Production Division, Exploration & Production Business Division, Chinese Petroleum Company, Taipei, Taiwan e GeoResource Research Center, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan f Bureau of Mines, Ministry of Economic Affair, Taipei, Taiwan b c

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history: Received 5 March 2015 Received in revised form 22 July 2015 Accepted 15 December 2015 Available online xxxx Keywords: Taiping Island Carbonate platform Sequence stratigraphy Flexural forebulge South China Sea

a b s t r a c t Taiping Island, also known as Itu Aba, is the largest natural terrestrial landmass in the South China Sea and is centrally located. Using bathymetry and marine multi-channel seismic data, we explored the seismic stratigraphic features of the offshore and isolated carbonate platform north of Taiping Island. The western flank of the carbonate platform is characterized by an intercalation between high-amplitude and low-amplitude reflections, showing the landward and seaward migration of the platform foreslope deposits. In addition, there are two offshore carbonate build-ups that are underlain by normal faults. Six sequence boundaries and five depositional sequences caused by eustatic sea level cycles are identified and correlated with the eustatic sea level change chart. Although the evolution of the seismic sequences is partly controlled by local tectonics, the overall stacking pattern of the sedimentary strata in our study area reveals five third-order cycles and one second-order cycle, which is in accordance with the eustatic sea level chart. Additionally, the formations of the Western Taiping Seamount Group and the Zhenghe-Daoming Trough are preliminarily analyzed based on seismic data. © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction The carbonate platforms in the South China Sea are significant for their great explorational interest and tectonic-sedimentary implications for the evolution of the rifted margin. These carbonate platforms are extensively distributed in the South China Sea area and were developed during the Oligocene-Miocene (Fig. 1; Ding et al., 2014a, 2014b; Epting, 1980; Erlich et al., 1990; Fyhn et al., 2009, 2013; Lü et al., 2013; Steuer et al., 2014; Wu et al., 2014). Most of these carbonate platforms are located nearshore or around the shelf break of the South China Sea continental shelf, and only very few offshore carbonate platforms detached from continent have been explored. Located northwest offshore of Borneo and Palawan, the Dangerous Grounds is a continental slope area characterized by large amounts of offshore and isolated carbonate platforms (Fig. 2). Carbonates were initiated in the Late Oligocene (Fig. 3; Taylor and Hayes, 1980; Ding et al., 2013) and have occupied the area of the continental slope, the crust of which has been rifting to form cuestas (Hutchison and Vijayan, 2010). However, neither the age of the Miocene platform carbonates nor the ⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.:+886 2 3366 1871. E-mail address: [email protected] (J.-H. Chang).

stratigraphic features and lithologic variations recording the depositional history of the Miocene platform carbonates in the northern Dangerous Grounds have been fully presented in previous studies because of limited published data. A marine geophysical investigation was conducted during March, 2014, by the Marine Geology and Geophysics (MG&G) research group of the National Taiwan University. The reflection seismic data were acquired in the southwest-northeast strike of the depositional low, suited offshore north of Taiping Island, between the Zhenghe Reefs and the Daoming Reefs, which hereafter will be referred to as the ZhengheDaoming Trough (Fig. 4). In this study, a seismically resolvable carbonate platform is verified north of Taiping Island. Based on the concept of sequence stratigraphy, we analyzed the possible relationship between sedimentary developments of the carbonate platform and the eustatic sea level changes. Additionally, volcanic edifices west of Taiping Island (hereafter the Western Taiping Seamount Group) reflecting the regional tectonic framework is also recognized and analyzed (Fig. 4). The aim of this study is to characterize the stratigraphic features and propose the ages of the carbonate platform at the northern part of the Dangerous Grounds and its development during the Late Oligocene– Miocene based on an analysis of the seismic data and the concept of sequence stratigraphy. We interpret not only the seismic features of the

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Please cite this article as: Chang, J.-H., et al., Seismic sequence stratigraphic analysis of the carbonate platform, north offshore Taiping Island, Dangerous Grounds, South China S..., Tectonophysics (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2015.12.010

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northwest Borneo during the Paleogene, and part of the continental crust of the Dangerous Grounds region was subducted beneath the northwest Borneo in the latest early Miocene (Hesse et al., 2009). During the Oligocene to Miocene, seafloor spreading of the South China Sea occurred, resulting in the migration of the rifted continental crust of the Dangerous Grounds away from the southern margin of China (Hesse et al., 2010). The collisional event of the Sabah Orogeny caused by the collision between the rifted continental crust of the Dangerous Grounds and Sabah is generally thought to coincide with the end of the seafloor spreading of the South China Sea (Madon et al., 2013). The northwest Borneo fold-thrust belt is still tectonically active and resulted in many submarine thrust wedges along with the foreland basin of the northwest Borneo Trough (Hesse et al., 2010). 2.2. Oligocene-Miocene carbonate platforms in the South China Sea

Fig. 1. The simplified bathymetric chart of the South China Sea, with the geographic extents of several published Miocene carbonate platforms (A-H) and the locations of continental slope atolls (gray dots). A: The lower and upper Zhujian carbonate platforms (Sattler et al., 2009). B: The Earliest middle Miocene Xisha carbonate platforms (Fyhn et al., 2013; Wu et al., 2014). C: The Early Miocene Triton carbonate platforms (Fyhn et al., 2013). D: The Phan Rang carbonate platform (Fyhn et al., 2009). E: The Miocene carbonate platform in the Nam Con Son Basin (Lü et al., 2013). F: The Miocene carbonate build-ups of the Central Luconia Province (Hutchison and Vijayan, 2010). G: The Nido carbonate platforms (Steuer et al., 2013). H: Reed Bank that may be covered by carbonate build-ups (Ding et al., 2014a). The locations of continental slope atolls refer to Wang (1998). Thick and thin contour lines are –200 m and –4000 m isobathes, respectively.

carbonate platform foreslope and carbonate build-ups but also present significant seismic stratigraphic boundaries that are caused by eustatic sea level changes. In addition, we revisit the spatiotemporal relationship between the Western Taiping Seamount Group and the BorneoPalawan foreland basin to discuss their possible tectonic influence on the seismic sequence stratigraphic records in our study area. 2. Geological setting 2.1. Tectonic evolution northwest offshore Borneo and Palawan The nature of the continental margin northwest of Borneo and Palawan was influenced by the seafloor spreading of the oceanic basin (Hinz and Schlueter, 1985; Briais et al., 1993) and the convergence event between the rifted continental crust of the Dangerous Grounds and northwest Borneo (Madon et al., 2013)(Fig. 3). Since the Late Cretaceous, the proto-South China Sea occupied the south region of the Chinese terrace. Subsequently, the proto-South China Sea was subducted beneath the

The Oligocene-Miocene carbonate platforms in the South China Sea are significant because of their great explorational interests and their tectonic-sedimentary relationships with the rifted margin during the spreading of the South China Sea oceanic basin. They are extensively distributed in the South China Sea (Fig. 1A). In the northernmost part of the South China Sea, the Miocene Zhujian Formation in the Pearl River Mouth Basin is characterized by numerous drowning surfaces and deposits of a drowned carbonate platform (A in Fig. 1; Sattler et al., 2009). Southwestward, the Miocene Xisha carbonate platform is located in the northwestern South China Sea (B in Fig. 1; Wu et al., 2014). Toward the south, the Miocene Triton and Phanh Rang carbonate platform is located offshore south of Vietnam and covers more than 15000 km2 (C and D in Fig. 1; Fyhn et al., 2009, 2013). These carbonate platforms continue to extend southward and also occur on the structural highs of the Nam Con Son Basin (E in Fig. 1; Lü et al., 2013). In the Central Luconia offshore Sarawak, numerous Miocene carbonate buildups have been seismically mapped (F in Fig. 1; Hutchison and Vijayan, 2010). Located offshore west of Palawan and Borneo, the Nido carbonate platforms were widely drilled and were believed to be formed upon the migrating Late Oligocene-Miocene flexural forebulge in response to the Borneo-Palawan thrust wedge (G in Fig. 1; Steuer et al., 2013). In addition to those above mentioned, the platform carbonates isolated from the continental shelf of the South China Sea are recently receiving increasing attention, for example the carbonate platforms in the drifted Reed Bank, a fragment of rifted continent crust detached from landmass (H in Fig. 1A; Ding et al., 2014a). The carbonate platforms of the Reed Bank area were deposited in either shallow water, lagoon or open marine environment during Late Oligocene-Miocene (Ding et al., 2014b). After the cessation of the South China Sea seafloor spreading (20.5 ~ 16Ma, Barckhausen et al., 2014; Chang et al., 2015), part of these reefs continued to grow, and formed the rugged bathymetry in the Reed Bank area. Southwest of the Reed Bank, the Zhenghe Reefs (Tizard Bank and Reefs), Daoming Reefs (Loaita Bank and Reefs), Zhongye Reefs (Thi-Tu Reefs), Jiuzhang Reefs (Union Bank and Reefs), and Shuangzi Reefs (North Danger) are the Holocene active reefs in the northern part of the Dangerous Grounds (Fig. 4). Among them, Taiping Island in the Zhenghe Reefs is perhaps the most significant in this area for its size. However, because of long-lasting territorial claims among surrounding countries and the great distance from Taiwan, field investigations of Taiping Island have been difficult to perform and the regional depositional evolution during the Late Oligocene-Miocene is not well studied. 2.3. The geology of Taiping Island Taiping Island, also known as Itu Aba Island, is the largest natural landmass among the Nansha Islands (also known as the Spratly Islands) in the northern part of the Dangerous Grounds (Fig. 2) and is covered by bioclastic sediments. A fully cored borehole that is 523.35 m in

Please cite this article as: Chang, J.-H., et al., Seismic sequence stratigraphic analysis of the carbonate platform, north offshore Taiping Island, Dangerous Grounds, South China S..., Tectonophysics (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2015.12.010

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Fig. 2. The bathymetric chart and tectonic divisions of the southern South China Sea. The green dot indicates the location of the Taiping Island, the largest natural landmass in the South China Sea. The red barbed line indicates the frontal thrust of the Palawan-Borneo thrust wedge that separates the Palawan-Borneo thrust wedge to the southeast from the foreland basins of NW Borneo Trough and Palawan Trough to the northwest (Yan and Liu, 2004). The orange dot indicates the location of the IODP site 1143. The yellow dot indicates the site of the exploration well Sampaguita-1 (Taylor and Hayes, 1980). The gray areas indicate the geographic extents of Miocene carbonate platforms in Fig. 1. The thick contour lines are –200 m isobaths, and the thin contour lines are –1000 to –4000 m isobaths with 1000 m intervals.

depth below the surface was drilled in 1981 at Taiping Island by the Taiwanese government (Gong et al., 2005). The subsurface sequence can be divided into three sections in terms of mineralogy: 0–21 m is composed of aragonite and high-Mg calcite, 21–165.4 m is composed mostly of low-Mg calcite, and below 165.4 m is composed mostly of dolomite, and the lowermost part of the core section in their study is Pleistocene in age. How the Miocene platform carbonates on Taiping Island

that formed and developed are not clear because the stratigraphic evidence is still not available. Taiping Island is located in a zone of long-term uplifting of the Zhenghe Uplift (Zhou et al., 1995), also known as the Zhenghe Extensional Zone/Zhenghe Uplift Belt (Yan and Liu, 2004). Accompanied by disseminated normal faulting and volcanic emplacement, it was probably domed by the bulge associated with the crustal downwarping to the

Fig. 3. Chronostratigraphic chart in the study area with correlations among eustatic sea level changes, lithological data from nearby borehole data (Sampaguita-1), previous seismic stratigraphic studies, and regional tectonic events. Q*: Quaternary. PH: Pleistocene and Holocene. The eustatic sea level curves refer to Haq et al. (1987) (gray line) and Miller et al. (2005) (black line). The evolution of the seafloor spreading of the South China Sea mainly refers to Briais et al. (1993), although the cessation age of the South China Sea seafloor spreading is currently under debate (Barckhausen et al., 2014; Chang et al., 2015).The period of the continent rifting and drifting refers to Ding et al. (2014b). The period of the Palawan-Borneo thrust wedge formation refers to Steuer et al. (2013, 2014).

Please cite this article as: Chang, J.-H., et al., Seismic sequence stratigraphic analysis of the carbonate platform, north offshore Taiping Island, Dangerous Grounds, South China S..., Tectonophysics (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2015.12.010

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Fig. 4. The location of reflection seismic data (red line) used in this study. The green dot indicates the location of the Taiping Island, and the gray dots represent the locations of the rest islets in this area. The red dots are marks of shot point (SP) with 10000 shot point intervals and the gray line indicates the shiptrack of the survey cruise. The orange dot indicates the location of the ODP site 1143. The contour lines are –1000 to –4000 m isobaths with 500 m intervals.

southeast (Zhou et al., 1995). Recent reactivation of the Zhenghe Uplift is evidenced by normal faults that cut through the Neogene deposits to the seabed and active post-rift magmatism (Yan and Liu, 2004). Scattered young volcanic samples were dated as being erupted after the cessation of the SCS seafloor spreading (Yan et al., 2006). In addition, b 2 Ma volcanic ash was reported at the IODP site 1143 (Shipboard Scientific Party, 2000) (Fig. 2). Meanwhile, Hutchison and Vijayan (2010) considered that the carbonates found offshore northwest of Borneo and Palawan are mainly constructed of seafloor cuestas with a northeast-southwest tectonic strike. It is still debatable whether Taiping Island was formed on a volcanic intrusion or a fault horst. 3. Data and methodology 3.1. Marine geophysical data acquisitions To explore the stratigraphic features beneath the Holocene active Taiping Island, marine multi-channel reflection seismic data from offshore north of Taiping Island were acquired by the Taiwanese research vessel Oceanic Researcher 1 (Fig. 4). Reflection seismic investigation was employed by a 500-cubic inch air gun array operated at 2000 PSI. The seismic data were acquired via a 24-channel, 150-meter long streamer, with a 2-ms sampling rate. The seismic data were then conducted by the ProMAX system and KINGDOM software at the Institute of Oceanography, National Taiwan University. Global bathymetry data were derived by a satellite altimeter, processed by NOAA’s Geoscience Laboratory and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and could be obtained from following website: http://topex.ucsd.edu/cgi-bin/get_ data.cgi. (Smith and Sandwell, 1997; Sandwell and Smith, 2009). The bathymetric charts in this study are prepared by the GMT tool in the Mirone program (Luis, 2007; Wessel et al., 2013).

3.2. Depositional model and sequence stratigraphy of the carbonate system The depositional sequences and geometry of the carbonate system change along the dip profile (Fig. 5). Sarg (1988) proposed that the carbonate depositional environments along the dip profile may include regional platform/ramps with gentle slopes, prograded banks/platforms rimming the basin margin with steeper foreslopes, and offshore or isolated platforms. Similarly, Sun and Esteban (1994) proposed a depositional framework of Miocene carbonate and their facies relationships in Southeast Asia, showing the transition of the depositional environment from the patchy reef in the shelf area and the shelf margin reef at the shelf break to the pinnacle reef in the deep sea (Fig. 5A). These transitions along the bathymetric dip provide useful perceptions of depositional models from the shelf environment to the deep sea in a carbonate setting. Sequence stratigraphy is now widely considered to be a practical methodology for analyzing the development of the carbonate platform because the depositional sequence and system tract models are generally predictive and in accordance with sea level changes (Van Wagoner et al., 1988; Schlager, 1992; Handford and Loucks, 1993). During the lowstand period, the sea level drops below the shelf margin and erosion may occur on the platform, producing sequence boundaries and depositional wedges of the lowstand system tract (LST). When the sea level starts to rise and the carbonate production growth cannot keep pace with the sea level rise, transgressive surfaces (TS) and maximum flooding surfaces (MFS) are formed along with platform drowning and sediment starvation. The distributions of the shelf edge deposits tend to step back, forming a retrogradation and aggradation of the transgressive system tracts (TST). During the late stage of the eustatic rise, the rate of accommodation increase begins to decline, but the overall sediment production rate may remain high. Accordingly, the highstand system tract (HST) is deposited when the rates of carbonate production

Please cite this article as: Chang, J.-H., et al., Seismic sequence stratigraphic analysis of the carbonate platform, north offshore Taiping Island, Dangerous Grounds, South China S..., Tectonophysics (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2015.12.010

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Fig. 5. A conceptual depositional model of the carbonate system (A), with perspectives from sequence stratigraphy in foreslope (B) and build-up (C). The yellow, gray, and green areas represent the deposits of the highstand system tract (HST), transgression system tract (TST), and lowstand system tract (LST), respectively. MFS: maximum flooding surface. In foreslope setting, the lithological changes may occur along the sequence boundaries and transgressive surfaces (marked by red, zigzag-shaped line). In build-up setting, the deposition is dominated by HST and TST. Revised from Sun and Esteban (1994) and Schlager (2005).

increase and reach a balance with the rising sea level (early highstand) or exceed the rise of sea level (late highstand), generally producing a seaward offlapping wedge that progrades onto the preceding TST and LST (Fig. 5B). This seaward-landward stacking cycle repeats in response to the drops and rises of the eustatic sea level, especially in the shelf break-slope setting. Sequence stratigraphic frameworks can be built at different scales (i.e., hierarchical levels), reflecting cyclic changes in depositional trends of different temporal durations of stratigraphic cycles or magnitudes of base level change (Catuneanu et al., 2011). Depositional models of the carbonate platform foreslope and carbonate build-ups in carbonate systems with a sequence stratigraphic framework are proposed in Fig. 5B and C. Platform foreslopes develop with various dips. The LSTs are generally observed at platform margins with allochthonous debris (Sarg et al., 1995). The deposition of the LST updips and gradually terminates headward, and the depositional tongue of the HST extends downslope towards the sea (Fig. 5B). In seismic profiles, the foreslope reflections are generally composed of interfringe foreslope debris and muddy carbonate, showing variable amplitude and continuity depending on impedance contrasts between different lithofacies (Sarg, 1988). It is also believed that the progradation, aggradation, and retrogradation can be identified by tracing the margin of the carbonate platforms (Burgess et al., 2013). Thus, the interfringe part of the HST and LST is likely to be formed along the platform foreslope (Schlager, 2005), and the boundaries of the system tracts are seismically resolvable if they are reflected by the lithological contrasts. Although the fundamental aspects of the siliciclastic sequence model are reasonably applicable to many carbonate sequences (Handford and Loucks, 1993), the developments of the carbonate sequence stratigraphic features are quite different between the depositional environments of the carbonate platform foreslope and offshore carbonate build-ups (Fig. 5). In a platform foreslope depositional setting, the HST, TST, and LST are generally well-developed (Fig. 5B). In contrast, offshore carbonate build-ups are generally observed to be deposited upon a structural high of the rotated block in the Miocene sequence in the southern South China Sea (Fig. 5A; Menier et al., 2014) and could be identified as one of several evolutionary stages. Epting (1989) and Sun and Esteban (1994) concluded that the architecture of the carbonate build-

ups can be classified into four major stages in response to the relative sea level changes: the build-up stage when the growth rate of reefforming organisms keeps pace with the relative sea level, the build-out stage when carbonate production exceeds the relative sea level rise, the build-in stage when the rate of carbonate production lags behind sea level rise, and the drowning stage when the rate of sea level rise far exceeds the growth rate. These stages represent the relative sea level change of the early highstand, late highstand, early transgression, and maximum transgression, respectively, but do not represent the lowstand period. Since the lowstand system tract may not always occur in offshore carbonate build-ups, the carbonate deposits are therefore more likely to be dominated by the aggradation of the TSTs and progradation of the HSTs. In fact, the LST does not always form when a sea level change occurs. Schlager (1998, 1999) proposed a depositional hiatus between the HST and the immediately overlying TST in the carbonate depositional system as a type boundary for the sequence stratigraphic use, known as the type 3 sequence boundary (Fig. 6). It forms when the sea level rises faster than the system can aggrade such that a TST directly overlies the preceding HST and probably occurs with a significant marine hiatus. Kusumastuti et al. (2002) suggested that the seismic resolvable offshore carbonate build-ups are composed of repeated subparallel continuous seismic facies and mounded seismic facies. Based on the sequence stratigraphic model of the carbonate system, the local and mounded seismic facies in offshore settings can be interpreted as TSTs, and the extensive and subparallel seismic facies in offshore settings can be interpreted as HST deposits or basal transgressive carbonate deposits (Fig. 5C). In offshore carbonate build-up settings, the deposition is probably dominated by TSTs and HSTs. 4. Results 4.1. Bathymetry and the seismic profile Our seismic profile is located between the Daoming Reefs (to the north) and the Zhenghe Reefs (to the south) and trends approximately southwest-northeast, running along the long axis of the elongated

Please cite this article as: Chang, J.-H., et al., Seismic sequence stratigraphic analysis of the carbonate platform, north offshore Taiping Island, Dangerous Grounds, South China S..., Tectonophysics (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2015.12.010

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Fig. 6. The conceptual depositional model showing the characteristics of a type-3 sequence boundary. Highstand deposits are represented by yellow area and transgressive deposits are represented by gray area. Basin restricted lowstand deposit (green area) has been found only at lowermost sequence boundary, while other boundaries are of type 3-transgressive tract overlying highstand tract. Revised from Schlager (1999).

Zhenghe-Daoming Trough. The westernmost part of the seismic profile is characterized by transparent reflections overlying the acoustic basement (Figs. 7 and 8). In the map view, the bathymetry in this area is dominated by a highly varied relief (Fig. 4). Previous seismic investigations here showed that the seafloor cuestas are probably dominated by simila features (Zhou et al., 1995; Ding et al., 2013). Accordingly, we believe that this area is dominated by volcanic edifices. Eastward, a carbonate platform with a well-developed platform foreslope (Figs. 7 and 9) is recognized in our seismic profile to the north offshore of Taiping Island. The carbonate platform is characterized by a submarine relief high (between SP20000 and SP25000 in Figs. 7 and 9), and the foreslope west of the platform is characterized by highamplitude reflections (between SP16000 and SP20000 in Figs. 7 and 9). Beneath the submarine high, the platform is characterized by uneven reflections with poor continuity (Fig. 9B). Slope carbonate mounds deposited along the slope are also identified (the gray areas in the Fig. 9B). Further east, two carbonate build-ups with interfingered flanks are identified (Figs. 7 and 10). They are mainly composed of two seismic facies: the subparallel seismic facies (yellow area in Fig. 10B) and the mounded seismic facies (gray area in Fig. 10B). These two seismic facies occur repeatedly on top of each other, forming high-relief build-ups in each stratigraphic interval (Fig. 10). In addition, two normal faults are observed underlying the individual carbonate build-ups, suggesting that these carbonate build-ups are probably developed in association with the activities of the normal faults and the rotation of the fault blocks. Similar cases have been observed in other Miocene carbonate build-ups in Southeast Asia (Sun and Esteban, 1994; Menier et al., 2014). 4.2. Recognition of the seismic sequence boundaries In the platform foreslope area, the amplitude of the reflections differentially decreases westward, showing the intercalation between

high-amplitude reflections with low-amplitude reflections (Fig. 9A, between SP 16000 and SP 20000). The range where the reflection amplitude changes occur on the seismic profile is indicated by a red, zigzag-shaped line, and the locations where the turnaround points on the zigzag course occur are indicated by the green and red dots (Fig. 9B). We interpret that the change of reflection amplitude is caused by the lithological contrast and the zigzag-shaped line represents the boundary of facies changes among the depositional wedges of the HST, TST and LST along the dip profile. On the basis of the sequence stratigraphic model of carbonate systems in platform foreslope shown in Fig. 5B, we interpret that the zigzag-shaped line indicates the transgression surfaces of which the seaward prograding sediments start to deposit upon and the sequence boundaries that mark the landward retreat of sediments. Accordingly, the alternative course of the zigzagshaped line indicates the landward and seaward migration of the platform foreslope deposits. The landward and seaward migrations of the platform foreslope deposits are critical in the sequence stratigraphic framework, as they reflect the history of the sea level rise and drop. Compare our seismic profile of the platform foreslope with the sequence stratigraphic model shown in Fig. 5B, the HST and TST deposits are characterized by basinward prograding wedges of high-amplitude reflections that occur east of the red line, whereas the deposits of the LST are characterized by low-amplitude reflections that occur west of the red line. More significantly, we are able to identify the sequence boundaries based on the relationship between the zigzag-shaped lines and the turnaround points on the zigzag course in the seismic profile. Six seismic sequence boundaries are recognized and indicated by the turnaround points of the zigzag-shaped line. The seismic sequence boundary SBa is recognized by the line segment between green dot 1 and red dot 1. The SBa is the deepest identified sequence boundary and is characterized by a high-amplitude reflection in the platform foreslope (Fig. 9) and build-up area (Fig. 10). Upwards, the SBb and

Fig. 7. The reflection seismic profile collected by the MG&G survey cruise in this study. Note that the depth is estimated by water velocity (1500 m/s). See Fig. 4 for the location.

Please cite this article as: Chang, J.-H., et al., Seismic sequence stratigraphic analysis of the carbonate platform, north offshore Taiping Island, Dangerous Grounds, South China S..., Tectonophysics (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2015.12.010

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Fig. 8. The seismic section between Shot point (SP) 1 and 15000. We interpreted this seismic section is dominated by volcanic edifice. Note that the depth is estimated by water velocity (1500 m/s). See Figs. 4 and 7 for the location.

SBc are recognized and are similarly characterized by high-amplitude reflections in the platform foreslope area. The seismic sequence boundary SBd is recognized by the line segment between green dot 4 and red dot 4, with a relatively longer green dot-red dot distance among these seismic sequence boundaries in Fig. 9. The SBd is also the boundary that separates the sequences that contain most of the mounded seismic facies atop from the sequences that is mostly composed of subparallel seismic facies below (Fig. 10). SBe is recognized by the line segment between green dot 5 and red dot 5, and SBf is recognized by the line segment between green dot 6 and red dot 6 (Fig. 9). Notably, SBe updips westward along with the sequence boundaries underneath; however, this updip does not occur in SBf (Fig. 9). In addition, SBf is characterized by the transition between low-amplitude reflections above and high-amplitude reflections below (Fig. 9). Collectively, the SBf represents the boundary between the high- and low-amplitude reflections and the tilting and flat reflections. Among the locations of the turnaround points (i.e., the green and red dots), we additionally note that there are trends of landward and seaward migrations. For example, green dot 3 occurs landward of green dot 2 and green dot 4 occurs even more landward of green dot 3, suggesting that there were successive transgression events during the formation of SBa, SBb, SBc, and SBd (Fig. 9B). Similarly, green dot 1 occurs seaward of green dot 2, suggesting that there were progressive sea level drop events during the formation of SBe and SBf (Fig. 9B). The trends of the initial landward and subsequent seaward migration of the turnaround points reveals that there is a higher hierarchical order sequence characterized by an early transgressive (retrogradational) and late regressive (progradational) deposition, reflecting a longer-term cycle of sea level change.

5. Discussion 5.1. Chronostratigraphic correlation between the seismic sequence boundaries and eustasy Sequence stratigraphic methods are now routinely applied to the correlation of strata in a wide variety of depositional settings and tie the stratigraphic changes of stratal stacking patterns to sea level fluctuation, providing a chronstratigraphic framework based on the correlation of sea level fluctuations on both local (smaller, lower hierarchy) and regional (larger, higher hierarchy) scales (Miall, 2010, Catuneanu et al., 2011). The cycle charts of sea level fluctuations suggest that global eustasy showed a period of transgression during the Late OligoceneEarly Miocene (~ 32–16 Ma), followed by a flooding event during the Early-Middle Miocene (~16–15 Ma) and a period of regression during the Middle-Late Miocene (~ 15–6 Ma)(Figs. 3 and 11). This period of transgression-regression cycling spans more than 20 Ma and shows features of a second-order eustatic cycle (Sarg et al., 1999). Within this second-order cycle, there are five lower hierarchical order cycles (third-order) that are identified based on the sea level fluctuation chart: cycles that span the Late Oligocene, the early Early Miocene, the late Early Miocene, the Middle Miocene, and the Late Miocene (Fig. 11). In our seismic data, we propose that landward and seaward migrations of the platform foreslope deposits indicated by the zigzag-shaped line in Fig. 9 are in accordance with the back-and-forth fluctuations of the sea level. Thus, we interpret that the five identified depositional sequences in our seismic data are correlative with the Late OligoceneMiocene third-order cycles of the eustatic cycle chart and that the higher hierarchical sequence identified in our seismic data is correlated to the second-order cycle of the eustatic cycle chart. The correlation between

Please cite this article as: Chang, J.-H., et al., Seismic sequence stratigraphic analysis of the carbonate platform, north offshore Taiping Island, Dangerous Grounds, South China S..., Tectonophysics (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2015.12.010

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Fig. 9. The seismic section between shot point (SP) 15000 and 23000 (A) and interpretation (B). The red, zigzag-shaped line indicates the range where the changes of the reflection amplitude occur, and the green and red dots indicate the locations where the turnaround points on the zigzag course occur. Based on the relationship of system tracts in sequence stratigraphy (Fig. 6B), the seismic sequence boundaries are recognized. Note that the depth is estimated by water velocity (1500 m/s). See Figs. 4 and 7 for the location.

eustatic sea level cycles and the observed sedimentary cycles is shown in Fig. 11, which summarizes the eustatic cycle charts and the identified seismic sequence boundaries with their correlated or inferred ages. SBa is the deepest recognizable sequence boundary in this study (Fig. 9B) and is correlated with the sea level drop in the Late Oligocene. This boundary is also characterized by a very large backstep distance, suggesting that the formation of this sequence boundary is likely to be enhanced by certain events. The SBa was formed near the time that the rifting and opening of the South China Sea oceanic basin began. It is generally believed that the transition from active rifting of a continental crust to a regime of seafloor spreading is marked by tectonic events (Falvey, 1974; Hutchison, 2004). Therefore, we interpret that the formation of SBa is not only associated with the sea level drop in the Late Oligocene, but is probably associated with the rifting and opening of the South China Sea oceanic basin. Upwards, SBb and SBc are both correlated with the sea level drop events in the Early Miocene. SBd is an important sequence boundary that is recognized in this study. It is characterized by a relatively larger backstep along the sequence boundary (Fig. 9B) than those that occurred along the underlying the SBb and SBc, suggesting that it was formed during a prominent transgression event in the Neogene. Moreover, based on the sequence stratigraphic model of the carbonate system shown in Fig. 5C, the mounded seismic facies (the gray area in Fig. 10B) are interpreted as the deposits of the TST. Subparallel seismic facies (the yellow area in Fig. 10B) are interpreted as HST deposits. The SBd is also characterized by the underlying deposits of basal transgression carbonate in Fig. 10B, suggesting that the formation of the SBd marks the initiation of a dominant transgressive period. Thus, we interpret that the formation of the SBd is correlated to the eustatic sea level rise event during

Early-Middle Miocene. This dominant sea level rise event was also recorded in the Tainan Basin and the Baram delta area in the northern and southern South China Sea, respectively (Lee et al., 1993; Madon et al., 2013). The SBe and SBf are correlated with the sea level drop events at the beginning and end of the Late Miocene, respectively. As described in Section 4.2, the SBf represents the boundary between the high- and low-amplitude reflections and the tilting and flat reflections. Apparently, a regional environmental change occurred during the formation of the SBf. We suggest that the formation of the SBf is in association with the activities of Western Taiping Seamount Group. When the volcanic activities began, the regional stratigraphy in our study area was disturbed, uplifting the pre-SBf deposits. After the cessation of the volcanic activities, the SBf was formed, resulting in the difference in dip angles between the SBf and those reflections beneath the SBf. Our observations in the reflection seismic profile have provided geophysical support to the regional chronostratigraphic framework of the Late Oligocene-Miocene. However, we note that during the Middle Miocene, the eustatic sea level chart shows a retrogressive trend, whereas in our observations, there is a transgressive deposition in the SBd and SBe interval (Fig. 11). Additionally, the change of dip angles of the SBf and those reflections beneath reveals that there was a Late Miocene environmental change, uplifting the pre-SBf platform foreslope deposits west of the carbonate platform. In fact, tectonic and environmental changes of volcanism are very likely to occur, which may have contributed to the drowning of the carbonate platforms and the slowing down/ ceasing of the carbonate production. Herein, we propose that the concern of additional control of the regional tectonic framework shall be placed in the sequence stratigraphic evolution of the carbonate platform in our study. Revisiting the regional tectonic is necessary and is discussed in the following section. 5.2. Influence of the regional tectonics and volcanism During the Neogene, the two most potentially significant tectonic events occurred in our study area: the seafloor spreading of the South China Sea basin (Briais et al., 1993) and the flexural bending of the Dangerous Grounds continental crust in the distal Borneo foreland basin caused by the thrust load of Palawan and Borneo (Sun et al., 2011; Steuer et al., 2014) (Fig. 3). As mentioned above, the rifting and opening of the South China Sea basin was probably recorded along with the formation of the SBa. In this section, we will discuss the possible tectonic influence of the flexural backbulge and forebulge caused by the formation of the Palawan-Bonero foreland basin in the Zhenghe Reefs area. In the flexure model, if the plate is considered as an elastic beam applied by thrust loads, a foreland basin will occur with four subdivisions in response to the applied load. From the craton to the thrust belt, the divisions include backbulge, forebulge, foredeep, and wedgetop divisions, as characterized by different vertical movements of subsidence and uplift (Giles and Dickinson, 1995; DeCelles and Giles, 1996; Catuneanu, 2004) (Fig. 12). In other words, if a region experiences the migration of a foreland basin through time, it will first experience a period of backbulge subsidence, followed by a period of uplift caused by the forebulge and a period of subsidence caused by the foredeep basin. It seems that it is clear that the forebulge-related area will uplift and be eroded as the sea level drops in the lowstands (Zeng et al., 2013). In contrast, a backbulge-related area will subside and generate a relatively longer transgressive event. To estimate the tectonic influence of a flexed plate on the depositional sequence, it will be better to recognize possible time periods of backbulge subsidence, forebulge uplift and foredeep subsidence, and thereafter, we can determine the process that might have occurred at every time step. The rifted continental crust of the Dangerous Grounds was downflexed by the load of the Palawan-Borneo thrust wedge, which drove flexural subsidence of a foreland basin, known as the PalawanBorneo Trough east of the Dangerous Grounds. Steuer et al. (2014)

Please cite this article as: Chang, J.-H., et al., Seismic sequence stratigraphic analysis of the carbonate platform, north offshore Taiping Island, Dangerous Grounds, South China S..., Tectonophysics (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2015.12.010

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Fig. 10. The seismic section between shot point (SP) between 28000 and 40000 (A) and interpretation (B). The yellow area indicates the deposit of the highstand system tract mainly composed of the subparallel seismic facies, and the gray areas indicate the transgressive system tract, including mounded seismic facies that locally occur atop of the normal faults, and basal transgressive carbonate sands. Note that SBd is overlaid by the deposits of the basal transgression carbonate sands. Also note that the depth is estimated by water velocity (1500 m/s). See Figs. 4 and 7 for the location.

suggested that the flexural forebulge in the Early Miocene was located southeast of our study area, forming a series of structural highs that facilitated the shallow marine carbonate deposition. In addition, Sun et al. (2011) suggested that the elevation of the forebulge increased drastically at 16 Ma. According to the limited seismic profiles along with numerical analyses by Sun et al. (2011), the forebulge is probably currently located between its Early Miocene location suggested by Steuer et al.

(2014) and our study area, indicating that the forebulge has migrated northwestward since the Early Miocene. During the formation of the SBd, our study area was probably located northwest of the Early Miocene forebulge, as suggested by Steuer et al. (2014), or the Middle Miocene forebulge, as suggested by Sun et al. (2011), which is very likely in a region of the backbulge. This period in the backbulge region may have lasted for several million years until

Fig. 11. Chronostratigraphy correlation between eustatic cycles and seismic sequence boundaries in study area. Note that the depth is estimated by water velocity (1500 m/s).

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Fig. 12. Schematic diagrams showing the development the flexural bending occurred in Dangerous Grounds since the Early Miocene. (A) During the Early Miocene, forebulge caused by the Palawan-Borneo thrust load was located in the eastern part of the Dangerous Grounds, producing the flexural subsidence and uplift on the rifted continental crust of the Dangerous Grounds. (B) During the Middle Miocene, the backbulge subsidence first occurred in present location of the Zhenghe Reefs, forming a local base level drop and a retrogradational depositional sequence. (C) After the Middle Miocene, backbulge region eventually morphed into a forebulge region based on the westward propogation of the thrust load. The subsidence of the backbulge in present location of the Zhenghe Reefs was transformed into the uplift of the forebulge, causing the exhumed sediments and volcanic activities.

the backbulge region eventually morphed into a forebulge region if the forebulge prograded along the thrust load. Therefore, it is very likely that through geological time, the forebulge migrated to our study area. Collectively, these considerations suggest that in our study area there might be a backbulge-forebulge transition from the Middle Miocene to the present, and therefore, the flexural influence of the backbulge and forebulge on the regional sedimentation of a carbonate platform shall also be considered, especially for the backbulge subsidence, which could cause a local base level drop and forebulge uplift that could induce a local base level rise. The observations and considerations that may have been associated with flexural subsidence and uplift in our study area are summarized. These observations include (1) a discrepancy between the Middle Miocene retrogressive trend of the eustatic cycle chart and the observed transgressive deposition in the SBd and SBe interval; (2) the difference of dip angles of SBf and those reflections underneath, which reveals that there was a Late Miocene environmental change with a local uplift of the deposition of the platform foreslope; this change of dip angle may be in association with the volcanism that occurred west of the Zhenghe Reefs; and (3) the transition between the backbulge and forebulge in our study area, which suggests that there was subsidence to provide more accommodation for sediments, followed by an uplift, which may have provided a larger volume of sediment input. These observations and considerations reveal the following: During the period of the Early Miocene, a forebulge formed by the PalawanBorneo thrust load east of the Dangerous Grounds was located southeast of our study area (Fig. 12A). It migrated northwestward, causing flexural subsidence and uplift in the rifted continental crust of the Dangerous Grounds. During the Middle Miocene, the backbulge subsidence first occurred in the present location of the Zhenghe Reefs, forming a local base level drop and a retrogradational depositional sequence (Fig. 12B). After the Middle Miocene, the subsidence of the backbulge was transformed into the uplift of the forebulge (Fig. 12C). The influence of the forebulge uplift produced the volcanic activity west of the Zhenghe area, and the sediments exhumed from the uplifted forbulge. The volcanism led to the tilting of the sedimentary sequences of the carbonate platform foreslope west of the Zhenghe Reefs. The sediments exhumed from the uplifted forbulge occurred coeval to the highstand period of the second-order cycle and were deposited seaward along

with the progradational depositional wedge. The volcanic activity was ceased at the end of the Late Miocene, recorded by the SBf without being uplifted. In summary, the intercalation between the high- and low-amplitude reflections marked by the zigzag-shaped line in our seismic profiles indicates the landward and seaward migration of the carbonate platform foreslope deposits, recording the eustatic sea level change along with the tectonic events caused by flexural bending at the distal part of the foreland basin of the Palawan-Borneo Trough. We propose that the subsidence of the backbulge during the Middle Miocene provides an explanation for the possible transgression observed during the SBd and SBe interval in our seismic data and that the uplift of the forebulge during the Late Miocene provides an explanation for the formation of Western Taiping Seamount Group. The tectonic episodes are roughly synchronous with the eustatic sea level change events and may be tentatively placed in the framework of the geological history of the Zhenghe Reefs region. Although the developments of the seismic sequences are partly controlled by the local tectonics, the overall stacking of the sedimentary strata in our study area reveals five third-order cycles and one secondorder cycle, which are in good accordance with the eustatic sea level chart. 5.3. Implications for the formation of the Zhenghe-Daoming Trough In our study area, the Zhenghe, Daoming, Zhongye, Jiuzhang, and Shuangzi Reefs are separated by several linear depressions. Among these depressions, the Zhenghe-Daoming Trough is located between the Zhenghe Reefs and the Daoming Reefs. The bathymetric chart suggests that the axis of the depression runs in an approximately southwest-northeast strike and is mainly descending eastwards (Fig. 3). Based on the results of the sequence stratigraphic interpretation (Fig. 9), the Zhenghe-Daoming Trough is currently filled by Late Miocene-present deposits. In addition, the seismic section shows that the acoustic basement of the Zhenghe-Daoming Trough was deformed by normal faults (Fig. 10). Hooke and Schlager (1980) provide a working hypothesis of how a trough between carbonate platforms forms. As the carbonate platform in the rifted continental crust starts to subside, the differential subsidence between the carbonate bank and trough create the initial relief.

Please cite this article as: Chang, J.-H., et al., Seismic sequence stratigraphic analysis of the carbonate platform, north offshore Taiping Island, Dangerous Grounds, South China S..., Tectonophysics (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2015.12.010

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Sediment gravity flow coursing downstream began to erode a valley headward into carbonate platforms. As the relief between the bank and trough increased, the flow increased vigorously, moving down the trough and into the headwardly eroding valley. The rate of headward erosion thus increased. In short, this evolutionary model suggested that the elongated trough between the isolated carbonate platforms above the rifted continental crust are initially created by differential subsidence between the carbonate bank and trough caused by tectonic down-faulting and are thus enhanced by headwardly eroding axial valleys cut by turbidity currents. Our seismic profile along the axis of the Zhenghe-Daoming Trough shows that the acoustic basement of the Zhenghe-Daoming Trough was deformed by normal faults (Fig. 10), suggesting that the evolutionary model of Hooke and Schlager (1980) is probably applicable to the formation of the Zhenghe-Daoming Trough. Therefore, we propose that in our study area, the acoustic basements underlying the Zhenghe, Daoming, Zhongye, Jiuzhang, and Shuangzi Reefs were united before the rifting and opening of the South China Sea basin began. Once the normal faults were activated, the differential subsidence between the bank and trough occurred, creating the initial state of the Zhenghe-Daoming Trough, followed by the submarine erosion in the trough that helped increase the relief between the Zhenghe Reefs and the Zhenghe-Daoming Trough. After the cessation of the fault activities, the trough became dominated by gravity-driven sedimentation. 6. Conclusion Located within Zhenghe Reefs, Taiping Island is the largest natural terrestrial landmass in central part of the South China Sea. Stratigraphic features of the offshore and isolated carbonate platform north offshore Taiping Island are explored based on the newly acquired marine multichannel seismic data. The western flank of the carbonate platform is characterized by an intercalation between high-amplitude and low-amplitude reflections, showing the landward and seaward migration of the platform foreslope deposits. In addition, there are two offshore isolated carbonate build-ups constructed upon the local structural highs. Six sequence boundaries and five depositional sequences caused by eustatic sea level cycles are identified and are correlative with the eustatic sea level change chart. Although the development of the seismic sequences is probably controlled by local tectonics, the overall stacking of the sedimentary strata in our study area reveals five 3rd cycles and one 2nd cycle, in good accordance with eustatic sea level chart. Additionally, the formations of Western Taiping Seamount Group and Zhenghe-Daoming Trough are preliminarily analyzed based on seismic data. Acknowledgements We appreciated all the crew members of the R/V Ocean Research 1 who participated the MG&G investigation cruise OR1-1068, and science party members of the National Taiwan University who helped with marine seismic data collection. We wish to thank Dr. Jui-Lin Chang, Dr. Shyh-Chin Lan of the GeoResource Research Center, National Cheng Kung University, and Mr. Yuan-Wei Li, and Mr. Jian-Ming Chen of the Chinese Petroleum Company, Taiwan, for their encouragement. We also thank the Bureau of Mine, Ministry of Economic Affair, Taiwan, for the financial support. Critical reviews by Dr. David Menior and an anonymous reviewer are greatly appreciated and significantly improved the paper. References Barckhausen, U., Engels, M., Franke, D., Ladage, S., Pubellier, M., 2014. Evolution of the South China Sea: Revised ages for breakup and seafloor spreading. Mar. Pet. Geol. 58, 599–611. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2014.02.022. Briais, A., Patriat, P., Taponnier, P., 1993. Updated interpretation of magnetic anomalies and seafloor spreading stages in South China Sea: Implications for the Tertiary tectonics of Southeast Asia. J. Geophys. Res. 98, 6299–6328.

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Please cite this article as: Chang, J.-H., et al., Seismic sequence stratigraphic analysis of the carbonate platform, north offshore Taiping Island, Dangerous Grounds, South China S..., Tectonophysics (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2015.12.010