Tectonic uplift rate in the northern coast of the South China sea: insight from the 10Be exposure dating of marine terrace in southeastern China

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hao Liang ◽  
Ke Zhang ◽  
Zihao Chen ◽  
Ping Huang ◽  
Zhongyun Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South China Sea ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
South China ◽  
Northern Coast ◽  
Marine Terrace ◽  
Uplift Rate ◽  
Southeastern China ◽  
Exposure Dating ◽  
Marine Terraces ◽  
Uplift Rates

<p>Along the northern coast of the South China Sea in southeastern China, marine terraces preserved on the widespread Cretaceous granite and recorded both Quaternary uplift and sea-level oscillation. However, because sediments or materials for dating are usually absent, it is difficult to date these paleo-shoreline, which cause great difficulties in early exploration. Fortunately, as great progress on terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide dating, it is possible to yield the exposure age of marine terrace and to calculate the uplift rate along coastal line. This study focuses on two typical sequences of preserved marine terraces lying on the coastal line adjacent the Taiwan Strait in southeastern China. These two sequences of marine terraces (denoted as NZS and HJC site, respectively) both locate on the footwall (uplifting wall) of normal NE-SW trending fault (the Coastal Normal Fault) but on separated blocks subdivided by a normal NW-SE fault. At least 5 terraces and 2 terraces developed on granite at HJC and NZS site, respectively. In particularly, T1 and T3 terrace at HJC site and T1 terrace at NZS site present typical abrasion wave-cut platform with preserved sea stacks. Hence, we collected both profile and surface quarts samples on these well-preserved marine terraces for <sup>10</sup>Be exposure dating and yielded exposure ages of 51.0±1.9 ka, 66.2±2.9 ka in T1 and T3 terrace at HJC site, and 87.9±3.5 ka in T1 terrace at NZS site. After subtracting eustatic sea-level changes from the relative sea-level curve, we measure high uplift rates of 1.13 mm/a at HJC site and 1.04 mm/a at NZS site during late Pleistocene. The similar uplift rates in different faulting blocks suggest that surface uplift can be directly linked to NE-SW fault system. Low difference of uplift rate between tow site suggest relative vertical motion of tow faulting blocks could be adjust by NW-SE faults. The regional uplift with high uplift rates is likely corresponding to the major collision between Luzon arc and the Chinese continental margin. However, because the contribution of by isostasy, e.g. surface erosion or ice-volume variation in Quaternary, remains uncertain, the calculated uplift rate maybe overestimated.</p>

Formation and preservation of marine terraces during multiple sea level stands

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luca C Malatesta ◽  
Noah J. Finnegan ◽  
Kimberly Huppert ◽  
Emily Carreño
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
Basic Assumption ◽  
Cumulative Exposure ◽  
Marine Terrace ◽  
Uplift Rate ◽  
Marine Terraces ◽  
Uplift Rates ◽  
Ca 50 ◽  
Wave Erosion ◽  
Mis 5E

<p>Marine terraces are a cornerstone for the study of paleo sea level and crustal deformation. Commonly, individual erosive marine terraces are attributed to unique sea level high-stands. This stems from early reasoning that marine platforms could only be significantly widened under moderate rates of sea level rise as at the beginning of an interglacial and preserved onshore by subsequent sea level fall. However, if marine terraces are only created during brief windows at the start of interglacials, this implies that terraces are unchanged over the vast majority of their evolution, despite an often complex submergence history during which waves are constantly acting on the coastline, regardless of the sea level stand.<span> </span></p><p>Here, we question the basic assumption that individual marine terraces are uniquely linked to distinct sea level high stands and highlight how a single marine terrace can be created By reoccupation of the same uplifting platform by successive sea level stands. We then identify the biases that such polygenetic terraces can introduce into relative sea level reconstructions and inferences of rock uplift rates from marine terrace chronostratigraphy.</p><p>Over time, a terrace’s cumulative exposure to wave erosion depends on the local rock uplift rate. Faster rock uplift rates lead to less frequent (fewer reoccupations) or even single episodes of wave erosion of an uplifting terrace and the generation and preservation of numerous terraces. Whereas slower rock uplift rates lead to repeated erosion of a smaller number of polygenetic terraces. The frequency and duration of terrace exposure to wave erosion at sea level depend strongly on rock uplift rate.</p><p>Certain rock uplift rates may therefore promote the generation and preservation of particular terraces (e.g. those eroded during recent interglacials). For example, under a rock uplift rate of ca. 1.2 mm/yr, Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5e (ca. 120 ka) would resubmerge a terrace eroded ca. 50 kyr earlier for tens of kyr during MIS 6d–e stages (ca. 190–170 ka) and expose it to further wave erosion at sea level. This reoccupation could accordingly promote the formation of a particularly wide or well planed terrace associated with MIS 5e with a greater chance of being preserved and identified. This effect is potentially illustrated by a global compilation of rock uplift rates derived from MIS 5e terraces. It shows an unusual abundance of marine terraces documenting uplift rates between 0.8 and 1.2 mm/yr, supporting the hypothesis that these uplift rates promote exposure of the same terrace to wave erosion during multiple sea level stands.</p><p>Hence, the elevations and widths of terraces eroded during specific sea level stands vary widely from site-to-site and depend on local rock uplift rate. Terraces do not necessarily correspond to an elevation close to that of the latest sea level high-stand but may reflect the elevation of an older, longer-lived, occupation. This leads to potential misidentification of terraces if each terrace in a sequence is assumed to form uniquely at successive interglacial high stands and to reflect their elevations.</p>

Holocene sea-level history of the northern coast of South China Sea

2018 ◽  
Vol 194 ◽  
pp. 12-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haixian Xiong ◽  
Yongqiang Zong ◽  
Peng Qian ◽  
Guangqing Huang ◽  
Shuqing Fu
Keyword(s):  
South China Sea ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
South China ◽  
Northern Coast ◽  
China Sea ◽  
History Of ◽  
Holocene Sea Level

scholarly journals The influence of rock uplift rate on the formation and preservation of individual marine terraces during multiple sea-level stands

Geology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luca C. Malatesta ◽  
Noah J. Finnegan ◽  
Kimberly L. Huppert ◽  
Emily I. Carreño
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
Crustal Deformation ◽  
Total Duration ◽  
Marine Isotope Stage ◽  
Uplift Rate ◽  
Marine Terraces ◽  
Uplift Rates ◽  
Wave Erosion ◽  
Mis 5E

Marine terraces are a cornerstone for the study of paleo sea level and crustal deformation. Commonly, individual erosive marine terraces are attributed to unique sea-level high stands based on the reasoning that marine platforms could only be significantly widened at the beginning of an interglacial. However, this logic implies that wave erosion is insignificant at other times. We postulate that the erosion potential at a given bedrock elevation datum is proportional to the total duration of sea-level occupation at that datum. The total duration of sea-level occupation depends strongly on rock uplift rate. Certain rock uplift rates may promote the generation and preservation of particular terraces while others prevent them. For example, at rock uplift of ~1.2 mm/yr, the Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5e (ca. 120 ka) high stand reoccupies the elevation of the MIS 6d–e mid-stand, favoring creation of a wider terrace than at higher or lower rock uplift rates. Thus, misidentification of terraces can occur if each terrace in a sequence is assumed to form uniquely at successive interglacial high stands and to reflect their relative elevations. Developing a graphical proxy for the entire erosion potential of sea-level history allows us to address creation and preservation biases at different rock uplift rates.

Records of sea-level highstand over the Meghalayan age/late Holocene from uranium-series ages of beachrock in Weizhou Island, northern South China Sea

The Holocene ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 095968362110332
Author(s):  
Tingli Yan ◽  
Kefu Yu ◽  
Rui Wang ◽  
Wenhui Liu ◽  
Leilei Jiang
Keyword(s):  
South China Sea ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
South China ◽  
Intertidal Zone ◽  
Meteoric Water ◽  
Northern South China Sea ◽  
Water Environment ◽  
Sea Levels ◽  
China Sea ◽  
Micro Structures

Beachrock is considered a good archive for past sea-levels because of its unique formation position (intertidal zone). To evaluate sea-level history in the northern South China Sea, three well-preserved beachrock outcrops (Beigang, Gongshanbei, and Hengling) at Weizhou Island, northern South China Sea were selected to examine their relative elevation, sedimentological, mineralogical, and geochemical characteristics. Acropora branches with well-preserved surface micro-structures were selected from the beachrocks and used to determine the ages of these beachrocks via U-series dating. The results show that the beachrocks are composed of coral reef sediments, terrigenous clastics, volcanic clastics, and various calcite cements. These sediments accumulated in the intertidal zone of Weizhou Island were then cemented in a meteoric water environment. The U-series ages of beachrocks from Beigang, Gongshanbei, and Hengling are 1712–768 ca. BP, 1766–1070 ca. BP, and 1493–604 ca. BP (before 1950 AD) respectively. Their elevations are 0.91–1.16 m, 0.95–1.24 m, and 0.82–1.17 m higher than the modern homologous sedimentary zones, respectively. Therefore, we concluded that the sea-level in the Meghalayan age (1766–604 ca. BP) was 0.82–1.24 m higher than the present, and that the sea-level over this period showed a declining trend.

Characteristics and possible causes of the seasonal sea level anomaly along the South China Sea coast

2017 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui Wang ◽  
Kexiu Liu ◽  
Zhigang Gao ◽  
Wenjing Fan ◽  
Shouhua Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South China Sea ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
South China ◽  
The South China Sea ◽  
The South ◽  
Sea Level Anomaly ◽  
China Sea ◽  
Sea Coast
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