Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 142 (2017) 119–133

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Journal of Asian Earth Sciences

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jseaes

Crustal structure north of the Taiping Island (Itu Aba Island), southern
margin of the South China Sea
Jih-Hsin Chang a,⇑, Hsien-Hsiang Hsieh a, Arif Mirza a, Sung-Ping Chang a, Ho-Han Hsu a,b, Char-Shine Liu a,
Chih-Chieh Su a, Shye-Donq Chiu 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
b
National Oceanic Centre, Southampton, UK
c
Marine Exploration Instrument 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

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Based on the multi-channel seismic (MCS) and gravity data offshore north of Taiping Island (Itu Aba
Received 18 March 2016 Island) in the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands), we revisited the crustal structures in the northern part
Received in revised form 6 August 2016 of the southern margin of the Southwest (SW) Sub-basin of the South China Sea (SCS). The MCS data sug-
Accepted 6 August 2016
gest that the basement structural highs in the southwest margin of the SCS are dominated by both fault
Available online 18 August 2016
blocks and volcanic basement structures that probably formed along with the basement faults. The grav-
ity modeling results reveal that these volcanic basement structures were probably associated with the
Keywords:
high velocity or density lower crust (HVDLC), suggesting that the southern margin of the SW Sub-
Taiping Island (Itu Aba Island)
South China Sea
basin serves as an intermediate margin. Based on the tectonic features in the SCS margins, including
Hainan mantle plume (1) the transition between the magma-poor margins of the Northwest (NW) Sub-basin and intermediate
Small-scale convection margins of the East and SW Sub-basins; (2) the cessation of the seafloor spreading in the NW Sub-basin
Hyper-extension being succeeded by a major ridge jump event, which was very likely to reflect an active mantle upwelling
High velocity layer event; (3) the extensive distribution of the HVDLC beneath in the well-investigated northern margin of
Lower crust material the East Sub-basin and as explored in the SW Sub-basin in this study; and (4) basement faulting and vol-
canism shown in this study that may be related to the HVDLC and hyper-extension, we proposed a con-
ceptual model to interpret the origin of the HVDLC in the southern margin of the SW Sub-basin. The
margin of the SCS basin was magma-poor at the time it occurred. An active mantle upwelling event
caused by small-scale mantle convection, possibly related to the influence of the nascent Hainan mantle
plume, was formed subsequently, resulting in a southward ridge jump and the HVDLC beneath the cur-
rent margins of the East and SW Sub-basins. The East and SW Sub-basins continued to spread, latitudi-
nally dividing their HVDLCs as the margins separated accordingly. Afterwards, the hyper-extension in the
distal margins may also be responsible for a crust weakening zone wherein the subsequent volcanic
events could occur.
Ó 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction continental crust (Whitmarsh et al., 2001). The volcanic margins,

Passive margins can be identified as magma-poor, volcanic, and
intermediate (Clift et al., 2001; Zhu et al., 2012; Gao et al., 2015;
Franke et al., 2011; Doré and Lundin, 2015) (Fig. 1). The magma-
poor or non-volcanic margins, typically considered in the offshore
Iberian Peninsula, feature a highly stretched deformation of
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: ChangJihHsin@gmail.com (J.-H. Chang).
as can be seen off the mid-Norwegian, northern North Atlantic
coast, are characterized by seaward dipping reflectors (SDR) in
the multichannel seismic (MCS) profiles (Mutter et al., 1982).
Another important feature of the volcanic margins is the lower
crust material (LCM), generally recognized as high velocity layers
(HVL) or high velocity lower crust (HVLC) in the continent-ocean
transition (COT). In this study, we inclusively termed them high
velocity or density lower crust (HVDLC). The intermediate margins
contain characteristics of both end-member types. For instance,

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2016.08.005
1367-9120/Ó 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
120 J.-H. Chang et al. / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 142 (2017) 119–133
Fig. 1. Schematic diagrams showing crustal structures of (A) magma-poor margin, (B) volcanic margin and (C) intermediate margin. EM: exhumed mantle; SDR: seaward
dipping reflector; HVDLC: high velocity or density lower crust. V: extrusive and intrusive basement.
some parts of the margins of the South China Sea (SCS) (Fig. 2) are
characterized by volcanic intrusions in the MCS profiles and the
HVDLC in ocean bottom seismometer (OBS) data and gravity
anomaly modeling results.
The SCS oceanic basin is composed of the Northwest (NW) Sub-
basin, Southwest (SW) Sub-basin, and East Sub-basin. The margins
of the SCS oceanic basin were earlier considered as non-volcanic
margins (Yan et al., 2001) and recently considered to be character-
ized as an intermediate margin (Zhu et al., 2012; Gao et al., 2015).
In fact, the margin types of the SCS Sub-basins are neither identical
nor fully understood. The margin of the NW Sub-basin, which was
the earliest portion of the SCS opening, is magma-poor (Ding et al.,
2012). The succeeding East Sub-basin is characterized by margins
with large volumes of volcanic intrusions and the HVDLC beneath
its northern margin, suggesting that it features an intermediate
margin (Zhu et al., 2012; Gao et al., 2015). The nature of the current
SW Sub-basin, however, is still a question under debate, owing to
inconsistent survey analyses and results.
The nature of the SW Sub-basin is receiving increasing attention
and has recently become controversial. The feature of the northern
margin of the SW Sub-basin was earlier investigated by Lü et al.
(2011), concluding that the two end-member continental rifting
models could not fully explain the crustal structures of the north-
ern margin of the SW Sub-basin. Based on the OBS investigation,
Qiu et al. (2011) suggested that there is no obvious HVDLC found
by an OBS profile (Line NH973-1, see Fig. 2 for the location) along
the dip of the conjugated southern margin of the SW Sub-basin.
Nevertheless, a later OBS study along another dip profile (Line
PR2, see Fig. 2 for the location) of the southern margin of the SW
Sub-basin suggested that there is a HVDLC existing under the crust
(Pichot et al., 2014). It is questionable if the nature of the lower
crust varies that drastically in less than 200 km. More investigation
and analysis are required to better understand the nature of the
SW Sub-basin.
In this study, we investigate the crustal structure offshore north
of Taiping Island (also known as Itu Aba Island) in the southern
margin of the SW Sub-basin and the SW Sub-basin margin type
by a combination of the MCS profile that intersects the published
OBS profiles and the gravity modeling results. The MCS profile will
reveal if the southern margin of the SW Sub-basin is more likely
magma-poor or volcanic. The gravity modeling results will reveal
the vertical variation of the crustal structure, providing a tentative
re-examination of previous crustal structure interpretations of the
southern margin of the SW Sub-basin. The integration of the MCS
and gravity modeling provides valuable insight into the crustal
structure of the distal part of the southern SCS margin and the con-
nections to regional tectonic evolution. Finally, to interpret the nat-
ure of the southern margin of the SCS, we construct a conceptual
model of the HVDLC formation along with the SCS evolution, which
includes the possible influence of a mantle plume and the hyper-
extension of this wide and rifted margin.
2. Geological background
The SCS oceanic basin is a marginal basin in the western Pacific
with extremely wide rifted margins (Fig. 1). The origin of the SCS
seafloor spreading has been explained by several models: (1) a
back-arc basin probably caused by subduction of the Proto-SCS
crust (Hsu, 1988), (2) a collisional basin related to crust extension
due to the India-Eurasian collision and tectonic extrusion
(Tapponnier et al., 1982), and (3) an oceanic basin related to conti-
nental rifting processes (Lewis, 2010). Recently, hybrid models
have become more promising (Cullen et al., 2010; Morley, 2016).
The seafloor spreading of the SCS oceanic basin was active during
32–15.5 Ma (Briais et al., 1993; Li et al., 2014; Chang et al.,
2015a) or 32–20.5 Ma (Barckhausen et al., 2014; Morley, 2016).
Although the origin and ages of the basin evolution are still ques-
tioned, it is widely accepted that continental breakup and seafloor
spreading first occurred in the NW Sub-basin and were succeeded
by at least one southward ridge jump and southwestward propa-
gating rifting (Briais et al., 1993; Li et al., 2015; Qiu et al., 2016).
In addition to crustal evolution, the activities of the mantle
plume beneath the crust are proposed to play a critical role in
the opening of the SCS oceanic basin (Yan and Shi, 2007; Yan
et al., 2014, 2015a, 2015b). In this hypothesis, the collision
between India and Eurasia may initiate the nascent Hainan mantle
plume during 50–30 Ma. In 30–16 Ma, the head of the nascent Hai-
nan mantle plume had arrived in the asthenosphere and probably
had interacted with the overlying lithosphere, enhancing the litho-
 J.-H. Chang et al. / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 142 (2017) 119–133 121

Fig. 2. Regional map showing the South China Sea (SCS) oceanic basin. The study area is marked by the box in the southern SCS. The SCS oceanic basin is composed of the NW-
Subbasin, East Subbasin, and SW Subbasin. The dash line indicates the continent-ocean boundary (COB) (Briais et al., 1993). The green and orange dots mark the location of
the Taiping Island (Itu Aba Island) and the ODP site, respectively. The red lines and arrows indicate the margins conjugated. The white letters represent the margin type. MP:
magma-poor; IT: intermediate. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
122 J.-H. Chang et al. / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 142 (2017) 119–133

Fig. 3. Map of the study area showing the location of survey line A and other published profile referred to. Survey line A is marked with the green color. The thin dash line
indicates the extent of the Western Taiping Seamount Group. The thick dash line indicates the continent-ocean boundary (Briais et al., 1993). The green and orange dots mark
the location of the Taiping Island (Itu Aba Island) and the ODP site, respectively. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the
web version of this article.)

spheric deformation when the SCS oceanic basin was opening.
After 16 Ma, the magmatic activities in the SCS oceanic basin were
dominated by deep-sourced alkali basalt. Currently, a Hainan
plume is imaged in the upper mantle, while originating in the
lower mantle (Lei et al., 2009; Le et al., 2015; Zhao, 2015). It is
characterized by a NW-SE tilting mantle low-velocity structure
(Lei et al., 2009), with the tilt of the Hainan plume probably asso-
ciated with the Manila subduction zone (Mériaux et al., 2015).
2.1. NW sub-basin
NW Sub-basin was formed as the earliest one among of the SCS
Sub-basins. The seafloor spreading of the NW Sub-basin began
around 32 Ma in a NW-SE direction, and ceased just after 30 Ma
(Briais et al., 1993). It is bound by northern margin of the SCS to
the north, and the Macclesfield Bank (Zhongsha Islands) to the
south. Sedimentary successions in the NW Sub-basin consist of a
syn-rift unit and a post-rift unit, overlying an oceanic crust of 5–
7 km thick (Ding et al., 2011, 2012; Franke et al., 2014). The oceanic
crust domain of the NW Sub-basin is characterized by highly
reflective top of basement, little faulting and no discernible syn-
tectonic strata, and the continental crust domain is characterized
by tilted fault blocks overlain by syn-rift sediments and thins dra-
matically toward the oceanic crust domain (Cameselle et al., 2015).
Neither the SDR has been revealed by the MCS profiles nor the
 J.-H. Chang et al. / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 142 (2017) 119–133
HVDLC has been found by OBS velocity profile in the NW Sub-basin
and nearby margin area (Qiu et al., 2011; Ding et al., 2012), sug-
gests that the margin of the NW Sub-basin is a magma-poor.
2.2. East sub-basin
East of the NW Sub-basin, the East Sub-basin occupies a vast
area of the SCS oceanic basin. The seafloor spreading of the East
Sub-basin lasted longer than in the other Sub-basins, starting from
32 Ma and ceasing around 15.5 Ma (Briais et al., 1993), with a jump
event of the mid-ocean ridge (Qiu et al., 2016). It is bounded by the
northern margin of the SCS to the north and by the southeast mar-
gin of the SCS off the Philippines to the south. The oceanic crust of
the East Sub-basin is bounded and consumed by the Manila Trench
to the east. The sedimentary successions consist of syn-spreading
(Oligocene-middle Miocene) and post-spreading (late Miocene-
present) deposits, based on IODP Expedition 349 drilling results
(Li et al., 2015).
Whether the northern margin of the East Sub-basin is magma-
poor, volcanic, or intermediate has been discussed for long time
(Yan et al., 2001; Clift et al., 2001; Zhu et al., 2012; Gao et al.,
2015). A HVL is generally identified in the lower crust along the
northern margin of the East Sub-basin (Nissen et al., 1995; Yan
et al., 2001; Wang et al., 2006), showing one of the diagnostic fea-
tures of the volcanic margin. However, the MCS profile investiga-
tions suggest that although volcanic intrusions are widely
recognized, the SDR, another diagnostic feature of the volcanic
margin, have not been discovered in this area. Although igneous
intrusions are extensively reported in the northern margin of the
East Sub-basin (e.g., Sun et al., 2014), the absence of the SDR reflec-
tion suggests that the northern margin of the East Sub-basin does
not share similar characteristics with the volcanic margins in the
northern North Atlantic (Mutter et al., 1982) and off northwest
Australia (Hopper et al., 1992). An intermediate mode of margin
type is therefore recognized (Zhu et al., 2012; Gao et al., 2015).
The volcanic complexes on the abyssal plain off the Philippines
in the southeast margin of the East Sub-basin are distinct in bathy-
metric and seismic data (Franke et al., 2011). This volcanic pro-
vince is confined to north of the Reed Bank north of NW Palawan
and the Manila Trench. Based on the volcanic features revealed
by Franke et al. (2011), the southern margin the East Sub-basin is
more likely to be an intermediate margin. In addition, Franke
et al. (2011) interpreted some low-angle detachments in the MCS
profiles and suggested that hyperextended crust would occur in
this area.
2.3. SW sub-basin
The SW Sub-basin is a V-shaped basin with the apex toward the
southwest, revealing the southwestward propagation rifting. The
seafloor spreading of the SW Sub-basin initiated at around 27 Ma
and terminated at about 15.5 Ma (Briais et al., 1993), succeeded
by the ridge jump of the spreading center. The earliest sedimentary
succession of the SW Sub-basin is dated as middle Miocene, based
on IODP Expedition 349 drilling results (Ding et al., 2016). The pre-
Miocene sediments are mainly found along the base of the slope
(Song and Li, 2015; Ding et al., 2013, 2016). The formation of the
SW Sub-basin oceanic crust has been tentatively identified as
hyperextended continental crust, exhumed subcontinental mantle,
and steady-state oceanic crust (Savva et al., 2013; Ding et al.,
2016).
The nature of the SW Sub-basin margin remains uncertain,
especially on the southern margin. The northern margin of the
SW Sub-basin is probably neither magma-poor nor volcanic (Lü
et al., 2011). The earlier investigation of the southern margin of
the SW Sub-basin (Line NH973-1, see Fig. 3 for the location) sug-
123
gested that there was no HVL found in the area west of the
Zhenghe Reefs (Tizard Bank and Reefs) (Qiu et al., 2011). Currently,
a crustal structure with the ‘‘no HVDLC” result and a magma-poor
margin are favored by some scholars (Chen et al., 2014). However,
a later survey northeast of Line NH973-1 revealed several high
velocity bodies beneath the lower crust (Line PR2, see Fig. 3 for
the location) (Pichot et al., 2014).
3. Methodology
A marine geology and geophysics (MG&G) survey was carried
out by Taiwanese Research Vessel Ocean Researcher 1 in OR1-
1068 cruise in 2014. The marine gravity data were collected by
shipboard Micro-g LaCoste gravity meter Air-Sea System II. Marine
seismic data were acquired by a 24-channel streamer, with 500
cube-inches air gun array shooting. Our seismic data (Line A in
Fig. 3) intersect the published seismic profile of the Line NH973-
1 (Ding et al., 2013; Song and Li, 2015) and OBS velocity profile
of the Line PR2 (Pichot et al., 2014) (Fig. 5B). The seismic data were
processed by ProMAX software, and the gravity modeling was per-
formed by GeoModel program (see http://www.geoafrica.co.za/
reddog/gc/geomodel/geomodel.htm for details).
To build up an initial model to perform the gravity modeling
along the selected profiles, we separated the crustal structure into
sediments, crust, and mantle. The bathymetry and top of basement
are derived from the MCS profile. We convert the time to depth
with the water velocity (1500 m/s). The Moho depth along Line A
is determined by the Parker-Oldenburg iterative method (Parker,
1973; Goḿez-Ortiza and Agarwalb, 2005; Hsieh et al., 2010) with
the global Bouguer anomaly dataset WGM2012 derived from Inter-
national Gravimetric Bureau (see http://bgi.omp.obs-mip.fr/data-
products/Grids-and-models/wgm2012 for details) (Bonvalot
et al., 2012), and with regional average Moho depths referring to
the Moho depth map by Braitenberg et al. (2006) and Li et al.
(2010). The Moho depth of profile A in the Moho map of
Braitenberg et al. (2006) is 13 km at both end with16 km at middle
part, and 15–20 km in that of Li et al. (2010). We thus apply 15 km
to the average Moho depth to perform the modeling. Density
parameters of our layered crustal model used in this study are
referred to Gao et al. (2015): the water (1.03 g/cm3), sediments
(2.4 g/cm3), continental crust (2.7 g/cm3), HVDLC (2.97 g/cm3),
and mantle (3.2 g/cm3).
4. Result
In the MCS profile of the Line A, an acoustic boundary that sep-
arates the acoustic basement and the overlying sediments is cut by
basement faults and features extrusive and intrusive structure
highs (Fig. 4C). The basement faults are important features found
in our seismic profile, forming several fault blocks as basement
highs. Among these fault blocks, the northern extension of the
Zhenghe Reefs (Tizard Bank and Reefs), which is located between
the Western Taiping Seamount Group and the Zhenghe-Daoming
Trough, is covered by high-amplitude, Oligocene-Miocene carbon-
ate platform deposits. The nature of this carbonate platform
deposit has been discussed in Chang et al. (2015b). Besides, there
is an eastward updip reflection with strong amplitude underlain
by a group of concave-upward, antiform reflections in the central
part of the profile (Fig. 5B). This eastward updip reflection may
be also interpreted as a fault surface which is generated along with
the overlying antiform structure.
The extrusive and intrusive structure highs are identified in the
western and central-east part of the seismic profile, respectively.
The presence of the extrusive structure is reflected in bathymetry,
124 J.-H. Chang et al. / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 142 (2017) 119–133

Fig. 4. The shipboard gravity anomaly profile (A), uninterpreted MCS profile (B), and interpreted MCS profile with the drawing of the acoustic basement and basement faults
along the Line A (C). The V.E. (vertical exaggeration) given by horizontal scale/vertical scale is 10 km/500 m, which is about 20.

featuring two bathymetrical highs as the Western Taiping Sea-
mount Group (Figs. 4 and 5A). The intrusive structures are recog-
nized as buried highs as at the Zhenghe-Daoming Trough (Figs. 4,
5C and 5D). In the Western Taiping Seamount Group (Fig. 5A).
The relief of the bathymetry is considerably parallel to the top of
acoustic basement in the western part of the seismic profile, repre-
senting a veneer of sediments drastically uplifted by underlying
volcanic basement structures. Besides, the intrusive structure high
in Fig. 5D is bounded by the basement faults to its both east and
west sides. This distribution pattern may reflect the development
of basement faulting and volcanic intrusions.
Our seismic data also provide a re-examination to the southern
part of the published seismic profile Line NH973-1 (Ding et al.,
2013; Song and Li, 2015) and the OBS velocity profile Line PR2
(Pichot et al., 2014) (Figs. 3 and 4). The Line A intersects the Line
NH973-1 at the Western Taiping Seamount Group
(Figs. 4B and 5A), and intersects the Line PR2 at an intrusive
structural high at the eastern part of our seismic profile
(Figs. 4B and 5D). The previous investigations appeared to interpret
the Western Taiping Seamount Group as fault block structures
bounding a graben to the south (Ding et al., 2013; Song and Li,
2015). Based on seismic features of the deformed sediments and
 J.-H. Chang et al. / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 142 (2017) 119–133 125

Fig. 5. Close-up views of selected sections from the MCS profile along Line A in Fig. 4B. The V.E. is given by 1 km/0.4 s (300 m), which is about 3.3.

basement structures in our seismic profile, we interpret the 5. Discussion

Western Taiping Seamount Group as the extrusive structures.
The gravity modeling along Line A revealed that there are
HVDLC beneath the extrusive and intrusive structural highs
observed in our MCS profile (Fig. 6). At the western part of the
gravity modeling profile, a HVDLC is deeply seated about 10 km
beneath the extrusive structure, with a 7–8 km in its thickest part.
The thickness of this decreases eastward and this HVDLC eventu-
ally dies out in the central part of the profile. Further east, another
HVDLC occurs beneath the intrusive basement structures in the
central-east part of the profile. The thickest part of the eastern
HVDLC is about 6–7 km, a little bit thinner than that of the western
one. The eastern one extends farther east, out of range of our
profile.
5.1. Crustal structure north of Taiping Island (Itu Aba Island)
With a lack of marine geology and geophysics (MG&G) survey
data, the nature of the southern margin of the SW Sub-basin is less
studied than that of the sub-basin margin. The crustal structure
here remains unclear. A recent seismic investigation along the
dip of the margin west of the Zhenghe Reefs (Tizard Bank and
Reefs) by Qiu et al. (2011) presented a COT without HVL under-
neath the continental crust. A more recent seismic survey along
the dip of the margin east of the Zhenghe Reefs (Tizard Bank and
Reefs) by Pichot et al. (2014), however, suggested that some HVL
bodies are imaged at the COT and continental crust. The difference

Fig. 6. Gravity model along the Line A. Density parameters of our layered crustal model used in this study are: water (1.03 g/cm3), sediments (2.4 g/cm3), continental crust
(2.7 g/cm3), HVDLC (2.97 g/cm3), and mantle (3.2 g/cm3).
126 J.-H. Chang et al. / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 142 (2017) 119–133
in crustal structures occurs in such a short distance between both
sides of the Zhenghe Reefs (Tizard Bank and Reefs) (Fig. 3) that a
MCS profile and gravity modeling results are prepared to better
understand the crustal structure of the Zhenghe Reefs (Tizard Bank
and Reefs).
In addition to the fault blocks, our MCS profile documents two
groups of volcanic basement structures, including extrusive struc-
tures in the Western Taiping Seamount Group in the western part
of the profile (Fig. 5A) and intrusive structures in the Zhenghe-
Daoming Trough in the central-eastern part of the profile
(Fig. 5C). In contrast, gravity modeling results reveal the existence
of the HVDLC in this area (Fig. 6). Furthermore, we found that the
HVDLC occurs beneath the extrusive and intrusive structures, sug-
gesting that the formations of these structures probably corre-
spond to the presence of the HVDLC so that the extrusive and
intrusive material may be injected from deep-seat HVDLC. We con-
clude that the southern margin of the SW Sub-basin is dominated
by the volcanic basement structures and the HVDLC.
The SDR is generally considered as the diagnostic feature for
volcanic margins. The absence of the SDR, along with the existence
of the volcanic basement structures and underlying HVDLC shown
in our data, suggest that the southern margin of the SW Sub-basin
is probably similar to the margin of the East Sub-basin. Collec-
tively, these features suggest that the southern margin of the SW
Sub-basin is an intermediate type, similar to those in the northern
margin of the SCS and in the margin north of NW Palawan.
5.2. HVDLC in the SCS
5.2.1. Magma-poor to intermediate transition between sub-basin
margin types
As noted above, the SCS oceanic basin is composed of the NW
Sub-basin, East Sub-basin, and SW Sub-basin. These sub-basins
were opened and developed serially: NW Sub-basin in 32–30 Ma,
East Sub-basin in 32–16.5 Ma, and SW Sub-basin in 27–16.5 Ma
(Briais et al., 1993). Also as noted above, the margins of the NW
Sub-basin are shown to be magma-poor (Ding et al., 2012), and
the margins of the East Sub-basin feature a HVDLC zone and exten-
sive volcanic intrusive rocks (Gao et al., 2015), which is evidence of
an intermediate type. This study revealed the margin of the SW
Sub-basin to be intermediate, as are those in the East Sub-basin.
This transitional feature has also been reported by Franke (2013)
and Gao et al. (2016). In this case, an increase of magmatism is
observed between the NW Sub-basin and the East Sub-basin. In
addition, the intermediate mode observed in both margins of the
East Sub-basin and the SW Sub-basin suggests that they probably
bear a similar degree of magmatism. With this observation, it is
suggested that both the HVDLC of the East and SW Sub-basin
may have been formed together before the sub-basin started to
spread or serially during the sub-basin opening.
Considering the timing of the sub-basin formation, it appears
that the margin type of the sub-basins may change in response
to the stepwise growth of the SCS oceanic basin. The early stage
of the SCS oceanic basin evolution, as the opening of the NW and
East Sub-basin began to form, is non-volcanic. The NW Sub-basin
ceased to spread soon after 30 Ma, while the East Sub-basin kept
spreading. At this time, a transition from the magma-poor margin
to the intermediate margin of the East Sub-basin occurred, result-
ing in the HVDLC in the margin of the East Sub-basin. Simultane-
ously, the HVDLC in the SW Sub-basin and its margin formed as
well. Afterwards, the SW Sub-basin began to spread following a
ridge jump, and the continued seafloor spreading led to the SCS
oceanic basin in its present form.
A similar case of margin type change has been recognized off
eastern Canada, where an along-strike change occurs from a vol-
canic margin in the south to a magma-poor margin in the north
(Keen and Potter, 1995). This change has been ascribed to small-
scale convection, which delivers large volumes of basaltic material.
According to this concept, the margin transition from magma-poor
to intermediate between the Sub-basins in the SCS, and the ridge
jump related to the cessation of the NW Sub-basin and opening
of SW Sub-basin are likely to be attributed to the addition of an
active mantle-involved process.
5.2.2. Post-rift and post-spreading volcanism
In the South China Sea, Cenozoic magmatisms are scattered, and
the origin of some of the magmatisms remain unclear (Franke,
2013). In the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands) of the northern mar-
gin of the SCS, volcanic intrusions observed in reflection seismic
profiles are proposed to postdate the Miocene sediments
(Lüdmann and Wong, 1999). According to the seismic data, igneous
bodies penetrated the Miocene or Upper Miocene deposits. To the
west, a large volcanic zone along the distal northern SCS margin
may represent a high extension zone and the intrusions may be
attributed to lithospheric extension, seafloor spreading, or upwel-
ling of the deep mantle material (Zhu et al., 2012). In the southern
margin of the SCS, middle Miocene to Pleistocene sills, dykes, and
plutonic materials are observed to occur near the Spratly Islands
(Nansha Islands) area (Schlüter et al., 1996). Seafloor basalt sam-
ples collected along the toe-of-slope of the southern margin of
the SCS are very young in age (0.5 Ma) (Kudrass et al., 1986). In
addition, there were 2 Ma volcanic ashes reported southwest of
the Spratly Islands (IODP site 1143 in the Fig. 2; Shipboard
Scientific Party, 2000). After summarizing the published age results
in the SCS, Yan et al. (2006) suggested that the magmatic activities
were very limited and most probably occurred after the cessation
of seafloor spreading.
Prior to the post-spreading volcanisms, the post-rift volcanisms
received increasing attention. Based on exploration wells and sci-
entific drilling results, the ages of the volcanic events have been
identified as 41.2, 27.2 and less than 1 Ma, suggesting that these
events belonged to rift, post-rift, and post-spreading, respectively
(Gao et al., 2015). Recent 40Ar/39Ar dating results from seafloor
dredge samples in the northeastern SCS (SW of Taiwan) and from
shallow drilling on Daimao Seamount in the East Sub-basin
revealed the ages of 22–21 Ma and 16.6 Ma (Wang et al., 2012;
Yan et al., 2015a). A reflection seismic data analysis recently car-
ried out by Zhao et al. (2016) shows that two groups of volcanic
complexes developed during the late stage of the seafloor spread-
ing. These post-rift volcanisms suggested that continental breakup
will be a long-lasting event rather than just ceasing at particular
time. To summarize, the post-rift volcanisms may be attributed
to the breakup process, while the post-spreading volcanism is still
enigmatic and requires more investigation and detailed analyses.
5.2.3. Nature and possible origin of the HVDLC in the SCS
The HVDLC is one of the most important geophysical features in
the margins of the SCS and may provide the most significant clues
to the evolution of the margins and oceanic basin. The understand-
ing of the crustal structures of the northern margin of the SCS has
been developed by numerous geophysical investigations, espe-
cially by the MCS and OBS investigations (McIntosh et al., 2014;
Lester et al., 2014; Wang et al., 2006; Nissen et al., 1995; Yan
et al., 2001; Wei et al., 2011; Gao et al., 2015). After reviewing
these studies, Gao et al. (2015) summarized the extensive distribu-
tion of the HVDLC beneath the north margin of the SCS. To better
present the distribution of the HVDLC in the northern margin of
the SCS, a HVDLC thickness map is prepared based on these publi-
cations (Fig. 8).
In the thickness map, the HVDLC is widely distributed along the
continental slope. The thickest part of the HVDLC in the northern
margin of the SCS is evident in the Pratas Islands (Donsha Island)
 J.-H. Chang et al. / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 142 (2017) 119–133
area, which is more than 12 km thick and generally thicker than
6 km. The thickness of the HVDLC tapers westward definitely,
according to the MCS profiles provide by Gao et al. (2015) and
the OBS profile provided by Yan et al. (2001). The eastward taper-
ing is not that certain, since a local thick area marked by a contour
line of 4 km based on the gridding result is likely to occur. The area
of the HVDLC is estimated to be 1.2  105 km2. As an estimate, if
we assume that the average thickness of the HVDLC is 5 km, the
total volume of the HVDLC will reach more than 6  105 km3. It
is much less than the thick igneous section off the east coast of
the United States (3.2  106 km3 or 2.7  106 km3) (Holbrook and
Kelemen, 1993; Kelemen and Holbrook, 1995). We also note that
there is a high density block recently reported in the Taiwan-
Luzon convergence belt, which is about 100 km east of the eastern-
most location in our mapping area (Doo et al., 2015).
Mantle serpentinization may account for the lower crust mate-
rials (Savva et al., 2013). However, to produce such a large extent
for the HVDLC, underplating is believed to be a more reasonable
explanation than the serpentinization of the upper mantle mate-
rial, which is generally limited to spatially occur along the distal
margin (Pichot et al., 2014; Gao et al., 2015). In addition to serpen-
tinization, the processes controlling the thick accumulations of
higher velocity lower crust may fall into three distinct classes:
(1) by rifting above abnormally hot mantle, (2) by active small-
scale mantle convection of lower temperature mantle under the
rift, or (3) by a fertile mantle (White et al., 2008).
On the basis of the early, limited ESP seismic data in the north-
ern margin of the SCS, Nissen et al. (1995) considered that the high
velocity layer may mainly result from inherited structures that are
only partly related to the magmatic underplating. Based on the
small extent of the high velocity layer discovered later and the pos-
sible coupling of the high velocity layer and the Plio/Pleistocene
volcanism events, Yan et al. (2001) believed that the northern mar-
gin of the SCS is non-volcanic and that the limited high velocity
layer is more likely related to hot, but not abnormally hot, mantle
upwelling after the seafloor spreading event had ended. In addi-
tion, Yan et al. (2001) considered that the absence of the very rapid
spreading rate, high heat flow, and extrusive volcanic sequence
gave support for a non-volcanic origin margin. Recently, Gao
et al. (2015) proposed that the underplating of the high velocity
layer was in association with partially melting magma caused by
the decompression of a passive, upwelling asthenosphere probably
formed during early rifting or post-rifting. Similar process had
been proposed by Savva et al. (2013). While a very limited amount
of magma intruded upwards into the sedimentary basins, most
magma had pooled at the base of the continental crust, forming
the HVDLC in the northern margin of the East Sub-basin.
In addition to the passive mode, a mantle plume may provide
explanations for the existence of the high velocity layer and a
much more active basin opening style to explain the ridge jump.
As Briais et al. (1993) mentioned, the ridge jump probably reflected
the interactions between collisional extrusions of the India-
Eurasian convergence and slab pull by the subducted Proto-SCS
plate, and the change in the geodynamic boundary condition trig-
gered both the jump and the propagation. Earlier, a linkage
between the opening of the SCS and a mantle plume had been pro-
posed by Deng et al. (1998). A later numerical simulation study
suggested that additional lithospheric thinning related to the man-
tle plume is required to initiate seafloor spreading (Xia et al., 2006).
However, if the mantle plume can play a major role in facilitating
or driving continental rifting, the breakup of the SCS is often ques-
tioned (Flower et al., 1998; Yan et al., 2006).
The possible influence of a nascent Hainan mantle plume during
seafloor spreading of the SCS oceanic basin (32–16 Ma) has
received increasing attention (Wang, 2012; Sun et al., 2016). Geo-
chemical studies of the young (3.8–7.9 Ma) alkali basalts in the SCS
127
revealed that they were produced by a binary mixing between a
depleted mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) mantle end-member
and a type of enriched mantle end-member, indicating a plume
origin (Yan and Shi, 2007; Yan et al., 2014, 2015b). In addition,
Yan et al. (2014) considered that a nascent Hainan mantle plume
was likely to account for the ridge jump and, possibly, for the high
velocity layer at a depth of 60–80 km under the SCS oceanic basin.
This is probably the result of strong lateral mantle flows in associ-
ation with the collisional extrusion of the India-Eurasian conver-
gence and with slab pull related to the subducted proto-SCS
plate. Similarly, Cullen et al. (2010) introduced a splash plume
model, in which a plume can result from instability caused by
small pieces of downwelling slabs, and considered that it may
account for some anomalous patterns in the SCS. This model
appears to be able to provide some explanation of the nascent Hai-
nan mantle plume, such as the short-life pulse crustal deformation
from only 30 to 26 Ma. However, the direct evidence for the nas-
cent Hainan mantle plume affecting the evolution of the SCS ocea-
nic basin is still insufficient.
In addition to the passive mantle upwelling model and the
plume model mentioned above, Lin et al. (2003) suggested that
the higher velocity material in the northern margin of the SCS
may be related to small-scale mantle convection, which is consid-
ered to evolve from instabilities of the cold and dense thermal
boundary layer and to serve as a good candidate for providing
the addition of heat flow (Ballmer et al., 2010; Sleep, 2011). They
attributed the margin-scale uplift and vigorous magmatism during
the rift-drift transition to the addition of the heat and its subse-
quent decay to the small-scale mantle convection. In this study,
we suggested that such a large volume of the HVDLC should be clo-
sely related to the formation of the SCS oceanic basin and that the
ridge jump should be interpreted by an even more active mode
than the passive opening. Furthermore, more petrologic, geochem-
ical, and geodynamic analyses to support a deep-seated, nascent
Hainan mantle plume are still required. The small-scale mantle
convection model, which is more active than the passive opening
model and more passive than the mantle plume model, may pro-
vide an intermediate solution for the formation of the SCS oceanic
basin.
5.2.4. Implication from volcanic basement structures and HVDLC
Compared to the earlier study in the Spratly Islands (Nansha
Islands) south of our study area, which presented the seismic pro-
file with non-volcanic interpretations (Hutchison and Vijayan,
2010), our seismic profile in the northern Spratly Islands is domi-
nated by both fault blocks and volcanic basement structures.
Apparently, this distribution pattern of scattered fault blocks and
volcanic basement structures is in association with the margin
evolution. The fault blocks in our profile are mostly covered by
the sediments. The volcanic basement structures are exposed
mostly to the seafloor, indicating the volcanic basement structures
are a lot younger in age (Fig. 5). In addition, the volcanic basement
structures are observed to occur overlying the HVDLC (Fig. 6). Since
fault blocks, volcanic basement structures, and the HVDLV are pre-
dominant in our profile, we postulate that the volcanic rock may
come from the deep-seated HVDLC and form along the basement
faults, which were able to provide a weak belt as a conduit for
the magma to intrude. Large offset faults that may serve as good
conduits for magma to intrude are generally formed close to the
COT (Lavier and Manatschal, 2006; Franke et al., 2014).
The cause of the volcanic activities in this area is worthy of fur-
ther discussion. The regional doming in the central and northern
Spratly Islands is observed to be accompanied by faulting and vol-
canic emplacement (Zhou et al., 1995). This doming was earlier
interpreted to be caused by a crustal bulge associated with crustal
downwarping to the southeast. Recently, Chang et al. (2015b)
128 J.-H. Chang et al. / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 142 (2017) 119–133

proposed that the forebulge related to the Palawan-Borneo thrust
wedge may be responsible for some regional uplift and possible
volcanism. In this way, the effects of the fold-thrust belt may also
play a role in the formation of the volcanism. Since more than one
factor may result in the volcanism in our study area, more geo-
chemical and age constraints need to be developed in future
studies.
We also found an eastward updip reflection underlying a group
of antiform reflections in the central part of the profile (Fig. 5B). In
the previous study, they were considered as an anticline in associ-
ation with a drowning fault block (Chang et al., 2015b). However, a
study off the mid-Norwegian coast has pointed out that the pre-
breakup and post-breakup compressional structures may be
formed in a hyper-extension environment (Lundin and Doré,
2011). They are observed and interpreted as the deformation
related to a weaker part of the lithosphere caused by the hyper-
extension processes. In this sense, the antiform reflections along
with the underlying eastward updip reflection may also support
the idea of the hyper-extension in the southern margin of the SCS.
Peron-Pinvidic et al. (2013) proposed a rifted margin model that
separates a rifted margin into different structural domains, reflect-
ing the phases of margin evolution. Succeeding stretching and
thinning phases and a hyper-extension phase in which extremely
thin continental crust and large-scale detachment faults occur will
be followed by a magmatic phase, which may be the key phase for
distinguishing magma-poor and volcanic margins. We consider
that the HVDLC in our study area and related crustal weakening
may be formed first in a stretching and thinning phase; while anti-
form structures and possible crust-scale faulting may be formed in
a hyper-extension phase. Moreover, the absence of the SDR may
suggest a subsequent amagmatic phase, indicating a magma-poor
opening of the SW Sub-basin. The weakened continental crusts,
which were influenced by the ponded HVDLCs and hyper-
extension processes, will tend to be deformed more easily by the
sublithospheric activities, facilitating the latest volcanic events.
5.2.5. Lateral flow and geographic extent of the active mantle
upwelling event
As mentioned in Section 5.2.1, both HVDLCs of the East and SW
Sub-basin may be formed together before the sub-basin started to
spread or be formed serially during the sub-basin opening. The for-
mer condition suggests a larger extent of the topmost part of the
ascending mantle, containing at least the unopened East and SW
Sub-basin so that the unopened East and SW Sub-basin can be

Fig. 7. Map showing high velocity or density lower crust (HVDLC) thickness. This was constructed by previous published MCS profiles and OBS velocity profiles, including
ESP-E (Nissen et al., 1995), OBS1993 (Yan et al., 2001), Wang et al. (2006), OBS2006-3 (Wei et al., 2011), MGL0908-3 (McIntosh et al., 2014) MGL0905-10 (McIntosh et al.,
2014), MGL0905-20 (Lester et al., 2014), and L2 and L3 (Gao et al., 2015).
 J.-H. Chang et al. / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 142 (2017) 119–133 129

influenced at this time. The latter condition, in contrast, indicates
that the extent of the HVDLC distribution may be controlled by
the lateral flow of the topmost part of the ascending mantle that
thickened the crust locally.
Lateral flow is a very significant behavior in a plume head.
When a plume head encounters the base of the lithosphere, it is
expected to flatten out and flow against this barrier. Sleep (1997,
2006) suggested that relief on the base of the lithosphere acts as
an upside down drainage pattern with an enclosed catchment for
this flow. In this way, the ascending mantle material will preferen-
tially collect beneath regions where the lithosphere is locally thin-
ning, such as at a thermally subsiding rifted margin. Subsequently,
it begins to pond and to cool gradually, forming the lower crust
material.
The melts caused by the nascent Hainan mantle plume occupied
a very large area and cooled soon after they occurred, forming the
HVDLC first and subsequently being separated by seafloor spread-
ing. Conversely, when the lateral flow is more prominent and after
the ascending of the nascent Hainan mantle plume and the accel-
eration of the SW Sub-basin rifting, the melt generated in response
will start to flow and accumulate toward the rifted continental
margin of the unopened SW Sub-basin, forming the widespread
HVDLC. These can be determined after the location and extent of
the nascent Hainan mantle plume is further identified.

Fig. 8. Map showing the postulated locations of the nascent Hainan mantle plume (purple filled circle). Colored stripes and thin lines are locations of the spreading center and
the COB at different basin evolution stages (Briais et al., 1993). Note at the ridge jump event is indicated by the purple arrow, probably occurred during 30–26 Ma. (For
interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
130 J.-H. Chang et al. / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 142 (2017) 119–133

"
Fig. 9. Conceptual model showing the evolutional stages of the SCS oceanic basin,
based on the development of the sub-basins individually. (A) The early stage of the
SCS oceanic basin evolution, as the NW and East Sub-basin began to open, is non-
volcanic. (B) Subsequently, an active mantle upewelling, probably caused by a
splashed nascent Hainan mantle plume, immediately generated melt that under-
plated the lower crust of the margin of the current East Sub-basin and formed the
HVDLC as it cooled gradually. At the same time, the active mantle upwelling forced
the spreading ridge to jump southward. The rifting of the southern margin of the
SCS probably thus accelerated, until the SW Sub-basin began to develop. The
ponded melt may flow along the relief of the base of the lithosphere, draining
upside- down within the enclosed catchment beneath the East and SW Sub-basin
and mechanically weakening the overlying continental crust. (C) The East and SW
Sub-basins continued to spread, dividing the HVDLCs individually as their margins
separated accordingly. (D) Afterwards, the hyper-extension in the distal margins
may also be responsible for crustal faulting, which may be formed along the
weakened zone of the continental crust so that the continental crust became even
weaker. (E) The subsequent volcanic events, therefore, may tend to occur along the
weak zone, facilitating the formation of the volcanic basement structures and
resulting in the current state of the margins of the SCS Sub-basins.

The geographic extent of the mantle ascending event may be

directly associated with the location where the breakup event first
occurred to determine the area that was influenced and the present
form of the SCS oceanic sub-basins. Two candidates for the possible
location of this active mantle ascending event can be discussed: (1)
the thickest part of the HVL of the East Sub-basin around the Pratas
Islands (Dongsha Islands) area, which is currently at the continen-
tal shelf-slope of the northern margin of the SCS (orange1 color area
in Fig. 7) and (2) the region of the ridge jump during 30–26 Ma,
which is currently at the seafloor of the East Sub-basin (purple circle
area in Fig. 8).
In the former condition, if the mantle ascended first at the Pra-
tas Islands area, the surface radius should be at least 200 km if it
has to reach and affect the region of the ridge jump. In the latter
condition, the radius of the surface influence can be much less
(50 km). The less radius condition appears more consistent with
the model with the ascending plume being related to splashed
mantle material since this mantle upwelling may not be a large
scale event. In this way, the thickest HVL in Pratas Islands area
could be tentatively explained as another result of the lateral flow
of the ascending mantle material. In addition, the thickness of the
HVL may be even thicker than that in the Pratas Islands area before
the crust was stretched. The thickness decreased drastically and
the HVL diminished after the later stretching and seafloor spread-
ing occurred.

5.2.6. A comprehensive model

The observations and considerations that may have been asso-
ciated with the evolution of the northern southern margin of the
SW Sub-basin are summarized and include (1) the transition
between the magma-poor margin of the NW Sub-basin and the
intermediate margin of the East and SW Sub-basins; (2) the cessa-
tion of the seafloor spreading in the NW Sub-basin was succeeded
by a major ridge jump event, which very likely reflected an active
mantle upwelling event; (3) the extensive distribution of the
HVDLC beneath the well-investigated northern margin of the East
Sub-basin and as explored in the SW Sub-basin in this study; and
(4) the basement faulting and volcanism that may be related to
the HVDLC and hyper-extension. Collectively, a conceptual model
encompassing these observations is suggested, along with a map
illustrating the locations of the HVDLC with time (Fig. 8) and the
schematic diagrams of the selected profiles W and E showing the
evolution of the HVDLC (Fig. 9).
The early stage of the SCS oceanic basin evolution (Fig. 9A), as
the NW and East Sub-basin began to open, is non-volcanic. Subse-
quently, an active mantle upwelling, probably caused by a
1
For interpretation of color in Fig. 7, the reader is referred to the web version of splashed nascent Hainan mantle plume, immediately generated
this article. melt that underplated the lower crust of the margin of the current
 J.-H. Chang et al. / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 142 (2017) 119–133
East Sub-basin and formed the HVDLC as it cooled gradually
(Fig. 9B). At the same time, the active mantle upwelling forced
the spreading ridge to jump southward. The rifting of the southern
margin of the SCS probably accelerated until the SW Sub-basin
began to develop. The ponded melt may flow along the relief of
the base of the lithosphere, draining upside down within the
enclosed catchment beneath the East and SW Sub-basin and
mechanically weakening the overlying continental crust (Fig. 9B).
The East and SW Sub-basins continued to spread, dividing the
HVDLCs individually as their margins separated accordingly
(Fig. 9C). Afterwards, the hyper-extension in the distal margins
may also be responsible for crustal faulting, which may be formed
along the weakened zone of the continental crust so that the con-
tinental crust became even weaker (Fig. 9D). The subsequent vol-
canic events, therefore, may tend to occur along the weak zone,
facilitating the formation of the volcanic basement structures and
resulting in the current state of the margins of the SCS Sub-
basins (Fig. 9E).
Both active mantle upwelling event and hyper-extension would
help improve our understanding of the SCS basin evolution. The
presence of the active mantle upwelling event provides not only
an alternative mechanism to explain the formation of the HVDLC,
but also an active mechanism to help interpret the ridge jump of
the SCS spreading center. Essentially, the hyper-extension is very
likely to occur in this very wide rifted margin and potentially pro-
vides an explanation for later basement structures. We expect con-
straints on active mantle upwelling as well as hyper-extension
processes in the SCS margins can be further provided to give a
more complete vision to the evolution of the SCS.
6. Conclusion
Based on the multi-channel seismic (MCS) and gravity data
north offshore Taiping Island (Itu Aba Island) in the Nansha Islands
(Spratly Islands), we revisited the crustal structures in the northern
part of the southern margin of the SW Sub-basin of the South China
Sea (SCS). The MCS data north offshore Taiping Island (Itu Aba
Island) suggest that the basement structural highs in the south-
west margin of the SCS are dominated by fault blocks, volcanic
extrusive and intrusive structures that probably formed along with
basement faults. The gravity modeling results reveal that these vol-
canic basement structures were probably in association with the
high velocity or density lower crust (HVDLC), suggesting that the
southern margin of the SW Sub-basin features as an intermediate
margin.
Based on the tectonic features in the SCS margins, including (1)
the transition between magma-poor margins of the NW Sub-basin
and intermediate margins of the East and SW Sub-basins; (2) the
cessation of the seafloor spreading in the NW Sub-basin was suc-
ceeded by a major ridge jump event, which was very likely to
reflect an active mantle upwelling event; (3) the extensive distri-
bution of the HVDLC beneath in the well-investigated northern
margin of the East Sub-basin and as explored in the SW Sub-
basin in this study; and (4) basement faulting and volcanism
shown in this study that may be related to the HVDLC and
hyper-extension, we proposed that the margin of the SCS basin
was magma-poor at the time it occurred. An active mantle upwel-
ling caused by small-scale mantle convection or the possible influ-
ence of the nascent Hainan mantle plume was formed
subsequently, resulting in the HVDLC beneath the current margins
of the East and SW Sub-basins, forcing the ridge jump, and opening
the SW Sub-basin. The East and SW Sub-basins continued to
spread, latitudinally dividing their HVDLCs as the margins sepa-
rated accordingly. Afterwards, the hyper-extension in the distal
margins may also be responsible for crust weakening zone that
131
the subsequent volcanic events could occur within. Both active
mantle upwelling event and hyper-extension would help improve
our understanding of the SCS basin evolution.
Acknowledgements
We are deeply indebted to Guest Editor Dei Eslava for consider-
ing our work. Stimulating review comments from Andrew Cullen
and an anonymous reviewer are greatly appreciated. We are grate-
ful to all the crew members of the R/V Ocean Researcher 1 who
participated the MG&G investigation cruise OR1-1068, and to
science party members of the National Taiwan University who
helped with marine geophysical 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, Tai-
wan, for their encouragement. We thank the Bureau of Mine, Min-
istry of Economic Affair, Taiwan, for the financial support.
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