Preliminary geophysical studies of the natural gas seepage systems in the northern South China Sea

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1001-909X.2014.02.006

Abstract

Abstract: Five sedimentary basins develop in the northern continental margin of the South China Sea: the Southwest Taiwan Basin, the Pearl River Mouth Basin, the Qiongdongnan Basin, the Yinggehai Basin and the Zhongjiannan Basin. We summarized the research of five basins' gas seepage systems with the use of geophysical methods, focusing on three aspects: natural gas hydrate reservoirs, fluid migration pathways and seeping features near the seabed. The results show that BSRs indicating the presence of natural gas hydrate are found in the Southwest Taiwan Basin, the Pearl River Mouth Basin, and there is a large gas field in the Yinggehai Basin; five basins have active fluid migration, where we can find a variety of pathways: faults, diapirs, gas chimneys, polygonal faults, channels (canyon) and other fracture structures; seeping features near the seabed have been found in the Southwest Taiwan Basin, the Pearl River Mouth Basin, the Yinggehai Basin and the Zhongjiannan Basin. The northern continental margin of the South China Sea with wide distribution of the gas seepage systems deserves further studies.

Key words: northern South China Sea, natural gas, fluid migration path, seabed cold seeps

CLC Number:

P744.4

GENG Ming-hui, GUAN Yong-xian, SONG Hai-bin, CHEN Jiang-xin. Preliminary geophysical studies of the natural gas seepage systems in the northern South China Sea[J]. Journal of Marine Sciences, 2014, 32(2): 46-52.

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