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Structural evolution of the northern East China Sea Shelf Basin interpreted from cross-section restoration

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Abstract

The northern East China Sea Shelf Basin consists of three depressions (the Domi, Jeju, and Socotra Depressions), separated by basement highs or rises. Reconstruction of depth-converted seismic reflection profiles from these depressions reveals that the northern East China Sea Shelf Basin experienced two phases of rifting, followed by regional subsidence. Initial rifting in the Late Cretaceous was driven by the NW–SE crustal stretching of the Eurasian plate, caused by the subduction of the Pacific plate beneath the plate margin. Major extension (~15 km) took place during the early phase of basin formation. The initial rifting was terminated by regional uplift in the Late Eocene-Early Oligocene, which was probably due to reorganization of plate boundaries. Rifting resumed in the Early Oligocene; the magnitude of extension was mild (<1 km) during this period. A second phase of uplift in the Early Miocene terminated the rifting, marking the transition to the postrift phase of regional subsidence. Up to 2,600 m of sediments and basement rock were removed by erosion during and after the second phase of uplift. An inversion in the Late Miocene interrupted the postrift subsidence, resulting in an extensive thrust-fold belt in the eastern part of the area. Subsequent erosion removed about 900 m of sediments. The regional subsidence has dominated the area since the Late Miocene.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) for permission to publish the data. We also thank the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM) for providing financial support for this study. Amy Draut and three anonymous reviewers are acknowledged with thanks for their constructive comments and suggestions. This study was supported by a grant (10-9110) from MLTM Research Fund. Kingdom Suite® (version 8.2) was used for seismic and well-log data analysis and 2DMove® (version 5.1) was used for cross-section restoration.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Leibniz Institute for Marine Sciences, Wischhofstrasse 1-3, 24148, Kiel, Germany

    Deniz Cukur

  2. Department of Energy Resources Engineering, Pukyong National University, Busan, 608-737, South Korea

    Deniz Cukur, Senay Horozal, Gwang H. Lee & Dae C. Kim

  3. Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, Daejon, 305-350, South Korea

    Hyun C. Han & Moo H. Kang

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  1. Deniz Cukur
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  2. Senay Horozal
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  3. Gwang H. Lee
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Correspondence to Deniz Cukur.

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Cukur, D., Horozal, S., Lee, G.H. et al. Structural evolution of the northern East China Sea Shelf Basin interpreted from cross-section restoration. Mar Geophys Res 32, 363–381 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11001-011-9114-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11001-011-9114-4

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