CHEN Fang, ZHOU Yang, ZHUANG Chang, LU Hongfeng, WU Cong. ORIGIN OF THE HIATUS OF LAST GLACIAL PERIOD IN COLD SEEP AREA of NORTHEASTERN SOUTH CHINA SEA[J]. Marine Geology & Quaternary Geology, 2016, 36(2): 19-27. DOI: 10.16562/j.cnki.0256-1492.2016.02.003
Citation: CHEN Fang, ZHOU Yang, ZHUANG Chang, LU Hongfeng, WU Cong. ORIGIN OF THE HIATUS OF LAST GLACIAL PERIOD IN COLD SEEP AREA of NORTHEASTERN SOUTH CHINA SEA[J]. Marine Geology & Quaternary Geology, 2016, 36(2): 19-27. DOI: 10.16562/j.cnki.0256-1492.2016.02.003
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ORIGIN OF THE HIATUS OF LAST GLACIAL PERIOD IN COLD SEEP AREA of NORTHEASTERN SOUTH CHINA SEA

  • MLR Key Laboratory of Marine Mineral Resources, Guangzhou Marine Geologic Survey, Guangzhou 510075

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  • Received Date: July 10, 2015
  • Revised Date: November 28, 2015
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  • With the purpose to search for sedimentary evidence of gas hydrate dissociation, a thorough research on AMS14C chronology, high-resolution (2 cm sampling interval) carbon and oxygen stable isotope of benthic foraminifera and authigenic carbonate and sediment, as well as sedimentological studies has been accomplished for the core DH-CL10 and DH-CL5 located at the Dongsha cold seep area of the South China Sea. The analytical results show that a sedimentary hiatus occurs at the core depth of ~574 cm, the bottom of the Holocene. The AMS14C ages of the sediments above and below are 9 850 (9 680 to 9 950) cal.aBP and 27 610 (27 500 to 27 700) cal.aBP, respectively. The δ13C values of benthic foraminifera Uvigerina bifurcata vary from -0.37‰ to -1.91‰ with -1.11‰ on average, while the δ13C values of bulk samples range from -22.7‰ to -23.0‰, both within the normal range of variation. Although we do not find any geochemical evidence for dissociation and release of gas hydrate in the core DH-CL10, the authigenic carbonate and sediment from the neighbor site DH-CL5 reveal remarkable δ13C negative excursions, -55.24‰ and -25.9‰ to -27.9‰ in bulk respectively, suggesting the distinct influence of gas hydrate. The sedimentary hiatus occurred in the sea-level lowstand period of the Last Glacial Maximum, which was consistent with the time when gas hydrate tended to dissociate. Therefore, it can be concluded that the sedimentary hiatus was predominantly related to the sediment slump induced by the dissociation and release of the underlying gas hydrate.
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    • References (26)
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