There are numerous controversies surrounding the tectonic properties and evolution of the Proto-South China Sea (PSCS). By combining data from previously published works with our geological and paleontological observations of the South China Sea (SCS), we propose that the PSCS should be analyzed within two separate contexts: its paleogeographic location and the history of its oceanic crust. With respect to its paleogeographic location, the tectonic properties of the PSCS vary widely from the Triassic to the mid-Late Cretaceous. In the Triassic, the Paleo-Tethys and the Paleo-Pacific Oceans were the major causes of tectonic changes in the SCS, while the PCSC may have been a remnant sea residing upon Tethys or Paleo-Pacific oceanic crust. In the Jurassic, the Meso-Tethys and the Paleo-Pacific oceans joined, creating a PSCS back-arc basin consisting of Meso-Tethys and/or Paleo-Pacific oceanic crust. From the Early Cretaceous to the mid-Late Cretaceous, the Paleo-Pacific Ocean was the main tectonic body affecting the SCS; the PSCS may have been a marginal sea or a back-arc basin with Paleo-Pacific oceanic crust. With respect to its oceanic crust, due to the subduction and retreat of the Paleo-Pacific plate in Southeast Asia at the end of the Late Cretaceous, the SCS probably produced new oceanic crust, which allowed the PSCS to formally emerge. At this time, the PSCS was most likely a combination of a new marginal sea and a remnant sea; its oceanic crust, which eventually subducted and became extinct, consisted of both new oceanic crust and remnant oceanic crust from the Paleo-Pacific Ocean. In the present day, the remnant PSCS oceanic crust is located in the southwestern Nansha Trough.
Gravity and magnetic data play an irreplaceable role in regional research, especially in sea areas that lack seismic and drilling data. Gravity and magnetic data are widely used in lithologic identification. In order to ensure the rationality of lithologic identification based on gravity and magnetic data, we analyzed the relationships between the lithology and the density and magnetic susceptibility. Through this analysis, the sensitivities of these two parameters to the lithology were determined, thereby determining the identifiable rock types and the identification possibilities (Yang, 1998; Frank and Nowaczyk, 2008; Lang et al, 2011). In recent years, the deep-water area of the southern South China Sea has gradually become a hot spot for oil and gas exploration. Drilling in adjacent areas has revealed that there are abundant oil and gas resources in the Mesozoic-Cenozoic strata (Yao and Liu, 2006; Lu et al., 2014a; Zhao, 2018). Despite the scarcity of seismic and drilling data for this area, the high resolution seismic imaging of the Cenozoic strata can basically satisfy the needs of lithologic analysis. In comparison, the seismic imaging resolution of the Mesozoic strata is low, and it is
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