The response of Cenozoic sedimentary evolution coupled with the formation of the South China Sea

Abstract

We systematically expound the processes of Cenozoic sedimentary evolution in the South China Sea (SCS) regions by synthesizing relevant previous research and our own long‐term sedimentological work. The process of changes in Cenozoic sedimentary environments and palaeogeography can be divided into three stages corresponding to the tectonic evolution of the SCS. Stage I, the formation and development of the Proto‐South China Sea (Proto‐SCS) from the Late Mesozoic to Early Cenozoic; the SCS was a vast erosion zone, and terrestrial lacustrine deposits were only distributed sporadically. Stage II, the subduction of the Proto‐SCS and the opening of the SCS since the Late Eocene. The northern basins of the SCS gradually changed from terrestrial to marine environments. Southern basins were affected by the disappearance of the Proto‐SCS in the early stage. The distribution of marine environments shrank in the Late Eocene–Early Oligocene, but as the SCS expanded, these marine environments gradually recovered. Stage III, the stagnation and atrophy of SCS expansion from the Late Miocene to the present. The sedimentary environment of the SCS is basically stable in this stage. The most prominent feature of sedimentary evolution is the development and destruction of carbonate platforms.