Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Submarine landslides on the north continental slope of the South China Sea

  • Published:
Journal of Ocean University of China Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Recent and paleo-submarine landslides are widely distributed within strata in deep-water areas along continental slopes, uplifts, and carbonate platforms on the north continental margin of the South China Sea (SCS). In this paper, high-resolution 3D seismic data and multibeam data based on seismic sedimentology and geomorphology are employed to assist in identifying submarine landslides. In addition, deposition models are proposed that are based on specific geological structures and features, and which illustrate the local stress field over entire submarine landslides in deep-water areas of the SCS. The SCS is one of the largest fluvial sediment sinks in enclosed or semi-enclosed marginal seas worldwide. It therefore provides a set of preconditions for the formation of submarine landslides, including rapid sediment accumulation, formation of gas hydrates, and fluid overpressure. A new concept involving temporal and spatial analyses is tested to construct a relationship between submarine landslides and different time scale trigger mechanisms, and three mechanisms are discussed in the context of spatial scale and temporal frequency: evolution of slope gradient and overpressure, global environmental changes, and tectonic events. Submarine landslides that are triggered by tectonic events are the largest but occur less frequently, while submarine landslides triggered by the combination of slope gradient and over-pressure evolution are the smallest but most frequently occurring events. In summary, analysis shows that the formation of submarine landslides is a complex process involving the operation of different factors on various time scales.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Biscontin, G., Pestana, J. M., and Nadim, F., 2004. Seismic triggering of submarine slides in soft cohesive soil deposits. Marine Geology, 203 (3): 341–354.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bull, S., Cartwright, J., and Huuse, M., 2009. A review of kinematic indicators from mass-transport complexes using 3D seismic data. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 26 (7): 1132–1151.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carter, A., Roques, D., and Bristow, C. S., 2000. Denudation history of onshore central Vietnam: Constraints on the Cenozoic evolution of the western margin of the South China Sea. Tectonophysics, 322 (3–4): 265–277.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carter, L., Gavey, R., Talling, P. J., and Liu, J. T., 2014. Insights into submarine geohazards from breaks in subsea telecommunication cables. Oceanography, 27 (2): 58–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, H., Peng, X., Zhu, B., Zhong, H., Huang, Y., Sun, G., Wang, L., and Guo, L., 2014. A brief review of 1:1000000 marine geological survey and mapping results of the Hainan sheet in the South China Sea. Marine Geology & Quaternary Geology, 34 (6): 83–96 (in Chinese with English abstract).

    Google Scholar 

  • Cullen, A., Reemst, P., Henstra, G., Gozzard, S., and Ray, A., 2010. Rifting of the South China Sea: New perspectives. Petroleum Geoscience, 16 (3): 273–282.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Donda, F., O’Brien, P. E., De Santis, L., Rebesco, M., and Brancolini, G., 2008. Mass wasting processes in the western Wilkes Land margin: Possible implications for East Antarctic glacial history. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 260 (1): 77–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dugan, B., and Flemings, P. B., 2000. Overpressure and fluid flow in the New Jersey continental slope: Implications for slope failure and cold seeps. Science, 289 (5477): 288–291.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Faerseth, R. B. and Saetersmoen, B. H., 2008. Geometry of a major slump structure in the Storegga slide region offshore western Norway. Norwegian Journal of Geology, 88 (1): 1–11.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fleming, P. B., Long, H., Dugan, B., Germaine, J., John, C., Behrmann, J. H., and Sawyer, D., 2008. Pore pressure penetrometers document high overpressure near the seafloor where multiple submarine landslides have occurred on the continental slope, offshore Louisiana, Gulf of Mexico. Earth and Planetary Letters, 269 (3–4): 309–324.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Franke, D., Savva, D., Pubellier, M., Steuer, S., Mouly, B., Auxietre, J., Meresse, F., and Chamot-Rooke, N., 2014. The final rifting evolution in the South China Sea. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 58: 704–720.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frey-Martinez, J., Cartwright, J., and Hall, B., 2005. 3D seismic interpretation of slump complexes: Examples from the continental margin of Israel. Basin Research, 17 (1): 83–108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garziglia, S., Migeon, S., Ducassou, E., Loncke, L., and Mascle, J., 2008. Mass-transport deposits on the Rosetta Province (NW Nile deep-sea turbidite system, Egyptian margin): Characteristics, distribution, and potential causal processes. Marine Geology, 250 (3–4): 180–198.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gee, M. J. R., Uy, H. S., Warren, J., Morley, C. K., and Lambiase, J. J., 2007. The Brunei slide: A giant submarine landslide on the north-west Borneo Margin revealed by 3D seismic data. Marine Geology, 246 (1): 9–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gersztenkorn, A., and Marfurt, K. J., 1999. Eigenstructure-based coherence computations as an aid to 3-D structural and stratigraphic mapping. Geophysics, 64 (5): 1468–1479.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hance, J. J., 2003. Development of a database and assessment of seafloor slope stability based on published literature. Master thesis. University of Texas at Austin, Austin, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • He, L., Xiong, L., Wang, J., Yang, J., and Dong, W., 2001. Tectono-thermal modeling of the Yinggehai Basin, South China Sea. Science China Earth Sciences, 44 (1): 7–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • He, Y., Xie, X., Li, J., and Cheng, Z., 2013. Differences of MTDs characteristics between eastern and western part of Qiongdongnan Basin. Journal of Jilin University (Earth Science Edition), 43 (1): 49–56 (in Chinese with English abstract).

    Google Scholar 

  • Horozal, S., Bahk, J., Urgeles, R., Kim, G. Y., Cukur, D., Kim, S., Lee, G. H., Lee, S. H., Ryu, B., and Kim, J., 2017. Mapping gas hydrate and fluid flow indicators and modeling gas hydrate stability zone (GHSZ) in the Ulleung Basin, East (Japan) Sea: Potential linkage between the occurrence of mass failures and gas hydrate dissociation. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 80: 171–191.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, C. F., Xu, X., Lin, J., Sun, Z., Zhu, J., Yao, Y., Zhao, X., Liu, Q., Kulhanek, D. K., and Wang, J., 2014a. Ages and magnetic structures of the South China Sea constrained by deep tow magnetic surveys and IODP Expedition 349. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 15 (12): 4958–4983.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, W., Wu, S., Wang, X., Zhao, F., Wang, D., Mi, L., and Li, Q., 2014b. Baiyun slide and its relation to fluid migration in the northern slope of Southern China Sea. In: Quaternary Mass-Transport Deposits on the North-Eastern Alboran Seamounts (SW Mediterranean Sea). Krastel, S., et al., eds., Springer, Switzerland, 105–115.

    Google Scholar 

  • Li, X., Fairweather, L., Wu, S., Ren, J., Zhang, H., Quan, X., Jiang, T., Zhang, C., Su, M., He, Y., and Wang, D., 2013. Morphology, sedimentary features and evolution of a large palaeo submarine canyon in Qiongdongnan Basin, northern South China Sea. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 62: 685–696.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, X., Wang, D., Wu, S., Wang, W., and Liu, G., 2017. Identifying and analyzing technology on geomorphological characteristics of Sansha Canyon. Marine Geology & Quaternary Geology, 37 (3): 28–36 (in Chinese with English abstract).

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu, Z., Zhao, Y., Colin, C., Stattegger, K., Wiesner, M. G., Huh, C., Zhang, Y., Li, X., Sompongchaiyakul, P., You, C., Huang, C., Liu, J. T., Siringan, F. P., Le, K. P., Sathiamurthy, E., Hantoro, W. S., Liu, J., Tuo, S., Zhao, S., Zhou, S., He, Z., Wang, Y., Bunsomboonsakul, S., and Li, Y., 2015. Source-tosink transport processes of fluvial sediments in the South China Sea. Earth-Science Reviews, 153: 238–273.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maslin, M., Owen, M., Day, S., and Long, D., 2004. Linking continental-slope failures and climate change: Testing the clathrate gun hypothesis. Geology, 32 (1): 53–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maslin, M., Mikkelsen, N., Vilela, C., and Haq, B., 1998. Sealevel- and gas-hydrate-controlled catastrophic sediment failures of the Amazon Fan. Geology, 26 (12): 1107–1110.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Masson, D. G., Harbitz, C. B., Wynn, R. B., Pedersen, G., and Lovholt, F., 2006. Submarine landslides: Processes, triggers and hazard prediction. Philosophical Transactions, 364 (1845): 2009–2039.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McGilvery, T. A., and Cook, D. L., 2003. The influence of local gradients on accommodation space and linked depositional elements across a stepped slope profile, offshore Brunei. In: Shelf Margin Deltas and Linked Down Slope Petroleum Systems: 23rd Annual. SEPM, 387–419.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Mienert, J., Vanneste, M., Bünz, S., Andreassen, K., Haflidason, H., and Sejrup, H. P., 2005. Ocean warming and gas hydrate stability on the mid-Norwegian margin at the Storegga slide. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 22 (1): 233–244.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, K. G., Kominz, M. A., Browning, J. V., Wright, J. D., Mountain, G. S., Katz, M. E., Sugarman, P. J., Cramer, B. S., Christie-Blick, N., and Pekar, S. F., 2005. The Phanerozoic record of global sea-level change. Science, 310 (5752): 1293–1298.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Milliman, J. D., and Farnsworth, K. L., 2003. River Discharge to the Coastal Ocean: A Global Synthesis. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1–394.

    Google Scholar 

  • Milliman, J. D., and Syvitski, J. P., 1992. Geomorphic/tectonic control of sediment discharge to the ocean: The importance of small mountainous rivers. The Journal of Geology, 100 (5): 525–544.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moscardelli, L., Wood, L., and Mann, P., 2006. Mass-transport complexes and associated processes in the offshore area of Trinidad and Venezuela. AAPG Bulletin, 90 (7): 1059–1088.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qin, Z., Wu, S., Wang, D., Li, W., Gong, S., Mi, L., and Spence, G., 2015. Mass transport deposits and processes in the north slope of the Xisha Trough, northern South China Sea. Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 34 (9): 117–125.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rebesco, M., and Camerlenghi, A., 2008. Late Pliocene margin development and mega debris flow deposits on the Antarctic continental margins: Evidence of the onset of the modern Antarctic ice sheet? Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 260 (1): 149–167.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shipp, C., Nott, J., and Newlin, J., 2004. Variations in jetting performance in deepwater environments: Geotechnical characteristics and effects of mass transport complexes. Offshore Technology Conference. Houston, Texas, 16751.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stegmann, S., Strasser, M., Anselmetti, F., and Kopf, A., 2007. Geotechnical in situ characterization of subaquatic slopes: The role of pore pressure transients versus frictional strength in landslide initiation. Geophysical Research Letters, 34 (7): L07607.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strasser, M., Kodaira, S., Romer, M., Wefer, G., Kolling, M., Ferreira, C. D. S., Fujiwara, T., Henkel, S., Ikehara, K., Kanamatsu, T., and Kawamura, K., 2013. A slump in the trench: Tracking the impact of the 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake. Geology, 41 (8): 935–938.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Su, M., Zhang, C., Xie, X., Wang, Z., Jiang, T., He, Y., and Zhang, C., 2014. Controlling factors on the submarine canyon system: A case study of the central canyon system in the Qiongdongnan Basin, northern South China Sea. Science China (Earth Science), 57 (10): 2457–2468.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tappin, D. R., Grilli, S. T., Harris, J. C., Geller, R. J., Masterlark, T., Kirby, J. T., Shi, F., Ma, G., Thingbaijam, K. K. S., and Mai, P. M., 2014. Did a submarine landslide contribute to the 2011 Tohoku tsunami? Marine Geology, 357: 344–361.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, B., and Hayes, D. E., 1983. Origin and history of the South China Sea. In: The Tectonics and Geological Evolution of Southeast Asia Seas and Islands: Part 2. Hayes, D. E., ed., American Geophysical Union, Washington, 23–56.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Tian, J., Wu, S., Lv, F., Wang, D., Wang, B., Zhang, X., and Ma, B., 2015. Middle Miocene mound-shaped sediment packages on the slope of the Xisha carbonate platforms, South China Sea: Combined result of gravity flow and bottom current. Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography, 122: 172–184.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tian, J., Wu, S., Wang, D., Lv, F., Wang, B., and Zhang, X., 2016. Characteristics of periplatform channels of the Xisha area, northern South China Sea. Marine Sciences, 40 (6): 101–109 (in Chinese with English abstract).

    Google Scholar 

  • Tripsanas, E. K., Piper, D. J. W., Jenner, K. A., and Bryant, W. R., 2008. Submarine mass-transport facies: New perspectives on flow processes from cores on the eastern North American margin. Sedimentology, 55 (1): 97–136.

    Google Scholar 

  • Urlaub, M., Talling, P. J., and Masson, D. G., 2013. Timing and frequency of large submarine landslides: Implications for understanding triggers and future geohazard. Quaternary Science Reviews, 72: 63–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Völker, D., Scholz, F., and Geersen, J., 2011. Analysis of submarine landsliding in the rupture area of the 27 February 2010 Maule earthquake, central Chile. Marine Geology, 288 (1): 79–89.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, D., Wu, S., Li, C., and Yao, G., 2016. Submarine slide evidence for late Miocene strike-slip reversal of the Red River fault. Science China (Earth Sciences), 59 (11): 2231–2239.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, D., Wu, S., Lv, F., and Spence, G., 2014a. Seismic Characteristics and distribution of large scale mass transport deposits in the Qiongdongnan Basin, South China Sea. In: Submarine Mass Movements and Their Consequences. Krastel, S., et al., eds., Springer, Switzerland, 413–422.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, D., Wu, S., Qin, Z., Spence, G., and Lv, F., 2013. Seismic characteristics of the Huaguang mass transport deposits in the Qiongdongnan Basin, South China Sea: Implications for regional tectonic activity. Marine Geology, 346: 165–182.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, D., Wu, S., Yao, G., Lv, F., and Strasser, M., 2014b. Analysis of Quaternary mass transport deposits based on seismic data in southern deep-water region of Qiongdongnan Basin, South China Sea. In: Landslide Science for a Safer Geoenvironment: Volume 3: Targeted Landslides. Sassa, K., et al., eds., Springer International Publishing, Switzerland, 575–581.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, L., Wu, S., Li, Q., Wang, D., and Fu, S., 2014c. Architecture and development of a multi-stage Baiyun submarine slide complex in the Pearl River Canyon, northern South China Sea. Geo-Marine Letters, 34 (4): 327–343.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, X., Collett, T. S., Lee, M. W., Yang, S., Guo, Y., and Wu, S., 2014d. Geological controls on the occurrence of gas hydrate from core, downhole log, and seismic data in the Shenhu area, South China Sea. Marine Geology, 357: 272–292.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weimer, P., Slatt, R. M., and Bouroullec, R., 2007. Introduction to the petroleum geology of deepwater settings, Tulsa. AAPG Studies in Geology, 57: 419–455.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weimer, P., 1990. Sequence stratigraphy, facies geometries, and depositional history of the Mississippi Fan, Gulf of Mexico. AAPG Bulletin, 74 (4): 425–453.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wu, J., Wang, Y., Qiu, Y., Peng, X., Xia, G., and Wan, L., 2012. Characteristic and formation mechanism of the frontally confined landslide in Shenhu slope, northern South China Sea. Acta Sedimentologica Sinica, 30 (4): 639–645 (in Chinese with English abstract).

    Google Scholar 

  • Wu, S. G., Cai, G., Ma, B., Sun, G., Wang, D. W., and Gao, J., 2017. Geomorphology and Quaternary sedimentary processes in the slope of the Xisha (Paracel) Archipelago, South China Sea (Submitted).

    Google Scholar 

  • Wu, S. G., Qin, Z. L., Wang, D. W., Peng, X. C., Wang, Z. J., and Yao, G. S., 2011. Analysis on seismic characteristics and triggering mechanisms of mass transport deposits on the northern slope of the South China Sea. Chinese Journal of Geophysics, 54 (6): 1056–1068.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xie, X. N., Chen, Z. H., Sun, Z. P., and Jiang, T., 2012. Depositional architecture characteristics of deepwater depositional systems on the continental margins of northwestern South China Sea. Earth Science–Journal of China University of Geosciences, 37 (4): 627–634 (in Chinese with English abstract).

    Google Scholar 

  • Xie, X. N., Müller, R. D., Li, S., Gong, Z., and Steinberger, B., 2006. Origin of anomalous subsidence along the northern South China Sea margin and its relationship to dynamic topography. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 23 (7): 745–765.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zeng, H., Ambrose, W. A., and Villalta, E., 2001. Seismic sedimentology and regional depositional systems in Mioceno Norte, Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela. The Leading Edge, 20 (11): 1260–1269.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zeng, H., and Hentz, T. F., 2004. High-frequency sequence stratigraphy from seismic sedimentology: Applied to Miocene, Vermilion Block 50, Tiger Shoal area, offshore Louisiana. AAPG Bulletin, 88 (2): 153–174.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, W., Wei, X., Zheng, J., Zhu, L., and Zhang, Y., 2012. Estimating suspended sediment loads in the Pearl River Delta region using sediment rating curves. Continental Shelf Research, 38: 35–46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, Y. F., Sun, Z., Guo, X. W., Zhou, D., Jiang, J. Q., and Fan, H., 2008. Tectonic subsidence characteristics of Qiongdongnan Basin in Cenozoic. Journal of Tropical Oceanography, 27 (9): 30–36 (in Chinese with English abstract).

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhao, M., 2013. Evolution of paleoenvironment in Qiongdongnan Basin during Cenozoic. Master thesis. Ocean University of China, Qingdao.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhu, W., Wang, Z., Mi, L., Du, X., Xie, X., Lu, Y., Zhang, D., Sun, Z., Liu, X., and Li, Y., 2015. Sequence stratigraphic framework and reef growth unit of well Xike-1 from Xisha Islands, South China Sea. Earth Science–Journal of China University of Geosciences, 40 (4): 677–687 (in Chinese with English abstract).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We acknowledge China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), and Guangzhou Marine Geological Survey (GMGS) for their permission to release seismic and bathymetric data. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 41576049, 4166 6002) and the Key Research Projects of Frontier Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. QYZDB-SSW-SYS025), Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (No. 2016ASKJ13), and Key Science and Technology Foundation of Sanya (Nos. 2017PT 13, 2017PT14).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Information and Control Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao, 266580, China

    Weiwei Wang

  2. Laboratory of Marine Geophysics and Georeource, Institute of Deep-Sea Science and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sanya, 572000, China

    Dawei Wang & Shiguo Wu

  3. Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266237, China

    Shiguo Wu

  4. College of Earth Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Shiguo Wu

  5. MARUM Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Bremen, 28359, Germany

    David Völker

  6. Bureau of Economic Geology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, 78713, USA

    Hongliu Zeng

  7. Guangzhou Marine Geology Survey, Guangzhou, 510760, China

    Guanqiang Cai

  8. Research Center of China National Offshore Oil Corporation, Beijing, 100027, China

    Qingping Li

Authors
  1. Weiwei Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Dawei Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Shiguo Wu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. David Völker
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Hongliu Zeng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Guanqiang Cai
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Qingping Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dawei Wang.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Wang, W., Wang, D., Wu, S. et al. Submarine landslides on the north continental slope of the South China Sea. J. Ocean Univ. China 17, 83–100 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11802-018-3491-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11802-018-3491-0

Key words

Search

Navigation