The South China Sea

Pinxian Wang and Qianyu Li The South China Sea (SCS) (Fig. 1. 1) offers a special attraction for Earth scientists world-wide because of its location and its well-preserved hemipelagic sediments. As the largest one of the marginal seas separating Asia from the Paci?c, the largest continent from the largest ocean, the SCS functions as a focal point in land-sea int- actions of the Earth system. Climatically, the SCS is located between the Western Paci?c Warm Pool, the centre of global heating at the sea level, and the Tibetan Plateau, the centre of heating at an altitude of 5,000m. Geomorphologically, the SCS lies to the east of the highest peak on earth, Zhumulangma or Everest in the Himalayas (8,848m elevation) and to the west of the deepest trench in the ocean, Philippine Trench (10,497m water depth) (Wang P. 2004). Biogeographically, the SCS belongs to the so-called 'East Indies Triangle' where modern marine and terrestrial biodiversity reaches a global maximum (Briggs 1999). Among the major marginal sea basins from the west Paci?c, the SCS presents some of the best conditions for accumulating complete paleoclimatic records in its hemipelagic deposits. These records are favorable for high-resolution pa- oceanographic studies because of high sedimentation rates and good carbonate preservation. It may not be merely a coincidence that two cores from the southern 14 SCS were among the ?rst several cores in the world ocean used by AMS C dating for high-resolution stratigraphy (Andree et al. 1986; Broecker et al. 1988).

Pinxian Wang was born in Shanghai in 1936. He graduated from the Moscow State University in 1960, majoring in paleontology, and was Alexander von Humboldt Fellow in 1981-82 in Kiel, Germany. He is now Professor at the Tongji University, where he was Director of the Department of Marine Geology and the Laboratory of Marine Geology for years. His research activities are mainly devoted to paleoceanography and micropaleontology in the Western Pacific and paleo-monsoon studies in East Asia, especially in the South China Sea. He was co-chief scientist of the Ocean Drilling Program Leg 184 to the South China Sea in 1999 and the Marco Polo Cruise to the South China Sea in 2005. He has promoted China's involvement in international deep-sea programs and founded the series of 'Asian Marine Geology Conferences'. He is Member of the Chinese Academy of Science, Honorary Fellow of the Geological Society London, AAAS Fellow,and Milutin Milankovic Medalist of EGU in 2007.

This book is the first synthesis of sedimentary geology and paleoceanography of the South China Sea on the basis of extensive industrial explorations and scientific expeditions culminated with the ODP Leg 184. It provides up-to-date knowledge about the history of this largest marginal sea in the West Pacific, deep-sea records of evolution and variations of the East Asian monsoon, and geological backgrounds of the off-shore petroleum basins. With its focus on paleoceanography and sedimentology, this volume provides a comprehensive all-round view of the marginal sea basin, from modern oceanography to sequence stratigraphy.

The South China Sea: Paleoceanography and Sedimentology is essential reading for advanced students and researchers working in marine geology, basin evolution, sedimentology, paleoceanography and related fields.

Auteur

Pinxian Wang was born in Shanghai in 1936. He graduated from the Moscow State University in 1960, majoring in paleontology, and was Alexander von Humboldt Fellow in 1981-82 in Kiel, Germany. He is now Professor at the Tongji University, where he was Director of the Department of Marine Geology and the Laboratory of Marine Geology for years. His research activities are mainly devoted to paleoceanography and micropaleontology in the Western Pacific and paleo-monsoon studies in East Asia, especially in the South China Sea. He was co-chief scientist of the Ocean Drilling Program Leg 184 to the South China Sea in 1999 and the Marco Polo Cruise to the South China Sea in 2005. He has promoted China's involvement in international deep-sea programs and founded the series of "Asian Marine Geology Conferences". He is Member of the Chinese Academy of Science, Honorary Fellow of the Geological Society London, AAAS Fellow,and Milutin Milankovic Medalist of EGU in 2007.

Contenu

Oceanographical and Geological Background.- Stratigraphy and Sea Level Changes.- Sedimentology.- Upper Water Structure and Paleo-Monsoon5.- Deep Waters and Oceanic Connection.- Biogeochemistry and the Carbon Reservoir.- History of the South China Sea - A Synthesis.