The paleo-lithospheric structure and rifting-magmatic processes of the northern South China Sea passive margin

The northern South China Sea has complex rifting-magmatic styles, which are significantly distinct from the Atlantic end-member passive margins that initiated rifting in a craton, and was argued to originate from a subducted setting. Here we propose a new kinematic method to calculate the paleolithospheric structure and reconstruct the rifting processes along a 400 km seismic line in the northern South China Sea margin. The detailed paleo-tectonic setting and its linkage with the rifting-magmatic processes are explored. Seismic-gravity analysis reveals a ‘‘boudin-type” passive margin with a wide distal domain (>200 km) comprising discrete hyperextended zones of the Baiyun Sub-basin, Liwan Subbasin and a narrow continent-ocean transition (