National Chiao Tung University (NCTU) and National Taiwan University (NTU) researchers yesterday presented research they say provides the most comprehensive view of underwater tectonic properties in the South China Sea basin to date, yielding potential benefits for an array of fields, including oil exploration and seismic studies.
The researchers said they determined the basin’s tectonic makeup through the use of gravity data — such as land and marine surveys — produced by satellite altimeters.
Drawing on findings by marine geophysicist David Sandwell and other researchers, NCTU civil engineering professor Huang Cheinway (黃金維) and NTU Institute of Oceanography professor Chang Tsui-yu (張翠玉) said they were able to clearly outline the borders between the South China continental and oceanic plates, as well as those of an ancient seafloor spreading with numerous intersecting buried faults that were identified for the first time.
Seafloor spreading is the theory of how oceanic crust is formed as sizable chunks of the Earth’s crust split from one another and magma spews forth to fill the gap created.
The duo said they obtained their findings through the use of satellite altimeters, which use the strength and waveform of radar signals sent from the sea’s surface to outline the tectonic properties of the underlying seabed, such as its depths and gravity fields.
Huang said that by using vertical gravity gradients — data produced by satellites measuring the direction of gravity from the sea’s surface — they were able to elucidate tectonic structures which in the past could not be resolved by existing magnetic and seismic data, generating an enhanced understanding of underwater geology.
Satellite altimeters are also used for determining land subsidence and ice cap coverage rates in high-longitude areas, he said.
Chang said that a major goal for scientists worldwide is to improve the accuracy of gravitational measurements to a margin of an error lower than 1 milligal.
She said that a sound understanding of seafloor conditions is helpful for the exploration of crude oil and natural gas, and also benefits studies ranging from seismic and submarine volcanic activities, to tectonic evolution.
The study by Chang and Huang was published in this month’s edition of the journal Science.
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