地震地质 ›› 2025, Vol. 47 ›› Issue (4): 999-1019.DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.0253-4967.2025.04.20240170

• 研究论文 • 上一篇    下一篇

华南沿海珠江口约1 000a前海啸事件的沉积记录与海啸源分析

王伟涛1,2)(), 杨小强1,2),*(), 舒鹏1,2), 张宇皓1,2), 梁浩1,2), 李琳琳1,2), 李志刚1,2), 王大伟3), 张培震1,2)   

  1. 1)中山大学, 地球科学与工程学院, 广东省地球动力作用与地质灾害重点实验室, 珠海 519082
    2)南方海洋科学与工程广东省实验室(珠海), 珠海 519082
    3)中国科学院深海科学与工程研究所, 三亚 572000
  • 收稿日期:2024-12-31 修回日期:2025-02-26 出版日期:2025-08-20 发布日期:2025-10-09
  • 通讯作者: 杨小强, 男, 1972年生, 教授, 博士生导师, 主要研究方向为第四纪地质学、 全球变化和环境磁学, E-mail: eesyxq@mail.sysu.edu.cn
  • 作者简介:

    王伟涛, 男, 1979年生, 教授, 主要研究方向为构造变形, 盆地分析与事件沉积, E-mail:

  • 基金资助:
    国家重点研发计划项目(2023YFC3008603)

SEDIMENTARY RECORDS AND SOURCE ANALYSIS OF A TSUNAMI EVENT ABOUT ~1 000 YEARS AGO IN THE PEARL RIVER ESTUARY ALONG THE COAST OF SOUTH CHINA

WANG Wei-tao1,2)(), YANG Xiao-qiang1,2),*(), SHU Peng1,2), ZHANG Yu-hao1,2), LIANG Hao1,2), LI Lin-lin1,2), LI Zhi-gang1,2), WANG Da-wei3), ZHANG Pei-zhen1,2)   

  1. 1)Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Geodynamics and Geohazards, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Sun Yat-Sen University, Zhuhai 519082, China
    2)Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory(Zhuhai), Zhuhai 519082, China
    3)Institute of Deep-Sea Science and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sanya 572000, China
  • Received:2024-12-31 Revised:2025-02-26 Online:2025-08-20 Published:2025-10-09

摘要:

南海及其周缘地区发育了板块俯冲带和多条大型断裂带等活动构造, 容易诱发地震海啸等极端自然灾害。识别、 分析南海北部大规模古海啸事件的沉积记录及其潜在触发机制, 对地震-海啸灾害评估具有重要意义。文中以珠江口E15、 E12钻孔岩心为研究对象, 通过AMS 14C测年与磁化率对比, 建立了E15钻孔岩心的年代框架。在此基础上, 通过岩心粒度、 色度、 地球化学元素分析, 发现E15钻孔岩心5.9~4.24m段粒度较粗(中、 粗砂层)、 分选较差、 色度较深、 远岸海洋组分元素含量较高, 发育大量海相生物碎屑, 这些特征均与上覆正常浅海-三角洲沉积截然不同, 指示该层可能为距今约1 000a的海啸事件沉积。综合同期海啸事件沉积的分布规律, 文中推测南海东部马尼拉俯冲带约1 000a前发生了强烈的海底地震, 触发大规模海啸, 在南海北部形成海啸事件沉积。

关键词: 海啸沉积, 马尼拉俯冲带, 距今约1 000a, 珠江口

Abstract:

Since the Cenozoic time, the South China Sea(SCS)has formed one of the largest semi-enclosed marginal basins along the East Asian continental margin through the geological processes such as South China Sea plate rifting, seafloor spreading, and plate subduction. In the South China Sea Basin and its surrounding regions, a series of active geological structures have developed, for example, the Manila subduction zones, the Littoral(Binhai) fault zone, and the Continental Slope(Lupo) fault zone. The activity of these tectonic zones is highly prone to triggering extreme natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis. Along the coastal zone of the northern part of the South China Sea(the South China continental margin), there are densely populated large cities with critical infrastructure, which are also regions severely affected by extreme natural disasters like earthquakes and tsunamis. Therefore, identifying the sedimentary records of large-scale paleotsunami events in the northern part of the South China Sea and analyzing their potential triggering mechanisms are of great significance for seismic-tsunami hazard assessment.

This study focuses on the sedimentary strata of boreholes E15 and E12 from the Pearl River Estuary along the South China coast. Based on AMS 14C dating and a comparison of magnetic susceptibility data between boreholes E15 and E12, a high-precision chronological sequence was established for the core of borehole E15, spanning approximately the last 1000 years to the present. The core E15 is 5.9m long, with a progressively younger AMS 14C age sequence in the upper part of the core section from 4.24~0m. However, AMS 14C ages of the sediments in the lower part of core E15, from 5.9 to 4.24m, are sometimes reversed. The reversal ages may be attributed to the reworking or recycling of the sediments in the lower part of core E15.

To reveal the depositional processes of borehole E15, we conducted detailed analyses of sedimentary grain size, sedimentary color, and geochemical elemental composition. The lower part of the core section(5.9~4.24m) for E15, consists of dark gray to grayish-black medium-to-coarse sand layers with poor sorting and contains abundant marine biodetritus. In contrast, the upper part of the core section(4.24~0m) for E15 is composed of dark gray to grayish-brown silty mud, fine sandy silt, and delicate sand layers. The upper core section exhibits finer grain size, lighter color, faint horizontal bedding, and higher terrestrial-derived elemental content, representing typical delta-shallow marine depositional environment. The lower part core section is characterized by a coarser grain size(medium to coarse) of sands, which lack clear sedimentary structures and exhibit higher offshore marine-derived elemental content, but relatively lower terrestrial-derived elemental content.

Based on the sedimentary features and geochemical composition, the sands from 5.9~4.24m within the borehole E15 are completely different from the overlying normal, typical shallow sea-delta sediments. Considering the reversal AMS 14C ages, coarser grain size, poor sorting, darker color, higher offshore marine-derived elemental content, and lower terrestrial-derived elemental content in the lower part core of the E15, we propose that the sand layers with abundant marine biodetritus in the lower part of boreholes E15 (5.9~4.24m) may be deposits from an extreme hydrological event occurring approximately 1000 years ago. In fact, tsunami deposits dating back about 1000 years have been widely documented along the northern and western coasts of the South China Sea, the inner islands of the South China Sea, and the northwestern Philippines. Therefore, we suggest that the event deposits in the Pearl River Estuary region, along the northern part of the South China Sea, at ~1000 years ago, may also be the result of a tsunami event.

Combining sedimentary evidence and numerical simulations, we hypothesize that a strong submarine earthquake may have occurred along the Manila subduction zone in the eastern South China Sea approximately 1000 years ago, triggering a large-scale tsunami. The medium and coarse-grained sand layers in the lower part (5.9~4.24m) of the E15 borehole within the Pearl River Estuary may be the consequence of this tsunami event.

Key words: tsunami deposits, Manila subduction zone, ~1 000 years ago, Pearl River Estuary