Crustal character and thickness over the Dangerous Grounds and beneath the Northwest Borneo Trough

New deep reflection seismic, bathymetry, gravity and magnetic data have been acquired in a marine geophysical survey of the southern South China Sea, including the Dangerous Grounds, Northwest Borneo Trough and the Central Luconia Platform. The seismic and bathymetry data map the topography of shallow density interfaces, allowing the application of gravity modeling to delineate the thickness and composition of the deeper crustal layers. Many of the strongest gravity anomalies across the area are accounted for by the basement topography mapped in the seismic data, with substantial basement relief associated with major rift development. The total crustal thickness is however quite constant, with variations only between 25 and 30 km across the Central Luconia Platform and Dangerous Grounds. The Northwest Borneo Trough is underlain by thinned crust (25–20 km total crustal thickness) consistent with the substantial water depths. There is no evidence of any crustal suture associated with the trough, nor any evidence of relict oceanic crust beneath the trough. The crustal thinning also does not extend along the complete length of the trough, with crustal thicknesses of 25 km and more modeled on the most easterly lines to cross the trough. Modeled magnetic field variations are also consistent with the study area being underlain by continental crust, with the magnetic field variations well explained by irregular magnetisations consistent with inhomogeneous continental crust, terminating at the basement unconformity as mapped from the seismic data.

• New marine deep seismic, bathymetry, gravity and magnetic data are presented.
• Crustal thickness across the Luconia Province and Dangerous Grounds is 25–30 km.
• The Northwest Borneo Trough is marked by crustal thinning without tectonic discontinuity.
• Magnetic field modeling suggests inhomogeneous continental crust.