The Satelite data application

Recent marine satellite altimetry has provided astonishing images of both the regularity and complexity
of seafloor. An important benefit of the satellite altimetry in marine geology and geophysics is that it
provides a firsthand glimpse at the spacing scale of 2×2 minute into seafloor morphology and underlying
structures of places where ship board mapping has not yet been carried out. Although, the gravity
anomaly derived from satellite altimetry has much lower spatial resolution compared to shipboard
measurements, the global coverage and high accuracy due to repeated measurements make them an
excellent tool for studies at sea. For instance, structures associated with deformations along plate
boundaries, features related with seafloor spreading and segmentation of the axes, volcanic chains and
sedimentary basins can be readily manifested in the satellite gravity data. In case of continental margin
and marginal seas also, satellite anomaly can be quite useful. Previous investigations of gravity
anomalies of these areas have proved useful in delineating the structure and tectonics of various
continental margins, for example along the US East Coast Passive Margin (Behn and Lin, 2000), Gabon
Margin of Western Africa (Watts and Stewart, 1998) and others. In the case of South China Sea (SCS),
where continental breakup was followed by formation of new ocean basins, the analyses of gravity
anomalies may allow us to determine the physical properties of the crust and mantle in relation to
processes such as rifting, seafloor spreading, magmatism, sedimentation, underplating and erosion.
Marine geophysical data have been collected in the SCS by numerous investigators since the early 1970s
(Ludwig, 1970; Ludwig et al., 1975, 1979; Ben-Avraham and Uyeda, 1973; Taylor and Hayes, 1980,
1983; Briais et al., 1989). The early regional gravity anomaly maps, such as those compiled by Chen
(1987), provide a general overview of the SCS and show some of major geological structures. However,
the coverage of the maps is too sparse to show the detailed features. Furthermore, because the data
were collected by many different surveys, there are substantial gaps in the coverage and inconsistency
among the tracks lines. As a result, the earlier maps are not suitable for accurate crustal modeling.
This study examines the satellite gravity anomalies in the SCS. First, the free air gravity anomalies (FAA)
are compared with the known geological structures. Using a simple crustal model derived from previous
reflection seismic data, we have calculated three-dimensional Bouguer anomaly (BA) and residual
isostatic anomaly (RIA). These anomalies are compared with the known geological structures to see if
they provide any further insight. This study shows that the satellite gravity anomalies provide important
constraints on the tectonic elements, crustal structure as well as possible lateral density variations of the
crust and upper mantle in the SCS.