Subsurface structures and nature of seafloor mounds in the northern South China Sea margin: Implications for Mesozoic hydrocarbon exploration

The Chaoshan Depression in the northern South China Sea (SCS) margin hosts thick (ca. 4–9 km) Mesozoic strata including two sets of hydrocarbon source rocks (the Late Triassic-Early Jurassic and Late Jurassic marine facies sequences). It was predicted to be petroliferous but unproven. Numerous submarine mounds are distributed on its seafloor, but whether they are mud volcanoes or magmatic volcanoes remains controversial due to poor knowledge of the subsurface structures. To reveal the nature of these mounds and the Mesozoic hydrocarbon potential in the Chaoshan Depression, multi-channel seismic (MCS) and ocean bottom seismometer (OBS) data along line CS-L1 across three seafloor mounds are processed and analyzed. The MCS profile reveals the existence of fuzzy reflection zones (FRZs) within the Mesozoic strata beneath these mounds. The overlying sedimentary sequences appear uplifted and deformed. The OBS velocity results exhibit that these FRZs feature significantly lower velocities than their host strata with velocity differences ranging from ~0.25 km/s to 0.71 km/s, likely resulting from vigorous fluid charging rather than magma intrusion. Thus these FRZs are identified as mud-fluid diapirs. Between these diapirs and the overlying seafloor mounds, numerous high-angle faults exist, serving as vertical fluid feeder conduits. Additionally, several bright spots, acting as indicators of gas reservoirs, are observed near these faults. Moreover, bottom simulating reflectors with reverse polarity are imaged within the shallow strata around the seafloor mounds on an adjacent MCS profile, indicating rich gas trapping and/or gas hydrate accumulation. Therefore, we propose that these seafloor mounds are mud volcanoes with fluids coming from the underlying diapirs. As the diapirs extend downward into the Jurassic and Triassic strata, the hydrocarbon gases feeding the mud volcanoes and diapirs are reasoned to originate from the deep Mesozoic source rocks, implying significant Mesozoic hydrocarbon potential in the Chaoshan Depression of the SCS.