Back‐Arc Tectonics and Plate Reconstruction of the Philippine Sea‐South China Sea Region Since the Eocene

Abstract

Abstract Insight into the evolution of Philippine Sea‐South China Sea (SCS) plate motions helps reveal the driving mechanisms of the long‐term tectonic complexity in Southeast Asia. Here, based on the integration of the most recent geological and seismic data, we present a new plate reconstruction model for this region characterized by back‐arc extension and subduction since the Eocene. We suggest that the western boundary of the Philippine Sea Plate was a constant sinistral strike‐slip fault at 55–22 Ma with a clockwise self‐rotation. The connection between the SCS and Shikoku Ridges possibly initiates at 30 Ma, when their spreading times overlapped indicating an affinitive origin and magma source. Regional‐scale geodynamic simulations interfaced with our reconstructed plate motion indicate that the seismic high‐velocity body under the SCS is likely to be the leading edge of the Pacific Slab.

Keywords

• plate reconstruction
• Philippine Sea Plate
• South China Sea
• geodynamic model
• back‐arc extension