NEOTECTONICS ALONG THE NORTH COAST OF SOUTH CHINA SEA AND ITS REGIONAL CORRELATION AROUND THE BOUNDARY OF THE EARLY AND MIDDLE PLEISTOCENE
南海北缘早-中更新世之交新构造活动 及其区域对比*

Based on the age dating, geochemical and geophysical analyses, as well as field investigation along the coast of South China Sea, the authors expatiated the characteristics of sedimentary facies, chemical components and susceptibility of the Zhanjiang Formation (Early Pleistocene) and the Beihai Formation (Middle Pleistocene), and showed the pictures of deformation, folds, faults, and volcanism in the area. It is indicated that there have occurred a series of tectonic events in the northern parts of the South China Sea during the period from 0.9MaB.P. to 0.7MaB.P., a mainly uplifting period with sedimentary source changed from continental-oceanic to continental, with an increasing of continental weathering and erosion, with a dropping of sea level, with volcanic explosion, and with the formation of fold, fault and unconformity. These events indicated a tectonic activity, which is similar to the records of other areas, such as the Loess Plateau, Tibetan Plateau, West China, North China, and East China. It is also suggested that the uplifting of the Tibetan Plateau by stages not only caused great changes to its own tectonics, landform, and climate, but also effected and forced the process of environmental changes in its adjacent regions as well as Chinese continent, even the whole of East Asia. We believe that this tectonic movement wa s controlled by the Coupled Climato-Tectonic System and followed the rule of the Climato-Tectonic Cycle. The forcing effects of the environmental change of Chinese continent are the exogenic-endogenic geodynamic process——the global tectonic system, the global climatic system and so on.