The South China Sea (SCS) is the largest marginal sea in the Western Pacific Ocean. Major advances in understanding SCS tectonic processes have been made in the last several decades, especially through the implementation of five international ocean drilling expeditions during 1999-2018 and the “South China Sea Deep” major research program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (2011-2019). Critical data have been acquired and important scientific results have been obtained, which have changed our view of how the SCS marginal sea basin developed and evolved. Major progresses have been made in multiple aspects: (1) the SCS is proposed as a new type of “plate-edge rifting” model, which differs from the classic Atlantic-type “intra-plate rifting” model; (2) Ocean drilling obtained the SCS basement basalt samples for the first time, which together with the first deep-towed magnetic survey, enabled the determination of SCS basin ages and revealing that the SCS seafloor spreading propagated stepwise from east to west; (3) Magmatism appeared rapidly during thinning of lithosphere in the SCS northern margin, in sharp contrast to serpentinite exposure by relatively slow rifting of the Atlantic Ocean; (4) Magmatic activity is still significant after the cessation of SCS seafloor spreading, being controlled by multiple tectonic and mantle processes; (5) Geochemical evidence and geodynamic simulations show that the SCS magmatism is affected by the surrounding subduction zones. At present, marine geoscience research of the SCS is being extended to studies of its interaction with surrounding ocean basins. Through conducting large-scale research programs, building ocean drilling platform, and strengthening international collaboration, China’s contributions to marine geoscience research are expected to increase.
| 科 Family | 属数 Number of genus | 种数 Number of species | 占总种数比例 Percentage of total species (%) | 属 Genus | 种数 Number of species | 占总种数比例 Percentage of total species (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 鹅膏菌科Amanitaceae | 2 | 11 | 5.26 | 鹅膏菌属 Amanita | 10 | 4.78 |
| 小菇科 Mycenaceae | 2 | 12 | 5.74 | 丝盖伞属 Inocybe | 5 | 2.39 |
| 多孔菌科 Polyporaceae | 8 | 14 | 6.70 | 蜡蘑属 Laccaria | 5 | 2.39 |
| 红菇科 Russulaceae | 3 | 23 | 11.00 | 小皮伞属 Marasmius | 6 | 2.87 |
| 小菇属 Mycena | 11 | 5.26 | ||||
| 光柄菇属 Pluteus | 5 | 2.39 | ||||
| 红菇属 Russula | 17 | 8.13 | ||||
| 栓菌属 Trametes | 5 | 2.39 |