LAUSR

Abstract Based on the flexural-cantilever model and flexural isostasy model, three independent quantitative methods have been used to calculate the stretching factors of the upper crust, whole crust, and whole lithosphere in the deep-water area of the Pearl River Mouth Basin, northern South China Sea. These results demonstrate that depth-dependent stretching has occurred within the lithosphere of the study area. The lithospheric extension shows lateral differences between the Baiyun Sag and the Kaiping–Shunde Sags. The broad forearc pre-rifting basement and hot thinned lithosphere tend to generate a structural style of wide half-graben in the Baiyun Sag, while the volcanic arc basement and normal or thickened lithosphere form a structural style of narrow half-graben in the Kaiping–Shunde Sags. In line with the lithospheric deformational features and tectonic evolution stages, we propose three various dynamic mechanisms at different tectonic stages, and they are probably uniform, composite, and depth-dependent extension models, respectively.