Emerging knowledge on the evolution, structure and resource distribution of the northern South China Sea continental margin

The South China Sea (SCS) formed through Cenozoic lithospheric stretching of the south-eastern edge of the Eurasian Plate and is one of the largest marginal seas in the Western Pacific region. In recent years, its northern continental margin has emerged as a global hotspot for geoscientific research, particularly for advancing our understanding of rift evolution and continental margin architecture. An exceptional wealth of new geological and geophysical data from the hydrocarbon exploration industry and recent scientific ocean drilling expeditions has particularly driven this surge. Building on this opportunity, we assembled the Thematic Collection “Emerging knowledge on the tectonics of the South China Sea”, which integrates new results with existing datasets to provide an updated and comprehensive view of the northern SCS continental margin. In this preface, we provide an overview of the collection, which comprises nine original research articles. Collectively, the contributions reveal a complex structural evolution of the continental margin from proximal to distal domains, characterised by punctuated stages of rifting and pronounced along-strike structural variability. Additionally, they document structural and sedimentological controls on potential hydrocarbon resource distribution across the region. These new insights not only advance our knowledge of the northern SCS continental margin but also contribute to deciphering the inherent complexities across plate-edge (marginal sea) rifts worldwide.