Study on the marine magnetotelluric model in the southwestern sub-basin of the South China Sea

The mid-ocean ridges are the focal point of modern crustal activity, serving as the hub for ocean floor spreading and the generation of new crust. These ridges constitute one of the most crucial structural units on the seafloor, and the marine magnetotelluric method stands out as a significant tool for probing the deep geological structures of the seafloor. This paper, grounded in the geological model of the mid-ocean ridges in the southwestern sub-basin of the South China Sea, developed a geological model incorporating varying parameters such as melt anomaly sizes, melt resistivities, and lithospheric thicknesses. The study calculated the geological response of the model using Mare2DEM software and performed a 2D inversion of the response data. The results of modeling and inversion hold substantial importance in analyzing the geological structure of the South China Sea basin and gaining insights into the formation and evolution of the South China Sea.