TOPOGRAPHY AND SEDIMENTATION OF THE EAST CHINA SEA SHELFBREAK

The shelfbreak of the East China Sea lies in an area with a marked change in gradient between the continental shelf and the slope (west wall of Okinawa Trough), depth ranging from 132 to 162 m with an average of about 147 m, and the width ranging from 4 to 18 km.The types of the shelfbreak differ markedly from the north to the south, having an abrupt break in the south and a gradual break in the middle and the north.Without permanent deposition of fine-grained material formed at the shelfbreak zone, it serves only as a temporary resting place for terrigenous sediments moving toward the Okinawa Trough through submarine canyons as important transport conduits.