Morphosedimentary features and recent depositional architectural model of the Cantabrian continental margin

Multibeam bathymetry, high (sleeve airguns) and very high resolution (parametric system-TOPAS-) seismic records were used to define the morphosedimentary features and investigate the depositional architecture of the Cantabrian continental margin. The outer shelf (down to 180–245 m water depth) displays an intensively eroded seafloor surface that truncates consolidated ancient folded and fractured deposits. Recent deposits are only locally present as lowstand shelf-margin deposits and a transparent drape with bedforms. The continental slope is affected by sedimentary processes that have combined to create the morphosedimentary features seen today. The upper (down to 2000 m water depth) and lower (down to 3700–4600 m water depth) slopes are mostly subject to different types of slope failures, such as slides, mass-transport deposits (a mix of slumping and mass-flows), and turbidity currents. The upper slope is also subject to the action of bottom currents (the Mediterranean Water — MW) that interact with the Le Danois Bank favouring the reworking of the sediment and the sculpting of a contourite system. The continental rise is a bypass region of debris flows and turbidity currents where a complex channel-lobe transition zone (CLTZ) of the Cap Ferret Fan develops.The recent architecture depositional model is complex and results from the remaining structural template and the great variability of interconnected sedimentary systems and processes. This margin can be considered as starved due to the great sediment evacuation over a relatively steep entire depositional profile. Sediment is eroded mostly from the Cantabrian and also the Pyrenees mountains (source) and transported by small stream/river mountains to the sea. It bypasses the continental shelf and when sediment arrives at the slope it is transported through a major submarine drainage system (large submarine valleys and mass-movement processes) down to the continental rise and adjacent Biscay Abyssal Plain (sink). Factors controlling this architecture are tectonism and sediment source/dispersal, which are closely interrelated, whereas sea-level changes and oceanography have played a minor role (on a long-term scale).     

Evidence for current-controlled morphology along the western slope of Hatton Bank (Rockall Plateau, NE Atlantic Ocean)

A multibeam bathymetric and high- (airgun and sparker) to very high-resolution (Topas) seismic study of the western slope of Hatton Bank (NE Atlantic), located between 600 m and 2,000 m water depth, has revealed a highly variable range of current-controlled morphological features. Two major seabed areas can be distinguished: (1) a non-depositional area corresponding to the top of the bank and (2) a depositional area in which the Hatton Drift has developed. Both areas are characterised by distinct morphologies associated either with rock outcrops and rocky ridges or with smooth surfaces, slides and bedforms controlled mainly by bottom currents interacting with the topography of the bank. The water depth separating the morphological areas probably coincides with the boundary of the Labrador Sea Water and the Lower Deep Water. Morphological features identified in the study area include contourite channels (moats, furrows and scours), fields of sediment waves, edges of contourite deposits, ponded deposits, scarps, gullies, ridges, depressions, slides and slide scars. These morphological features do not necessarily reflect present-day conditions but may have been associated with past current events, consistent with earlier interpretations.     

Depositional characteristics and spatial distribution of deep-water sedimentary systems on the northwestern middle-lower slope of the Northwest Sub-Basin, South China Sea

Based upon 2D seismic data, this study confirms the presence of a complex deep-water sedimentary system within the Pliocene-Quaternary strata on the northwestern lower slope of the Northwest Sub-Basin, South China Sea. It consists of submarine canyons, mass-wasting deposits, contourite channels and sheeted drifts. Alongslope aligned erosive features are observed on the eastern upper gentle slopes (<1.2° above 1,500 m), where a V-shaped downslope canyon presents an apparent ENE migration, indicating a related bottom current within the eastward South China Sea Intermediate Water Circulation. Contourite sheeted drifts are also generated on the eastern gentle slopes (~1.5° in average), below 2,100 m water depth though, referring to a wide unfocused bottom current, which might be related to the South China Sea Deep Water Circulation. Mass wasting deposits (predominantly slides and slumps) and submarine canyons developed on steeper slopes (>2°), where weaker alongslope currents are probably dominated by downslope depositional processes on these unstable slopes. The NNW–SSE oriented slope morphology changes from a three-stepped terraced outline (I–II–III) east of the investigated area, into a two-stepped terraced (I–II) outline in the middle, and into a unitary steep slope (II) in the west, which is consistent with the slope steepening towards the west. Such morphological changes may have possibly led to a westward simplification of composite deep-water sedimentary systems, from a depositional complex of contourite depositional systems, mass-wasting deposits and canyons, on the one hand, to only sliding and canyon deposits on the other hand.     

Along-slope oceanographic processes and sedimentary products around the Iberian margin

This contribution to this special volume represents the first attempt to comprehensively describe regional contourite (along-slope) processes and their sedimentary impacts around the Iberian margin, combining numerically simulated bottom currents with existing knowledge of contourite depositional and erosional features. The circulation of water masses is correlated with major contourite depositional systems (CDSs), and potential areas where new CDSs could be found are identified. Water-mass circulation leads to the development of along-slope currents which, in turn, generate contourite features comprising individual contourite drifts and erosional elements forming extensive, complex CDSs of considerable thickness in various geological settings. The regionally simulated bottom-current velocities reveal the strong impact of these water masses on the seafloor, especially in two principal areas: (1) the continental slopes of the Alboran Sea and the Atlantic Iberian margins, and (2) the abyssal plains in the Western Mediterranean and eastern Atlantic. Contourite processes at this scale are associated mainly with the Western Mediterranean Deep Water and the Levantine Intermediate Water in the Alboran Sea, and with both the Mediterranean Outflow Water and the Lower Deep Water in the Atlantic. Deep gateways are essential in controlling water-mass exchange between the abyssal plains, and thereby bottom-current velocities and pathways. Seamounts represent important obstacles for water-mass circulation, and high bottom-current velocities are predicted around their flanks, too. Based on these findings and those of a selected literature review, including less easily accessible ??grey literature?? such as theses and internal reports, it is clear that the role of bottom currents in shaping continental margins and abyssal plains has to date been generally underestimated, and that many may harbour contourite systems which still remain unexplored today. CDSs incorporate valuable sedimentary records of Iberian margin geological evolution, and further study seems promising in terms of not only stratigraphic, sedimentological, palaeoceanographic and palaeoclimatological research but also possible deep marine geohabitats and/or mineral and energy resources.     

Seismostratigraphic analysis of the Transkei Basin: A history of deep sea current controlled sedimentation

The Earth's climate is controlled by various factors, with large scale ocean currents playing a significant role. In particular, the global thermohaline circulation of water masses like the Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW), or the North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW), is a global motor for maintaining the exchange of water masses. The AABW and NADW have met and interacted off South Africa since Oligocene times. Here, the narrow deep Agulhas Passage gateway, located between South Africa and the submarine Agulhas Plateau, constrains bottom water exchange between the southeast Atlantic and the southwest Indian Ocean. A seismostratigraphic analysis of sedimentary structures in the Transkei Basin, which opens up at the eastern end of the Agulhas Passage, was carried out, to reconstruct the palaeocurrents off South Africa. The analysis of newly collected high resolution seismic reflection data showed the effect of large scale current deposition. There are at least 5 major sedimentary phases to observe, some of which seem to be influenced by NADW and AABW. The first stage represents ongoing deep sea sedimentation from middle Cretaceous to middle Tertiary times. Later stages are separated by discordances, which represent the onset of AABW and NADW, among others, triggered by the opening of the Drake Passage gateway ( 35 Ma) and the closure of the Isthmus of Panama ( 3 Ma). We found two large drift bodies located one above the other. Corresponding to their shape and position, the older drift is inferred to have been deposited by currents flowing in a north–southerly direction, whereas the younger drift lies perpendicular to it and seems to be built up by west–east flowing currents.     

Sedimentation processes on the continental rise of northeastern South America

A section of the continental rise of northeastern South America northeast of the Orinoco delta contains physiographic features built by the interaction of southward-flowing North Atlantic Deep Water and turbidity currents generated in the Orinoco region during the last Pleistocene glacials. A sedimentary outer ridge of low relief (Demerara Outer Ridge) trends northeast along the rise and a field of westward-migrating sediment waves trending north-northwest is superimposed on the outer ridge. The sediment waves have a maximum amplitude and wavelength of 20 m and 4 km, respectively. Seismic profiler records indicate that the outer ridge was probably built during the Pleistocene. A major turbidity-current pathway adjacent to the outer ridge on the north supplied sediment to the southward-flowing North Atlantic Deep Water which then deposited this sediment down-stream on the outer ridge and formed the sediment waves. Piston cores from the outer ridge contain numerous silt—sand beds and appear to be contourites. The cores consist primarily of gray hemipelagic clay of a Late Wisconsin age and have high ($\text{>}\text{10}\text{cm}\text{1000}\text{yrs}$) sedimentation rates. In contrast, cores from the continental rise north of the turbidite channel are brown clays with relatively low sedimentation rates ($\text{3.0}\text{cm}\text{1000}\text{yrs}$) and do not contain silt—sand contourites.     

Nonlinear sediment thickness increase on the western East Pacific Rise flank, 45°S

Sediment thickness was evaluated on the western flank of the East Pacific Rise (EPR) at 45°S, based on high-resolution seismic data gathered during cruise 213/2 of R/V Sonne in 2011. Two zones with distinctly different sediment thickness were identified, separated by a transitional zone bordering a pseudo-fault. Sediment in the more distal zone 2 is almost twice as thick (~120 m) as in zone 1 close to the EPR. This is in contrast to the expected progressive sedimentary column thickening with seafloor age and distance from the spreading axis. The younger of two seismic units detected within the sedimentary column (EPR-2) occurs mainly in the distal zone on crust older than 9 Ma, whereas on younger crust it is present only in small isolated bodies. Both sedimentary units drape the basement. The drape is interpreted to represent particle settling from suspension and a generally low regional primary productivity. The spatial variation in sediment thickness cannot be explained by existing models, and other processes considered in the present case are (1) higher productivity in the western sector of the survey area, where thicker sediments were observed (zone 2), (2) the formation of sediment drifts near basement highs (‘seamount effect’), due to flow of Lower Circumpolar Deep Water affecting sediment deposition, and (3) erosion and/or non-deposition of the younger EPR-2 unit, due to elevated bed shear stresses associated with eddies transferring kinetic energy to the seafloor     

Carbonate dissolution in the South Atlantic Ocean: evidence from ultrastructure breakdown in Globigerina bulloides

Ultrastructure dissolution susceptibility of the planktic foraminifer Globigerina bulloides, carbonate ion content of the water column, calcium carbonate content of the sediment surface, and carbonate/carbon weight percentage ratio derived from sediment surface samples were investigated in order to reconstruct the position of the calcite saturation horizon, the sedimentary calcite lysocline, and the calcium carbonate compensation depth (CCD) in the modern South Atlantic Ocean. Carbonate ion data from the water column refer to the GEOSECS locations 48, 103, and 109 and calcium carbonate data come from 19 GeoB sediment surface samples of 4 transects into the Brazil, the Guinea, and the Cape Basins. We present a new (paleo-) oceanographic tool, namely the Globigerina bulloides dissolution index (BDX). Further, we give evidence (a) for progressive G. bulloides ultrastructural breakdown with increasing carbonate dissolution even above the lysocline; (b) for a sharp BDX increase at the sedimentary lysocline; and (c) for the total absence of this species at the CCD. BDX puts us in the position to distinguish the upper open ocean and the upwelling influenced continental margin above from the deep ocean below the sedimentary lysocline. Carbonate ion data from water column samples, calcite weight percentage data from surface sediment samples, and carbonate/carbon weight percentage ratio appear to be good proxies to confirm BDX. As shown by BDX both the calcite saturation horizon (in the water column) and the sedimentary lysocline (at the sediment–water interface) mark the boundary between the carbonate ion undersaturated and highly corrosive Antarctic Bottom Water and the carbonate ion saturated North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) of the modern South Atlantic.     

Variations in bottom water activity at the southern Argentine margin: indications from a seismic analysis of a continental slope terrace

Continental slope terraces at the southern Argentine margin are part of a significant contourite depositional system composed of a variety of drifts, channels, and sediment waves. Here, a refined seismostratigraphic model for the sedimentary development of the Valentin Feilberg Terrace located in ~4.1?km water depth is presented. Analyzing multichannel seismic profiles across and along this terrace, significant changes in terrace morphology and seismic reflection character are identified and interpreted to reflect variations in deep water hydrography from Late Miocene to recent times, involving variable flow of Antarctic Bottom Water and Circumpolar Deep Water. A prominent basin-wide aggradational seismic unit is interpreted to represent the Mid-Miocene climatic optimum (~17?C14?Ma). A major current reorganization can be inferred for the time ~14?C12?Ma when the Valentin Feilberg Terrace started growing due to the deposition of sheeted and mounded drifts. After ~12?Ma, bottom water flow remained vigorous at both margins of the terrace. Another intensification of bottom flow occurred at ~5?C6?Ma when a mounded drift, moats, and sediment waves developed on the terrace. This may have been caused by a general change in deep water mass organization following the closure of the Panamanian gateway, and a subsequent stronger southward flow of North Atlantic Deep Water.     

The deep waters from the Southern Ocean at the entry to the Argentine Basin

Hydrographic data from the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) and South Atlantic Ventilation Experiment (SAVE) in the region of transition between the Scotia Sea and the Argentine Basin are examined to determine the composition of the deep water from the Southern Ocean that enters the Atlantic, and to describe the pathways of its constituents. The deep current that flows westward against the Falkland Escarpment is formed of several superposed velocity cores that convey waters of different origins: Lower Circumpolar Deep Water (LCDW), Southeast Pacific Deep Water (SPDW), and Weddell Sea Deep Water (WSDW).Different routes followed by the WSDW upstream of, and through, the Georgia Basin, lead to distinctions between the Lower-WSDW (σ₄>46.09) and the Upper-WSDW (46.04<σ₄ <46.09). The Lower-WSDW flows along the South Sandwich Trench, then cyclonically in the main trough of the Georgia Basin. Although a fraction escapes northward to the Argentine Basin, a comparison of the WOCE data with those from previous programmes shows that this component had disappeared from the southwestern Argentine Basin in 1993/1994. This corroborates previous results using SAVE and pre-SAVE data. A part of the Upper-WSDW, recognizable from different θ–S characteristics, flows through the Scotia Sea, then in the Georgia Basin along the southern front of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Northward leakage at this front is expected to feed the Argentine Basin through the northern Georgia Basin. The SPDW is originally found to the south of the Polar Front (PF) in Drake Passage. The northward veering of this front allows this water to cross the North Scotia Ridge at Shag Rocks Passage. It proceeds northward to the Argentine Basin around the Maurice Ewing Bank. The LCDW at the Falkland Escarpment is itself subdivided in two cores, of which only the denser one eventually underrides the North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) in the Atlantic Ocean. This fraction is from the poleward side of the PF in Drake Passage. It also crosses the North Scotia Ridge at Shag Rocks Passage, then flows over the Falkland Plateau into the Atlantic. The lighter variety, from the northern side of the PF, is thought to cross the North Scotia Ridge at a passage around 55°W. It enters the Argentine Basin in the density range of the NADW.     

Sediment failures and flows in the Gulf of Cadiz (eastern Atlantic)

Several types of sediment failures in the Gulf of Cadiz were observed using multibeam bathymetry, acoustic imagery and high-resolution seismic. These instabilities are mainly sediment failures and flows. Their width and length vary from 1 to more than 10 km. The failures are mainly related to high sedimentation rates, particularly in places where the Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW) spills over, such as channel bends and the outer side of the giant contourite levee. Steep slopes are also a trigger for failure at the continental shelf-slope transition, on valley sides, on canyon flanks, and on the sides of bathymetric highs. Other mass movements are related to fluid escape (mud volcanoes) and earthquakes. In areas where the MOW flows along the seafloor, the constant shearing and related erosion can add to the overall stresses. The frequency of failures can be estimated using the deposits resulting of their distal transformations into turbidites.     

The Sediment Source and Transport Trends around the Abandoned Yellow River Delta,China

Sediment source and transport trends are influenced by various hydrodynamic factors, and thus play important roles in sedimentary evolution and coastal stability. To examine sediment transport trends around the abandoned Yellow River delta promontory and its erosion mechanism, we employ empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis to study sedimentary characteristics and transport trends of the abandoned Yellow River delta in northern Jiangsu Province, China. The results showed that: (1) the main sediment source in the abandoned Yellow River delta is the submarine coastal slope and both sides of the abandoned Yellow River Delta; (2) the main hydrodynamics controlling sediment transport is the current that runs along the shore, coupled with waves, especially southward currents; (3) the sediment of the study area was redistributed under hydrodynamics; coarse sediments were eroded and broadly transported to the south. Therefore, it is concluded that the sediment sources and transport have important influence on coastal evolution: the sediment source area shows mass loss of deposits and erosion; deposits in the submarine coastal slope provide the source and were continuously eroded to provide materials to other places as a sediment source.     

南海深海盆地沉积柱样中的浊流沉积

本文根据南海深海盆地三个沉积柱样的粒度结构、地球化学、微体古生物等特征分析,深讨了南海深海盆地细粒沉积物的浊积现象。结果表明,位于南海北部陆架斜坡上KL37孔的浊流沉积现象并不明显;位于陆架斜坡和深海盆地交界处的KL29孔存在着大量的浊积层,属于浊流沉积和半远洋沉积环境;位于南海盆地中部的KL91孔虽然已属于远洋性沉积环境,但除出现火山灰沉积外,浊流沉积作用仍然是相当活跃的。     

Holocene shelf-coastal sedimentary systems associated with the Changjiang River：An overview

The fate of the terrestrial sediment supplied by rivers is a critical issue for understanding the patterns of Holocene environmental change on continental shelves. The East China Sea is a typical broad continental shelf with abundant sediment supply from large rivers. Here, a variety of sedimentary records were formed during the Holocene period. The sedimentary systems associated with these records have unique charac- teristics in terms of spatial distribution, material composition, deposition rate and the timing of deposition, which are related to active sediment transport processes induced by tides and waves, shelf circulations and sediment gravity flows. The sedimentary records thus formed are high resolution slices, i.e., each record has a temporal resolution of up to 10~-10-1 a, but only covers a limited part of the Holocene time. In terms of the spatial distribution, these records are scattered over a large area on the shelf. Further studies of these systems are required to understand the underlying process-product relationships. In particular, the mid- Holocene coastal deposits on the Jiangsu coast, the early to middle Holocene sequences of the Hangzhou Bay, as well as the Holocene mud deposits off the Zhejiang-Fujian coasts, should be investigated in terms of the material supply （from both seabed reworking during the sea level rise event and river discharges）, transport-accumulation processes, the sediment sequences and the future evolution of the sedimentary systems. Advanced numerical modeling techniques should be developed to meet the needs of these studies.     

Morphologic signatures in submarine canyons and gullies,central USA Atlantic continental margins

The accumulation of bathymetric and seismic data on many continental margins has provided valuable new insights into variability of seascape morphology. The present challenge is in finding appropriate manners to characterise that morphology so that variations between areas and between potential influences can be recorded. In this paper, we employ hypsometry (area-elevation analysis) and present parameters derived from 65 hypsometric curves which represent distinct slope-basin shapes, based on data from the central USA Atlantic continental slope. The distinction of morphologic signatures has derived from the statistical moments, such as skewness and kurtosis, in describing the hypsometric curves of the submarine basins. Moreover, basin geometry in planview and network structure, have shown to be remarkably well reflected in the shape of the hypsometric curve. Based on the combined analysis of morphology and submarine processes and scenarios, we propose that concave hypsometry is characteristic of trellis networks that probably initiated by sporadic erosion by sedimentary flows, spilling over the shelf edge. The convex hypsometry that characterises poor- to well- developed dendritic networks, heading at or below the shelf break, is attributed to retrograde erosion and sediment fallout events, respectively. These results present initial step in helping to infer submarine processes from morphology, and provide initial information about the environmental scenarios for areas where the erosional record is unknown.     

Distribution and morphology of large submarine sediment slides and slumps on Atlantic continental margins

Abstract

Numerous large sediment slides and slumps have been discovered and surveyed on the continental margins of Northwest Africa, Southwest Africa, Brazil (Amazon Cone), the Mediterranean, the Gulf of Mexico, and North America over the past 10 years. The mass movements are of two primary types: (1) translational slides, and (2) rotational slumps. Translational slides are characterized by a slide scar and a downslope zone of debris flows, after traveling in some areas for several hundreds of kilometers on slopes of less than 0.5°. Rotational slumps are bounded by steep scarps, but they do not involve large‐scale translation of sediments, although seismic records indicate disturbance in the down‐dropped block. Many of the slides and slumps have occurred in water depths greater than 2000 m on initial slopes of less than 1.5°. The largest slide so far discovered is off Spanish Sahara; in this case, the slide scar is 18,000 km² in area, at least 600 km³ in volume of translated sediments. No apparent consistent relationship has yet been observed between the presence of the slides and the sedimentary environment in which they occurred. The slides off Southwest Africa and Spanish Sahara occurred in pelagic sediments rich in planktonic organic matter. In contrast, the slides off North America, Senegal‐Mauritania, and Brazil (Amazon Cone) occurred in sediments containing a high percentage of terrigenous material from nearby landmasses. Large sediment slides have also occurred in pelagic sediments on isolated oceanic rises such as the Madeira Rise (East‐Central Atlantic) and the Ontong‐Java Plateau (Pacific), where sedimentation rates are less than 2 cm/1000 years. The failure mechanism of the slides initiated near the shelf edge can probably be explained by sediment overloading during low glacio‐eustatic sea level, which allowed rivers to debouch sediments directly onto the outer shelf or upper slope. Possible mechanisms of failure of the deepwater slides and slumps include earthquakes, undercutting of the slope by bottom currents, and changes in porewater pressures induced as a direct or indirect result of glacio‐eustatic changes in sea level.     

The Rockall Bank Mass Flow: Collapse of a moated contourite drift onlapping the eastern flank of Rockall Bank,west of Ireland

The Rockall Bank Mass Flow (RBMF) is a large, multi-phase submarine slope failure and mass flow complex. It is located in an area where the Feni Drift impinges upon the eastern flank of the Rockall Bank in the NE Atlantic. A 6100 km² region of slope failure scarps, extending over a wide water depth range and with individual scarps reaching up to 22 km long and 150 m high, lies upslope of a series of mass flow lobes that cover at least 18,000 km² of the base of slope and floor of the Rockall Trough. The downslope lobe complex has a negative topographic relief along much of its northern boundary, being inset below the level of the undisplaced contourite drift at the base of slope. The southern margin is topographically more subtle but is marked by the sharp termination of sediment waves outside the lobe. Within the lobe complex the southern margin of the largest lobe shows a positive relief along its southern margin. The initial failure is suggested to have occurred along coherent layer-parallel detachment surfaces at depths of up to 100 m and this promoted initial downslope block sliding which in turn transformed into debris flows which moved out into the basin. The remains of a deep erosional moat linked to the onlapping contourite complex bisects the region of failed slope, and post-failure thermohaline currents have continued to modify the mass flow in this area. Differential sedimentation and erosion associated with the moat may have promoted slope instability. Following the major failure phase, continuous readjustments of the slope occurred and resulted in small-volume turbidites found in shallow gravity cores collected on the lobes. The short term trigger for the failure remains uncertain but earthquake events associated with a deep-seated tectonic lineament to the north of the mass flow may have been important. A Late Pleistocene age for the slope failure is likely. The RBMF is unusual in that it records large-scale collapse of a contourite body that impinged on a sediment-undersupplied slope system. Unlike many other large slope failure complexes along the NE Atlantic margin, the RBMF occurs in a region where there was little overloading by glacial sediment.     

花东盆地晚中新世以来沉积演化特征

利用近年来在台湾东部海域采集的多道地震和多波速测深资料，对该海域花东海盆区晚中新世以来的沉积充填演化特征进行描述和分析。通过对花东海盆区域地形特征描述、层序地层格架的建立和地震剖面的解译，在本区晚中新世以来的沉积充填中刻画出6种典型地震相类型，并分析其对应的沉积相类型，包括浊积扇、浊积水道充填、块体流、沉积物波、海底峡谷－伴生沉积物滑塌变形－充填、深水扇沉积。结合地震相平面分布及垂向沉积相叠置关系，将晚中新世－第四纪沉积充填演化划分为3个阶段:晚中新世晚期开始受到块体流冲蚀阶段，到海底峡谷冲刷－沉积物失稳－峡谷充填－再侵蚀阶段，到峡谷输送的大量沉积物在上新世以来主要堆积发育了沉积物波、浊积扇、深水扇等沉积体系阶段。