Analysis of past seafloor failures on the continental slope off Nice (SE France)

Three types of failure are present on the continental slope off Nice: superficial slumping, deep-seated failure, and gullying of the canyon walls. Only deep-seated failures displace large sediment volumes and represent an important geological hazard. Triggering mechanisms for failure are variable and include earthquake loading, undercutting, and increasing pore pressure through sediment loading. A combination of failure type, depositional setting, and triggering mechanism suggests six different failure scenarios that have to be taken into account if geotechnical modeling is to reproduce the variability and pattern of seafloor failure of Nice. Received: 21 August 1998 / Revision received: 24 March 1999