Migration–aggradation history and 3-D seismic geomorphology of submarine channels in the Pleistocene Benin-major Canyon,western Niger Delta slope

Several laterally offset and aggradational sinuous submarine channels are contained within a 54 km long segment of the Benin-major Canyon. Axial channel deposits produce high amplitude reflections on three-dimensional (3-D) seismic profiles. Some seismic reflections have U- or V-shaped cross-sectional motifs that were correlated with confidence along linear to meandering paths for distances up to 70 km. They are referred to here as channel-forms (CFs), and are believed to be the axial parts of submarine channels preserved during overall channel floor aggradation. A total of 15 separate CFs were mapped allowing thalweg-gradients, dimensions, and morphology to be studied spatially and through time, providing insight into how submarine canyons fill. Their planform geometry evolved predominantly in a stepwise fashion through alternating periods of cut-and-fill, but more gradual channel migrations are also observed. The largest offsets in successive channel floor position occur after periods of significant vertical CF fill (‘thalweg plugging’—with deposits commonly consisting of lower amplitude, transparent to chaotic seismic reflections). The passage of erosive flows after such periods of fill caused abrupt shifts in channel position, particularly at meander bends, with increased potential for the formation of pseudo meander loop cut-offs. Significant spatial differences in the stacking architecture of CFs are attributed to local slope deformation and perhaps also to a recent channel avulsion just west of the study area. Abrupt channel straightening in the western study area coincides with a period of increased valley-gradient associated with amplification of an underlying anticlinal fold. The youngest CFs in this area show limited aggradation and are characterized by repeated episodes of headward erosion causing knickpoint migration as the recent channel floor tried, unsuccessfully, to establish a smooth graded depth profile. This is in stark contrast to the time-equivalent predominantly aggradational CFs in the eastern study area that show a progressive increase in sinuosity through time.     

The influence of flow parameters on turbidite slope channel architecture

Turbidite slope channels are analogous to fluvial channels in that they tend towards graded equilibrium profiles. The gap between the equilibrium profile and the actual sediment surface defines the accommodation, and it is the creation or removal of accommodation that governs the architectural style of turbidite channels on the slope. The factors that determine the tangent to the profile at a given point are the flow density, the flow thickness and the maximum settling velocity (a proxy for grain-size) of suspended sediment. These factors combine in a simple hydraulic relationship that illustrates how changes in these parameters affect the equilibrium gradient. In concept, graded channels behave like many sinuous fluvial systems in that the channels migrate laterally with little or no aggradation. Decrease in flow density or thickness, or increase in grain-size steepens the gradient and creates accommodation, allowing channels to aggrade. In fact without changes in other factors such as base level, channel aggradation should only occur when flow properties change. Increase in flow density or thickness, or decrease in grain-size reduce the gradient and remove accommodation, leading to erosional channels. Both long and short term changes tend from erosional to aggradational, with a tendency towards smaller and perhaps muddier flows with time.     

Knickpoint migration in submarine channels in response to fold growth,western Niger Delta

Several knickpoints have been identified along the present-day thalweg of a sinuous submarine channel–levee system (CLS) on the slope of the western Niger Delta using 3D seismic data. The knickpoints form as a result of gradient changes caused by the uplift of a thrust and fold belt orthogonal to the CLS. The channel gradient is lower locally upstream of folds causing turbidity currents within the channel to decelerate and deposit the coarsest sediment load. The basinward dipping fold limb causes local steepening of the gradient, which leads to increased flow velocity and turbulence within the turbidity currents. This enhances erosion at the base of the channel and leads to the formation of a knickpoint. If preserved, e.g., as a result of channel avulsion or abandonment, the deposits upstream of the knickpoints could constitute an important hydrocarbon reservoir element. They can, however, also be partially eroded by headward-migrating knickpoints, as the channel strives to regain its equilibrium profile, leaving remnant sand pockets preserved on channel margins. Although knickpoints are difficult to recognise from subsurface seismic or outcrop data, it is anticipated that they can form at any stage of the evolution of a channel–levee system and may be particularly important in controlling 3D channel architecture where channels intersect dynamically changing seabed bathymetry.     

A review of sinuous channel avulsion patterns in some major deep-sea fans and factors controlling them

This paper reviews side-scan sonar, multi- and single-beam echo-sounder, and high-resolution seismic reflection data, and discusses the anatomy and patterns of the most recent sinuous channel avulsions in the Amazon, Zaire, Indus and Bengal Fans, all located along passive continental margins and all fed by major river systems. Channel patterns formed by fore- (seaward) or back- (landward) stepping avulsions are common in the western Amazon Fan and in the Northern and Axial Zaire Fan. However, channels in the Indus and Bengal Fans, and in the Southern Zaire Fan, appear to form radial patterns, with most of the main avulsions having occurred in relatively restricted areas (avulsion nodes).High degrees of development of channel instabilities or avulsion-threshold conditions (e.g. channel sinuosity increase and lengthening, channel thalweg aggradation, differential channel fill and decrease in channel relief, slumping and channel plugging, bank cohesion), and increased peak volumes and speeds of turbidity currents, determined where avulsions occurred in the fan channels. During the Late Quaternary intervals considered here, several global sea-level falls and rises occurred and these, along with climatic changes, are likely to have influenced sediment-gravity flows and may have thus timed many, if not all, significant avulsions. However, available data do not allow documentation of this timing in many cases.The main differences between fan areas with (1) fore-and back-stepping and (2) radial channel avulsion patterns are that, in the former case, fan gradients are steeper with frequent slope breaks, and channel thalweg aggradation occurs along much of the depositional profile. In the latter case, downdip of avulsion nodes, fan gradients are either flat or possibly have no breaks, and channels are incised below the fan surface with no thalweg aggradation in the middle and lower fan regions. These characteristics may have caused differences in avulsion-triggering turbidity flow volumes and avulsion threshold conditions that, in turn, may have resulted in different channel avulsion patterns.     

Architecture of turbidite channel systems on the continental slope: Patterns and predictions

The study of many slope channel systems has led to the development of rules in the form of observations, measurements, and hypotheses. For example, we hypothesize that high abandonment relief can strongly influence the location of the subsequent channel element and will result in an organized channel stacking pattern in which the path of the younger channel element approximates the path of the former element. The rules were developed with the objective of constructing forward models of petroleum reservoirs that are internally consistent, reproducible, and quantifiable. Channelized turbidite deposits can be interpreted to be the product of multiple cycles of waxing-waning flow energy at multiple scales. Systematic changes in the volume and caliber of turbidity flows through time trigger a fall of the equilibrium profile, which drives erosion and sediment bypass across the slope, followed by a rise of the equilibrium profile, which allows deposition on the slope of increasingly mud-rich sediments through time. In most turbidite successions, at least three scales of waxing-waning cyclicity can be interpreted: element, complex set, and sequence. The stacking pattern of channel elements within a complex set-scale cycle tends to be sequential: (1) erosion and sediment bypass; (2) amalgamation of channel elements associated with a low rate of aggradation; (3) a disorganized stacking pattern of channel elements associated with a moderate rate of aggradation; and (4) an organized stacking pattern of channel elements associated with a high rate of aggradation. Stages 1 and 2 may be absent or minor in mud-rich systems but prominent in sand-rich systems. Conversely, stage 4 may be prominent in mud-rich systems but absent in sand-rich systems. Event-based forward modeling, utilizing rules, can produce realistic architectures, such as the four stages described above. Multiple realizations and multiple alternative models can be constructed to quantitatively examine the probability of specific parameters of interest such as pore volume and connectivity.     

Controls on turbidite sand deposition during gravity-driven extension of a passive margin: examples from Miocene sediments in Block 4, Angola

In recent years, exploration of the Lower Congo Basin in Angola has focused on the Neogene turbidite sand play of the Malembo Formation. Gravity tectonics has played an important role during deposition of the Malembo Formation and has imparted a well-documented structural style to the post-rift sediments. An oceanward transition from thin-skinned extension through mobile salt and eventually to thin-skinned compressional structures characterises the post-rift sediments. There has been little discussion, however, regarding the influence of these structures on the deposition of the Malembo Formation turbidite sands. Block 4 lies at the southern margin of the Lower Congo Basin and is dominated by the thin-skinned extensional structural style. Using a multidisciplinary approach we trace the post-rift structural and stratigraphic evolution of this block to study the structural controls on Neogene turbidite sand deposition.In the Lower Congo Basin the transition from terrestrial rift basin to fully marine passive margin is recorded by late Aptian evaporites of the Loeme Formation. Extension of the overlying post-rift sequences has occurred where the Loeme Formation has been utilised as a detachment surface for extensional faults. Since the late Cretaceous, the passive margin sediments have moved down-slope on the Loeme detachment. This history of gravity-driven extension is recorded in the post-rift sediments of Block 4. Extension commenced in the Albian in the east of the block and migrated westwards with time. In the west, the extension occurred mainly in the Miocene and generated allochthonous fault blocks or “rafts”, separated by deep grabens. The Miocene extension occurred in two main phases with contrasting slip vectors; in the early Miocene the extension vector was to the west, switching to southwest-directed extension in the late Miocene. Early Miocene faults and half-grabens trend north–south whereas late Miocene structures trend northwest–southeast. The contrast in slip vectors between these two phases emphasises the differences in driving mechanisms: the early Miocene faulting was driven by basinward tilting of the passive margin, but gravity loading due to sedimentary progradation is considered the main driver for the late Miocene extension. The geological evolution of the late Miocene grabens is consistent with southwest-directed extension due to southwest progradation of the Congo fan.High-resolution biostratigraphic data identifies the turbidite sands in Block 4 as early Miocene (17.5–15.5 Ma) and late Miocene (10.5–5.5 Ma) in age. Deposition of these sands occurred during the two main phases of gravity-driven extension. Conditions of low sedimentation rates relative to high fault displacement rates were prevalent in the early Miocene. Seafloor depressions were generated in the hangingwalls of the main extensional faults, ultimately leading to capture of the turbidity currents. Lower Miocene turbidite sand bodies therefore trend north–south, parallel to the active faults. Cross-faults and relay ramps created local topographic highs capable of deflecting turbidite flows within the half grabens. Flow-stripping of turbidity currents across these features caused preferential deposition of sands across, and adjacent to, the highs. Turbidite sands deposited in the early part of the late Miocene were influenced by both the old north–south fault trends and by the new northwest–southeast fault trends. By latest Miocene times turbidite channels crosscut the active northwest–southeast-trending faults. These latest Miocene faults had limited potential to capture turbidity currents because the associated hangingwall grabens were rapidly filled as pro-delta sediments of the Congo fan prograded across the area from the northeast.     

Topographic steering of dense overflows: Laboratory experiments with V-shaped ridges and canyons

Topographic corrugations such as canyons and ridges cross-cutting the path of a dense plume may effectively steer all or part of the plume downslope. Here, topographically steered flows are investigated experimentally, as laminar, dense gravity currents are observed to impinge on and flow along sloping, V-shaped canyons and ridges. Ridges, as well as canyons, were observed to steer the dense water downslope. A dynamical regime, in which the along-slope transport is balanced by a return flow in the Ekman layer to maintain a geostrophically balanced downslope flow along the corrugation, has been proposed. Results from a previously published analytical model describing such flows are compared with the laboratory experiments. The response of the flow to variations in four governing parameters (slope, rotation, volume flux and reduced gravity) is generally described well by the model and results agree qualitatively, although theory slightly underestimates the dense layer thickness. Vertical velocity profiles resolving the Ekman spiral were obtained using a laser Doppler velocimeter and they showed the secondary, transverse circulation superimposed on the primary, downslope flow. A particle flowing down the canyon/along the ridge can be expected to follow a helix-like path, and dye released within the dense layer showed this. The experiments support the analytical model and the dynamical regime proposed for topographically steered flows. The gravity current split in two when the transport capacity of the corrugation was exceeded; one part continued along the slope and the other flowed downslope along the corrugation.     

The deposition of reef-derived sediment upon a bathyal slope: The deep off-reef environment,north of Discovery Bay,Jamaica

The steep submarine slope north of Jamaica was formed as a normal fault scarp during the early rifting of the Cayman Trough. It is overgrown at the top by flourishing reefs, and below these a series of irregular valleys have been cut into the rocks of the slope and run downslope to at least 2,500 m. Cores from these valleys contain thin layers of reef-derived sands interbedded with pelagic muds of Quaternary age. Cores from topographically high areas recovered only pelagic muds. It is shown that bottom currents and turbidity currents are both unlikely to have been the agencies responsible for the deposition of the reef-derived sands, but that they were probably emplaced by either free avalanching or by sand flow.     

Depositional processes and stratigraphic architecture within a coarse-grained rift-margin turbidite system: The Wollaston Forland Group,east Greenland

The Wollaston Forland Basin, NE Greenland, is a half-graben with a Middle Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous basin-fill. In this outcrop study we investigate the facies, architectural elements, depositional environments and sediment delivery systems of the deep marine syn-rift succession. Coarse-grained sand and gravel, as well as large boulders, were emplaced by rock-falls, debris flows and turbulent flows sourced from the immediate footwall. The bulk of these sediments were point-sourced and accumulated in a system of coalescing fans that formed a clastic wedge along the boundary fault system. In addition, this clastic wedge was supplied by a sand-rich turbidite system that is interpreted to have entered the basin axially, possibly via a prominent relay ramp within the main fault system. The proximal part of the clastic wedge consists of a steeply dipping, conformable succession of thick-bedded deposits from gravity flows that transformed down-slope from laminar to turbulent flow behaviour. Pervasive scour-and-fill features are observed at the base of the depositional slope of the clastic wedge, c. 5 km into the basin. These scour-fills are interpreted to have formed from high-density turbulent flows that were forced to decelerate and likely became subject to a hydraulic jump, forming plunge pools at the base of slope. The distal part of the wedge represents a basin plain environment and is characterised by a series of crude fining upward successions that are interpreted to reflect changes in the rate of accommodation generation and sediment supply, following from periodic increases in fault activity. This study demonstrates how rift basin physiography directly influences the behaviour of gravity flows. Conceptual models for the stratigraphic response to periodic fault activity, and the transformation and deposition of coarse-grained gravity flows in a deep water basin with strong contrasts in slope gradients, are presented and discussed.     

Delgada Fan: Preliminary interpretation of channel development

The Delgada Fan, an irregularly shaped turbidite deposit extending more than 350 km offshore from northern California, consists of two large leveed-valley units each fed by a separate complex of coalescing submarine canyons and slope gullies. Although the leveed-valley units head within 25 km of each other, both appear to have developed independently during fan growth. The larger southern leveed-valley system has not developed middle-fan distributary channels and appears to illustrate a period of progressive valley abandonment. Although the lower-fan area is underlain by sandy sediments, little sand has been recovered in piston cores from the leveed-valley unit. Margin setting represents fan and/or source area     

Forearc structures and tectonics in the southern Peru—northern Chile Continental Margin

SeaMARC II side-scan images, bathymetry, and single-channel seismic reflection data along the southern Peru—northern Chile forearc area between 16° and 23° S reveal a complex region of morpho-structural, submarine drainage and depression patterns. In the subducting plate area, the NW—SE trending primary normal fault system represented by trench-paralleled scarps was incipiently formed as the Nazca Plate was bent in the outer edge and further intensified as the plate approached the trench. The NE—SW trending secondary normal fault system that consists of discontinuous and smaller faults, usually intersect the primary trench-paralleled fault system. Similar to the Nazca Plate, the overriding continental plate also shows two major NW—SE and NE—SW trending fault systems represented by fault scarps or narrow elongated depressions.The submarine drainage systems represented by a series of canyon and channel courses appear to be partly controlled by the faults and exhibit a pattern similar to the onshore drainage which flows into the central region of the coastal area. Two large depressions occurring along the middle—upper slope areas of the continental margin are recognized as collapse and slump that perhaps are a major result of increased slope gradient. The subsidence of the forearc area in the southern Peru—northern Chile Continental Margin is indicated by: a) drainage systems flowing into the central region, b) the slope collapse and slumps heading to the central region, c) the deepening of the trench and inclining of the lower slope terrace to the central region, and d) submerging of the upper-slope ridge and the Peru—Chile Coast Range off the Arica Bight area.The subsidence of the forearc area in the southern Perunorthern Chile margin is probably attributed to a subduction erosion which causes wearing away and removal of the rock and sedimentary masses of the overriding plate as the Nazca Plate subducts under the South American Plate.     

Modes of development of slope canyons and their relation to channel and levee features on the Ebro sediment apron, off-shore northeastern Spain

Six submarine slope canyons in an area of the northwestern Mediterranean, offshore from the Ebro River and Delta, were surveyed with bathymetric swathmapping (SeaBeam) and mid-range side-looking sonar (SeaMARC I). All of the canyons have slightly winding paths with concave-upwards gradients that are relatively steep shallower than 1,200 m. Two major types of canyons are identified on the basis of their morphologic character at the base of the slope; Type-I canyons lead to an unchannelled base-of-slope deposit and Type-II canyons are continuous with channel-levee systems that cross the rise.Four Type-I canyons were surveyed in the area. Two of these are broad, U-shaped, steep (average gradients of 1:14), do not indent the shelf, and terminate downslope at debris-flow deposits. These two canyons, the most northern in the area, have rounded heads with extensive gullies separated by knife-edge ridges. Relief of the canyon walls is about equal on both sides of the canyons, although the right-hand walls (looking downslope) are generally steeper. The other two Type-I canyons in the area are similar in that they do not indent the shelf, but they are much smaller and shallower and coalesce before terminating in the base-of-slope region. The two Type-II canyons that feed leveed-channels are U-shaped with flatter floors, longer profiles and gentler gradients than Type-I canyons. They are closer to the Valencia Valley and have relatively small cross-sectional areas.We propose a four-stage evolutionary sequence to explain the development of the canyons observed in this section on the prograding Ebro margin. During the initial stage, slumping and erosion on the slope creates a network of small gullies. During the next stage, headward growth of one (or more) gully leads to a major indentation of the shelf. This is the critical factor for developing a channel that will incise the slope and provide a major conduit for moving sediment to the basin. Stage 3 is characterized by the development of a continuous channel accompanied by levee growth across the lobe. In the final stage, the channel-levee system becomes inactive either through destruction by mass wasting, infilling of the channel, or loss of the major sediment source.     

Sediment distribution in Akhziv Canyon off northern Israel

Akhziv Canyon is one of a series of submarine canyons incised into the continental margin of the northern Levant. The Canyon is steep and sinuous, bounded by precipitous walls. Located off northern Israel, the Canyon was recently surveyed by a series of submarine video observations that show that both the thalweg and the walls are covered by ubiquitous apron of silty clay. Evidence for downslope sediment mass movement was encountered only in places. Earlier studies show that the silty clay is of Nilotic origin. Since the northern Levant margin has not been a part of the Nile sedimentary cell since the Pleistocene, the widespread Nilotic sediments indicate that the Quaternary sedimentary processes in the area differ considerably from the Neogene depositional regime.     

Submarine canyons on the north of Chiwei Island:influenced by recent extension of the southern Okinawa Trough

Based on new multibeam bathymetric data and about 300 km long single seismic profiles, three topographic units were identified： the canyons, fractural valley and submarine terrace on the north of Chiwei Island where is a structural transition zone between the southern trough and the middle trough. The Chiwei Canyon and the North Chiwei Canyon are two of the largest canyons in the East China Sea （ECS） slope. Topographic features and architectures of them are described. The study shows that both of them are originated along faults. The evolution and spatial distribution of topographic units in the study area are controlled mainly by three groups of faults which were formed and reactive in the recent extensional phase of Okinawa Trough. The Chiwei Canyon was initia- ted during the middle Pleistocene and guided by F4 that is a N--S trending fault on the slope and F1, a large NW--SE trending fault on the trough. The pathway migration from the remnant channel to the present one of Chiwei Canyon is the result of uplift of tilted fault block that is coupled to the recent extension movements of the southern trough. The submarine terrace is detached from the ECS slope by the NEE -trending fault. The North Chiwei Canyon, developing during the late Pleistocene, is guided by FS, a N-S trending fault, diverted and blocked by the submarine terrace.     

Submarine canyons on the north of Chiwei Island: influenced by recent extension of the southern Okinawa Trough

Based on new multibeam bathymetric data and about 300 km long single seismic profiles, three topographic units were identified:the canyons, fractural valley and submarine terrace on the north of Chiwei Island where is a structural transition zone between the southern trough and the middle trough. The Chiwei Canyon and the North Chiwei Canyon are two of the largest canyons in the East China Sea (ECS) slope. Topographic features and architectures of them are described. The study shows that both of them are originated along faults. The evolution and spatial distribution of topographic units in the study area are controlled mainly by three groups of faults which were formed and reactive in the recent extensional phase of Okinawa Trough. The Chiwei Canyon was initiated during the middle Pleistocene and guided by F4 that is a N-S trending fault on the slope and F1, a large NW-SE trending fault on the trough. The pathway migration from the remnant channel to the present one of Chiwei Canyon is the result of uplift of tilted fault block that is coupled to the recent extension movements of the southern trough. The submarine terrace is detached from the ECS slope by the NEE-trending fault. The North Chiwei Canyon, developing during the late Pleistocene, is guided by F5, a N-S trending fault, diverted and blocked by the submarine terrace.     

Shallow-water longshore drift-fed submarine fan deposition (Moisie River Delta, Eastern Canada)

Submarine canyons and associated submarine fans are in some cases located at the end of a littoral cell where they act as conduits for the transfer of eroded terrigenous sediments to the marine environment. Such fans are generally found in deep-water settings at >500 m water depth. Offshore the Moisie River Delta (NW Gulf of St. Lawrence, Eastern Canada), high-resolution multibeam bathymetry and seismic data led to the discovery of an unusually shallow submarine fan (≤60 m) located at the end of a littoral cell. Sediment is transported westward on the shallow coastal shelf, as demonstrated by the downcurrent displacement of oblique nearshore sandbars where the shelf narrows to less than 1 km. The steep slope near the end of the littoral cell is incised by a channel that feeds a submarine fan composed of smaller channels and depositional lobes. According to existing Holocene evolution models for the region, the fan formed within the last 5,000 years. Its evolution is largely due to the transport of sediment by longshore drift. Multibeam echosounder and seismic data also reveal that the gravity-driven accretion of the submarine fan is characterized mainly by two processes, i.e., frequent small-scale, downslope migration of sandwaves on the slope, and more episodic slumping/turbidity-current activity in the deeper part of the fan. This study documents that, besides their common deep-water location, smaller-scale submarine fans can occur also in very shallow water, implying that they could be more frequent than previously thought both in modern environments and in the rock record.     

琼东南盆地陆坡区深水浊积水道的地震相特征

水道-天然堤体系作为油气储集圈闭日益引起沉积学家和勘探家的重视。地震相特征是识别深水水道的有效途径,本文基于高分辨率2D、3D地震资料的地震相分析,在琼东南盆地陆坡区深水盆地中识别出早中新世、上新世和第四纪多期深水水道体系。早中新世深水水道在地震剖面上具有强、弱振幅交替反射和相互叠置的地震反射特征,局部具有杂乱反射特点;上新世水道整体表现为强振幅,横向上连续或者半连续,纵向上为强振幅的叠加;第四纪水道在地震剖面上具有典型下切反射特点,该水道整体振幅相对较弱,但其水道轴部充填具有典型的强反射特征,这与世界典型地区的水道轴部粗粒充填强振反射一致。这几期深水水道都发育于低水位时期,为上部物源搬运引起的浊流事件而形成。     

Tectonic control over topography and channel sedimentation across the forearc slope of the southern Kurile Trench

A high-resolution seismic survey covering more than 2,000 km² has revealed the processes responsible for the slope morphology and channel sedimentation across the forearc slope-basin of the Kurile Arc–NE Japan Arc collision zone, offshore from Tokachi (Hokkaido, Japan). The dominant slope contours parallel the trench but, in the middle and lower reaches of the southern slope, contours are convex-shaped with an offshore trend. This sector of the slope is traversed diagonally by the Hiroo submarine channel. The offshore-trending convex contours and the channel course have developed through the interplay of tectonic and sedimentary processes, including the development of anticlines, anticline-induced lobe sedimentation and channel avulsion. In its upper reaches, the channel is restricted by a topographic low associated with NNW–SSE-trending anticlines which developed within the upper and middle slope sectors during late Miocene uplift. The uplift timing and trend of these anticlines indicate that they resulted from collision, the channel sedimentology and slope morphology of the middle and lower slopes having been influenced by Pliocene uplift of NE–SW-trending anticlines. The trends of these anticlines parallel those of the Kurile Trench. The Pliocene and early Pleistocene strata of the middle and lower slopes consist of ponded lobe sediments deposited along the palaeo-Hiroo submarine channel on the landward side of the anticlines. As a lobe pile accumulated, the channel thalweg shifted to the north of the stack, allowing the channel to bypass the topographic high formed by the growing stack. Thick levee deposits built up along the channel course during the late Pleistocene and Holocene. These levees, along with the Pliocene and early Pleistocene lobes, are reflected in the present-day sigmoid-shaped, convex offshore-trending contours. Thus, the interplay of subduction- and collision-related anticlines, tectonic-related channel ponding, and avulsion has contributed to the slope morphology of the southern Kurile Trench.     

淤泥质海底航道边坡失稳滑塌声纹特征分析

边坡稳定是淤泥质海底航道安全运营的关键问题之一。海底航道边坡失稳滑塌过程的不同阶段浅地层剖面图像声纹特征不同。采用灰度共生矩阵和小波多尺度分解方法分析了航道边坡失稳滑塌过程浅地层剖面图像纹理特征。结果表明,对比度、能量、相关度和逆差距在边坡失稳滑塌过程中具有明显的差异,分别从不同方面刻画了浅地层剖面图像声纹的清晰度、纹理粗细、主要方向和规则性,以定量的形式显示其内在异质性。能量、相关度和逆差距的水平和垂直方向变化大于对角方向,水平方向波动最明显。浅地层剖面声强时间序列和垂向空间变化序列小波多尺度分解突出了声强变化的局部细节及其在各尺度上变化的强弱分布和突变点位置,克服了常规人工识读的困难,这些声纹特征是边坡失稳滑塌预测预警的重要依据,有助于对海底航道边坡稳定性的探测。     

Transverse infilling of the central Aleutian Trench by unconfined turbidity currents

Holocene sand layers cored from the central Aleutian Trench are dominated by volcaniclastic debris, and the only likely source is the central Aleutian volcanic arc. This creates something of an enigma because bathymetric obstructions seemingly prevent direct delivery of sediment via transverse canyons or channels. Turbidity currents are funneled through submarine canyons on the upper trench slope, but the flows become unconfined as they cross the midslope Aleutian Terrace. Evidently, the turbid flows maintain high enough velocities to climb over the trench-slope break; acceleration down the lower trench slope then allows forearc bypassing to occur without the aid of through-going channels.