Determination of turbidity current erosional characteristics from reworked coccolith assemblages, Canary Basin, north-east Atlantic

Turbidites contain mixtures of sediments of various ages. These sediments can include both material that was eroded to form the initial turbidity current plus additions derived from erosion of the sea floor during transport. It has been possible to interpret the age range of sediments incorporated into individual turbidites from the Madeira Abyssal Plain by examining the proportions of microfossil (coccolith) species that they contain. The pelagic record of coccoliths is well known for the Quaternary period and shows a succession of dominant species or acmes each lasting a few tens of thousand years. Hence, erosion of sediment representing more than a few tens of thousand years will produce coccolith mixtures not seen in the pelagic record, but dependent upon the age range of the sediments that were eroded. This age range can be estimated by comparison with synthetic ratios of coccolith species created by combining ratios of species from successively older layers in the pelagic record. These can then be compared with the ratios found in individual turbidites until a match is found. The results show age ranges of 54–500 kyr for the sediment mixture in seven turbidites from the Madeira Abyssal Plain. Since the volumes of these turbidites are also known, and accumulation rates in their source areas can be estimated, it is possible to determine both the thickness and the area of the eroded sediment mass that generated the turbidity current. Minimum depths of erosion on the north-west African continental margin vary from 8 to 50 m and minimum areas eroded from 1600 to 5800 km². None of the turbidites examined contains a significant excess of surface sediment, suggesting that, once formed, the turbidity currents that transported them were virtually non-erosional, and that they travelled several hundred kilometres in this state.     

Inferring the mass fraction of floc-deposited mud: application to fine-grained turbidites

Fine sediment deposition in the ocean is complicated by the cohesive nature of muds and their tendency to flocculate. The result is disaggregated inorganic grain size (DIGS) distributions of bottom sediment that are influenced by single‐grain and floc deposition. This study outlines a parametric model that characterizes bottom sediment DIGS distributions. Modelled parameters are then used to infer depositional conditions that account for the regional variation in the grain sizes deposited by turbidity currents on the Laurentian Fan–Sohm Abyssal Plain, offshore south‐eastern Canada. Results indicate that, on the channellized Laurentian Fan, the mass fraction of floc‐deposited mud increases only slightly downslope. The small evolution in this fraction arises because sediment concentration and turbulent energy are associated in turbidity currents. On the Sohm Abyssal Plain, however, the mass fraction of floc‐deposited mud decreases, probably as a result of lower sediment concentration at this source‐distal site. Estimates of the mass fraction of mud deposited as flocs suggest that floc deposition is the dominant mode by which sediment is lost from suspension, although single‐grain deposition contributes more to the depositional flux in proximal areas where high energy breaks flocs and in distal areas where low sediment concentration limits floc formation. It is concluded that, throughout the dispersal system, changes in the fraction of flocculated mud deposited from turbidity currents reflect changes in sediment concentration and energy downslope.     

Provenance and pathways of late Quaternary turbidites in the deep-water Agadir Basin,northwest African margin

A series of individual turbidites, correlated over distances >100 km, are present in the recent fill of the Agadir Basin, offshore northwest Africa. The aim here is to unravel multiple turbidite source areas and flow pathways, and show how turbidite provenance studies contribute to interpretation of flow processes. Agadir Basin turbidites are sourced from four main areas, with the majority originating from the siliciclastic Morocco Shelf; their sand-mud distribution is strongly controlled by flow sediment volume, with relatively low-volume flows dying out within the Agadir Basin and large-volume flows bypassing significant sediment volumes to basins further downslope. Two large-volume volcaniclastic turbidites are attributed to a Canary Islands landslide source, while several small mud-dominated turbidites are interpreted to be locally sourced from hemipelagic-draped seamounts (e.g. Turbidite AB10). Finally, Turbidite AB1 (∼1 ka) is only present in the western Agadir Basin, and is linked to recent “re-activation” of the Sahara Slide headwall. The muddy suspension clouds of three large-volume flows, all linked to large-scale landslides, have covered huge areas of seafloor and flowed along or even slightly upslope for long distances. It is proposed that northeastwards-flowing bottom currents have aided transport of these dilute flow fractions into and across the Agadir Basin.     

Rock-magnetic characterization of early, redoxomorphic diagenesis in turbiditic sediments from the Madeira Abyssal Plain

Rock‐magnetic measurements of two sediment cores from the Madeira Abyssal Plain (MAP), north Atlantic, are used to investigate post‐depositional changes in the concentration, grain size and composition of magnetic minerals in the sediments that have occurred within organic‐rich turbidite horizons. The changes are associated with an initial stage of suboxic (reductive) diagenesis, following depletion of porewater O₂, and a later stage of oxidative diagenesis associated with the slow descent of an oxidation front through the sediment, as a result of diffusion of O₂ from the overlying sea water. The turbidites are of late Quaternary age (δ¹⁸O stages 1–3) and derive both from different sites on the NW African continental margin, and from the flanks of the Canary Islands. Thus, the turbidites are variable compositionally, especially in terms of carbonate, detrital magnetic mineral and organic carbon content. Diagenetic changes in these sediments have been identified using solid‐phase geochemical data (U, Mn, C_org and CaCO₃) reported previously in more than one study. Rock‐magnetic parameters of the sediments, when expressed on a carbonate‐free basis, reveal that significant depletion of detrital ferrimagnetic iron (Fe²⁺/Fe³⁺) oxide grains has occurred within organic‐rich turbidites during redoxomorphic diagenesis. Normalized quotients of magnetic parameters also show that reductive diagenesis is a ferrimagnetic grain size‐selective process, but it has a minimal effect on the canted‐antiferromagnetic Fe³⁺ oxides in the sediment. Such components, if present, therefore become relatively enriched in magnetic assemblages as the ferrimagnetic grains are dissolved progressively, and bulk magnetic concentration is thus depleted. There is clear evidence in both cores for the existence of ultrafine ferrimagnetic grains at depth within the suboxic zone of the organic‐rich turbidites, beneath both active and fossil oxidation fronts. These grains are most probably associated with populations of live magnetotactic bacteria, which commonly inhabit such organic‐rich horizons and play a part in the chain of bacterially mediated reactions normally associated with suboxic diagenesis. These results show that simple and rapid rock‐magnetic techniques can be used to characterize early diagenetic processes involving iron phases in deep‐sea sediments, at least as effectively as more laborious, time‐consuming and sample‐destructive geochemical measurements.     

Beds comprising debrite sandwiched within co-genetic turbidite: origin and widespread occurrence in distal depositional environments

Co‐genetic debrite–turbidite beds occur in a variety of modern and ancient turbidite systems. Their basic character is distinctive. An ungraded muddy sandstone interval is encased within mud‐poor graded sandstone, siltstone and mudstone. The muddy sandstone interval preserves evidence of en masse deposition and is thus termed a debrite. The mud‐poor sandstone, siltstone and mudstone show features indicating progressive layer‐by‐layer deposition and are thus called a turbidite. Palaeocurrent indicators, ubiquitous stratigraphic association and the position of hemipelagic intervals demonstrate that debrite and enclosing turbidite originate in the same event. Detailed field observations are presented for co‐genetic debrite–turbidite beds in three widespread sequences of variable age: the Miocene Marnoso Arenacea Formation in the Italian Apennines; the Silurian Aberystwyth Grits in Wales; and Quaternary deposits of the Agadir Basin, offshore Morocco. Deposition of these sequences occurred in similar unchannellized basin‐plain settings. Co‐genetic debrite–turbidite beds were deposited from longitudinally segregated flow events, comprising both debris flow and forerunning turbidity current. It is most likely that the debris flow was generated by relatively shallow (few tens of centimetres) erosion of mud‐rich sea‐floor sediment. Changes in the settling behaviour of sand grains from a muddy fluid as flows decelerated may also have contributed to debrite deposition. The association with distal settings results from the ubiquitous presence of muddy deposits in such locations, which may be eroded and disaggregated to form a cohesive debris flow. Debrite intervals may be extensive (> 26 × 10 km in the Marnoso Arenacea Formation) and are not restricted to basin margins. Such long debris flow run‐out on low‐gradient sea floor (< 0·1°) may simply be due to low yield strength (? 50 Pa) of the debris–water mixture. This study emphasizes that multiple flow types, and transformations between flow types, can occur within the distal parts of submarine flow events.     

The influence of oxic degradation on the sedimentary biomarker record I: evidence from Madeira Abyssal Plain turbidites

Free and ester-bound lipid biomarkers were analysed in oxidised and unoxidised parts of four distinct turbidites from the Madeira Abyssal Plain (MAP), which contained 1 to 2% organic carbon homogeneously distributed throughout the turbidites at the time they were deposited. These turbidites are well suited to study the effects of oxic degradation on lipid biomarkers without the complicating influence of varying organic matter sources, sedimentation rates, or bioturbation. One sample from the oxidised turbidite was compared with two samples from the unoxidised part of each turbidite. Postdepositional oxic degradation decreased concentrations of biomarkers by several orders of magnitude. The ester-bound lipids were degraded to a far lesser extent than their free counterparts were. The extent of degradation of different compounds differed substantially. Within a specific class of biomarkers, degradation also took place to a different extent, altering their distributions. This study shows that oxic degradation of the organic matter may have a profound effect on the biomarker fingerprint and may result in a severe bias in, for example, the interpretation of organic matter sources and the estimation of the palaeoproductivity of specific groups of phytoplankton.     

Timing and distribution of calciturbidites around a deeply submerged carbonate platform in a seismically active setting (Pedro Bank, Northern Nicaragua Rise, Caribbean Sea)

The sedimentological study of thirteen sediment cores from the periplatform setting surrounding Pedro Bank (Northern Nicaragua Rise, Caribbean Sea) shows that during the last 300 ka turbidite deposition is controlled by at least four factors: (1) late Quaternary sea level fluctuations, (2) prolific fine-grained sediment production and export resulting in oversteepening of the upper slope environment, (3) the proximity to the bank margin, and (4) local slope and seafloor morphology. The most intriguing finding of this study is the paucity of turbidites, with only 101 turbidites in 13 cores in this tectonically active setting near the Caribbean plate boundary. Throughout the last 300 ka, the frequency of turbidite input during interglacial stages is three times higher than during glacial stages. Also it is obvious that changes in sea level influence the timing of turbidite deposition. This is especially evident during the transgressions resulting in rapid renewed bank-top flooding, subsequent neritic sediment overproduction, and offbank export. The flooding event during each transgression is usually recorded by the onset of turbidite deposition at various sites along several platform-to-basin transects in down- and upcurrent slope settings. Overall, however, more turbidites are deposited during the regressive rather than the transgressive phases in sea level, probably as a result of sediment reorganisation on the slope resulting in slope failure. Five cores show "highstand bundling" of calciturbidites, i.e. higher number of turbidites during highstands than during lowstands in sea level.     

The formation of large mudwaves by turbidity currents on the levees of the Toyama deep-sea channel, Japan Sea

The development of mudwaves on the levees of the modern Toyama deep‐sea channel has been studied using gravity core samples combined with 3·5‐kHz echosounder data and airgun seismic reflection profiles. The mudwaves have developed on the overbank flanks of a clockwise bend of the channel in the Yamato Basin, Japan Sea, and the mudwave field covers an area of 4000 km². Mudwave lengths range from 0·2 to 3·6 km and heights vary from 2 to 44 m, and the pattern of mudwave aggradation indicates an upslope migration direction. Sediment cores show that the mudwaves consist of an alternation of fine‐grained turbidites and hemipelagites whereas contourites are absent. Core samples demonstrate that the sedimentation rate ranged from 10 to 14 cm ka^?1 on the lee sides to 17–40 cm ka^?1 on the stoss sides. A layer‐by‐layer correlation of the deposits across the mudwaves shows that the individual turbidite beds are up to 20 times thicker on the stoss side than on the lee side, whereas hemipelagite thicknesses are uniform. This differential accretion of turbidites is thought to have resulted in the pattern of upcurrent climbing mudwave crests, which supports the notion that the mudwaves have been formed by spillover turbidity currents. The mudwaves are interpreted to have been instigated by pre‐existing large sand dunes that are up to 30 m thick and were created by high‐velocity (10°ms^?1), thick (c. 500 m) turbidity currents spilling over the channel banks at the time of the maximum uplift of the Northern Japan Alps during the latest Pliocene to Early Pleistocene. Draping of the dunes by the subsequent, lower‐velocity (10^?1ms^?1), mud‐laden turbidity currents is thought to have resulted in the formation of the accretionary mudwaves and the pattern of upflow climbing. The dune stoss slopes are argued to have acted as obstacles to the flow, causing localized loss of flow strength and leading to differential draping by the muddy turbidites, with greater accretion occurring on the stoss side than on the lee slope. The two overbank flanks of the clockwise channel bend show some interesting differences in mudwave development. The mudwaves have a mean height of 9·8 m on the outer‐bank levee and 6·2 m on the inner bank. The turbidites accreted on the stoss sides of the mudwaves are 4–6 times thicker on the outer‐bank levee than their counterparts on the inner‐bank levee. These differences are attributed to the greater flow volume (thickness) and sediment flux of the outer‐bank spillover flow due to the more intense stripping of the turbidity currents at the outer bank of the channel bend. Differential development of mudwave fields may therefore be a useful indicator in the reconstruction of deep‐sea channels and their flow hydraulics.     

Deposition of fine-grained sediments in the abyssal environment of the Algéro-Balearic Basin, Western Mediterranean Sea

Two depositional processes control the mud accumulation on the southern Balearic Abyssal Plain: pelagic settling at a rate of 10 cm/1000 years, and turbidity currents at an average frequency of > 3 per 2000 years. Thermo-haline bottom flow has little effect on the abyssal sediment distribution. Just over half of the Late Quaternary section is made up of turbidite mud. Distinctive properties of turbidite mud are: structural, textural, and compositional continuity from the underlying turbidite sand-silt layer into the overlying mud, grading within the mud layer, a ratio of carbonate percent with the underlying turbidite sand-silt layer of about 0.5, and a proportion of sand of > 1%. Those of (hemi)pelagic mud are: bioturbation, an average of 8% of sand consisting largely of remains of foraminifera and pteropods, a grain size distribution which is virtually normal with a median around 9 φ, and very poor sorting; in general, the properties of (hemi)pelagic muds are the same in widely separated localities and depths in cores. In some instances the clay mineral ratios of the turbidite mud layer are markedly different from those of the overlying (hemi)pelagic mud layer.     

Turbiditic and non-turbiditic mudstone of Cretaceous flysch sections of the East Alps and other basins

Recognition of the occurrence and extent of hemipelagic and pelagic deposits in turbidite sequences is of considerable importance for environmental analysis (palaeodepth, circulation, distance from land, hemipelagic or pelagic versus turbidite sedimentation rates) of ancient basins. Differentiation between the finegrained parts (E-division) of turbidites and the (hemi-) pelagic layers (F-division of turbidite-pelagite alternations) is facilitated in basins where carbonate turbidites were deposited below the carbonate compensation depth (CCD) such as the Flysch Zone of the East Alps but may be difficult in other basins where less compositional contrast is developed between the fine-grained turbidites and hemipelagites. This difficulty pertains particularly in Palaeozoic and older basins. For Late Mesozoic-Cenozoic oceans with a relatively deep calcite compensation level three other types of turbidite basins may be distinguished for which differentiation becomes increasingly more difficult in the sequence from (1) to (3): (1) terrigenous turbidite basins above the CCD; (2) carbonate turbidite basins above the CCD; (3) terrigenous turbidite basins below the CCD. Criteria and methods useful for the differentiation between turbiditic and hemipelagic mudstone in the Upper Cretaceous of the Flysch Zone of the East Alps include calcium carbonate content, colour, sequential analysis, distribution of bioturbation, and microfaunal content. In modern turbidite basins clay mineral content, organic matter content, plant fragments, and grain-size (graded bedding, maximum grain diameter) have reportedly also been used as criteria (see Table 3). Deposition of muddy sediment by turbidity currents on weakly sloping sea bottoms such as the distal parts of deep-sea fans or abyssal plains is not only feasible but may lead to the accumulation of thick layers. Contrary to earlier speculation it can be explained by the hydrodynamic theory of turbidity currents, if temperature differences between the turbidity current and the ambient deep water as well as relatively high current velocities for the deposition of turbiditic muds (an order of magnitude higher on mud surfaces than commonly assumed) are taken into consideration. The former add to the capacity of turbidity currents to carry muddy sediment without creating a driving force on a low slope.     

Sea-level and tectonic control of middle to late Pleistocene turbidite systems in Santa Monica Basin, offshore California

Small turbidite systems offshore from southern California provide an opportunity to track sediment from river source through the turbidity‐current initiation process to ultimate deposition, and to evaluate the impact of changing sea level and tectonics. The Santa Monica Basin is almost a closed system for terrigenous sediment input, and is supplied principally from the Santa Clara River. The Hueneme fan is supplied directly by the river, whereas the smaller Mugu and Dume fans are nourished by southward longshore drift. This study of the Late Quaternary turbidite fill of the Santa Monica Basin uses a dense grid of high‐resolution seismic‐reflection profiles tied to new radiocarbon ages for Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 1015 back to 32 ka. Over the last glacial cycle, sedimentation rates in the distal part of Santa Monica Basin averaged 2–3 mm yr^?1, with increases at times of extreme relative sea‐level lowstand. Coarser‐grained mid‐fan lobes prograded into the basin from the Hueneme, Mugu and Dume fans at times of rapid sea‐level fall. These pulses of coarse‐grained sediment resulted from river channel incision and delta cannibalization. During the extreme lowstand of the last glacial maximum, sediment delivery was concentrated on the Hueneme Fan, with mean depositional rates of up to 13 mm yr^?1 on the mid‐ and upper fan. During the marine isotope stage (MIS) 2 transgression, enhanced rates of sedimentation of > 4 mm yr^?1 occurred on the Mugu and Dume fans, as a result of distributary switching and southward littoral drift providing nourishment to these fan systems. Longer‐term sediment delivery to Santa Monica Basin was controlled by tectonics. Prior to MIS 10, the Anacapa ridge blocked the southward discharge of the Santa Clara River into the Santa Monica Basin. The pattern and distribution of turbidite sedimentation was strongly controlled by sea level through the rate of supply of coarse sediment and the style of initiation of turbidity currents. These two factors appear to have been more important than the absolute position of sea level.     

Recurrent uranium relocations in distal turbidites emplaced in pelagic conditions

The sediments of the Madeira Abyssal Plain, east of Great Meteor Seamount, are dominated by distal turbidite deposition. While the turbidites exhibit a wide compositional range (25–80% CaCO₃), individual examples can be correlated over a wide area and are relatively homogenous. Organic C oxidation, by bottom water oxygen, proceeds from the turbidite tops downwards after emplacement in pelagic conditions, and the progress of this oxidation front is marked by a sharp colour contrast in the sediments (Wilsonet al., 1985). In turbidites with C_org ? 0.5%, redistribution of authigenic U occurs to form a concentration peak (4–9 ppm U), just below the oxidation front or colour change. Several tens μg U/cm² may be mobilised, and in all examples studied ?60% of the remobilised U is relocated into the peak. Following burial by subsequent turbidites, such U concentration peaks are persistent as relict indicators of their extinct oxidation fronts for at least 2 × 10⁵ years. In the case of thin turbidites where labile C_org is almost exhausted, the U peaks may be located in underlying sedimentary units because of their relationship to the oxidation front. A redox mechanism for U peak formation is suggested from these data rather than a complexation with organic matter.     

Turbidite system architecture and sedimentary processes along topographically complex slopes: the Makran convergent margin

This study investigates the morphology and Late Quaternary sediment distribution of the Makran turbidite system (Makran subduction zone, north‐west Indian Ocean) from a nearly complete subsurface mapping of the Oman basin, two‐dimensional seismic and a large set of coring data in order to characterize turbidite system architecture across an active (fold and thrust belt) margin. The Makran turbidite system is composed of a dense network of canyons, which cut into high relief accreted ridges and intra‐slope piggyback basins, forming at some locations connected and variably tortuous paths down complex slopes. Turbidite activity and trench filling rates are high even during the Holocene sea‐level highstand conditions. In particular, basin‐wide, sheet‐like thick mud turbidites, probably related to major mass wasting events of low recurrence time, drape the flat and unchannellized Oman abyssal plain. Longitudinal depth profiles show that the Makran canyons are highly disrupted by numerous thrust‐related large‐scale knickpoints (with gradients up to 20° and walls up to 500 m high). At the deformation front, the strong break of slope can lead to the formation of canyon‐mouth ‘plunge pools’ of variable shapes and sizes. The plunge pools observed in the western Makran are considerably larger than those previously described in sub‐surface successions; the first insights into their internal architecture and sedimentary processes are presented here. Large plunge pools in the western Makran are associated with large scoured areas at the slope break and enhanced sediment deposition downstream: high‐amplitude reflectors are observed inside the plunge pools, while their flanks are composed of thin‐bedded, fine‐grained turbidites deposited by the uppermost part of the turbidity flows. Thus, these architectural elements are associated with strong sediment segregation leading to specific trench‐fill mechanisms, as only the finer‐grained component of the flows is transferred to the abyssal plain. However, the Makran accretionary prism is characterized by strong along‐strike variability in tectonics and fluvial input distribution that might directly influence the turbidite system architecture (i.e. canyon entrenchment, plunge pool formation or channel development at canyon mouths), the sedimentary dynamics and the resulting sediment distribution. Channel formation in the abyssal plain and trench‐fill characteristics depend on the theoretical ‘equilibrium’ conditions of the feeder system, which is related closely to the balance between erosion rates and tectonic regime. Thus, the Makran turbidite system constitutes an excellent modern analogue for deep‐water sedimentary systems with structurally complex depocentres, in convergent margin settings.     

Gravity Flow on Slope and Abyssal Systems in the Qiongdongnan Basin, Northern South China Sea

The study of new seismic data permits the identification of sediment gravity flows in terms of internal architecture and the distribution on shelf and abyssal setting in the Qiongdongnan Basin (QDNB). Six gravity flow types are recognized: (1) turbidite channels with a truncational basal and concordant overburden relationship along the shelf edge and slope, comprising laterally-shifting and vertically-aggrading channel complexes; (2) slides with a spoon-shaped morphology slip steps on the shelf-break and generated from the deformation of poorly-consolidated and high water content sediments; (3) slumps are limited on the shelf slope, triggered either by an anomalous slope gradient or by fault activity; (4) turbidite sheet complexes (TSC) were ascribed to the basin-floor fan and slope fan origin, occasionally feeding the deep marine deposits by turbidity currents; (5) sediment waves occurring in the lower slope-basin floor, and covering an area of approximately 400?km2, were generated beneath currents flowing across the sea bed; and (6) the central canyon in the deep water area represents an exceptive type of gravity flow composed of an association of debris flow, turbidite channels, and TSC. It presents planar multisegment and vertical multiphase characteristics. Turbidite associated with good petrophysical property in the canyon could be treated as a potential exploration target in the QDNB.     

Distinctive erosional and depositional structures formed at a canyon mouth: A lower Pleistocene deep‐water succession in the Kazusa forearc basin on the Boso Peninsula,Japan

The canyon mouth is an important component of submarine‐fan systems and is thought to play a significant role in the transformation of turbidity currents. However, the depositional and erosional structures that characterize canyon mouths have received less attention than other components of submarine‐fan systems. This study investigates the facies organization and geometry of turbidites that are interpreted to have developed at a canyon mouth in the early Pleistocene Kazusa forearc basin on the Boso Peninsula, Japan. The canyon‐mouth deposits have the following distinctive features: (i) The turbidite succession is thinner than both the canyon‐fill and submarine‐fan successions and is represented by amalgamation of sandstones and pebbly sandstones as a result of bypassing of turbidity currents. (ii) Sandstone beds and bedsets show an overall lenticular geometry and are commonly overlain by mud drapes, which are massive and contain fewer bioturbation structures than do the hemipelagic muddy deposits. (iii) The mud drapes have a microstructure characterized by aggregates of clay particles, which show features similar to those of fluid‐mud deposits, and are interpreted to represent deposition from fluid mud developed from turbidity current clouds. (iv) Large‐scale erosional surfaces are infilled with thick‐bedded to very thick‐bedded turbidites, which show lithofacies quite similar to those of the surrounding deposits, and are considered to be equivalent to scours. (v) Concave‐up erosional surfaces, some of which face in the upslope direction, are overlain by backset bedding, which is associated with many mud clasts. (vi) Tractional structures, some of which are equivalent to coarse‐grained sediment waves, were also developed, and were overlain locally by mud drapes, in association with mud drape‐filled scours, cut and fill structures and backset bedding. The combination of these outcrop‐scale erosional and depositional structures, together with the microstructure of the mud drapes, can be used to identify canyon‐mouth deposits in ancient deep‐water successions.     

Multi-channel seismic reflection measurements in the Eurasian Basin, Arctic Ocean, from U.S. ice station Fram-IV

We present the first multi-channel seismic reflection data ever collected from the Eurasian Basin of the Arctic Ocean. The 200 km data set was acquired by a 20 channel sonobuoy array deployed at U.S. ice drift station FRAM-IV and operated for 34 days about 370 km north of Svalbard in April–May 1982. Cross array drift and ice floe rotation which may constitute the most serious obstacle to the advantage of multi-channel data acquisition did only occur to a minor degree during the experiment and render most of the data set suitable for processing using common mid-point binning.A 0.7–1.4 s (two-way traveltime) thick sedimentary section has been deposited over oceanic crust of mid-Oligocene age below the Barents Abyssal Plain. In the deepest part, sediments are infilling topographic lows which indicate predominantly turbidite deposition. Erosional truncations are only locally present in the central part of the section. Conformable bedforms deposited over gentle basement highs indicate a relatively stable bottom current regime since mid-Oligocene time. Thus the establishment of a deep water connection between the Arctic Ocean and lower latitude water masses appear to have had only minor effect on Eurasian Basin bottom current circulation.Extensive submarine slide scars on the north slope of Yermak Plateau show that mass waste have been a sediment source to the Barents Abyssal Plain.     

Morphology and Quaternary sedimentation of the Mozambique Fan and environs,southwestern Indian Oceans*

Most of the Quaternary sediments of the Mozambique Fan have been derived from Africa-Madagascar and deposited by turbidity currents in Pleistocene time. Currents caused by movement of the Antarctic Bottom Water also played a significant role in reworking and redepositing sediments along the marginal areas of the fan. The inner or upper Mozambique Fan is characterized by a single, leveed valley. Due to the effects of the Coriolis force, the natural levees to the east of the valley (left, looking downstream) are higher and contain more terrigenous sediments than those to the west of the valley. The sea floor to the west of the valley returns regular hyperbolic echoes as seen on 3·5 kHz echograms, whereas to the east of the valley, the sea floor is relatively smooth. The sediments on the valley floor are coarse-grained (with median grain up to 2 mm) and poorly sorted, and occur often as massive turbidites, interbedded with hemipelagic sediments. Away from the valley, both to the east and the west, the terrigenous sediments are relatively fine-grained and have been deposited as overbank turbidite sequences. We estimate the maximum velocities of the channelized turbidity currents in the upper fan to have been 8–32 ms^?1. The middle fan has several distributary channels with no levees and has a relatively flat sea floor, characterized by lack of acoustic penetration. Thick, sheet-like, turbidite sand beds, deposited primarily by unchannelized turbidity currents, characterize the middle fan. The middle fan grades, towards the margins, into the outer (lower) fan which is relatively free of channels, has good acoustic penetration and contains hemipelagic and pelagic sediments, and thin, fine-sand turbidite and/or contourite beds. A wide zone of sediment waves, formed from the reworking of the turbidity current-fed sediments by the Antarctic Bottom Water, forms part of the outer fan.     

On how thin submarine flows transported large volumes of sand for hundreds of kilometres across a flat basin plain without eroding the sea floor

Submarine gravity currents, especially long run‐out flows that reach the deep ocean, are exceptionally difficult to monitor in action, hence there is a need to reconstruct how these flows behave from their deposits. This study mapped five individual flow deposits (beds) across the Agadir Basin, offshore north‐west Africa. This is the only data set where bed shape, internal distribution of lithofacies, changes in grain size and sea floor gradient, bed volumes, flow thickness and depth of erosion into underlying hemipelagic mud are known for individual beds. Some flows were 30 to 120 m thick. However, flows with the highest fraction of sand were less than 5 to 14 m thick. Sand was most likely to be carried in the lower 5 to 7 m of these flows. Despite being relatively thin, one flow was capable of transporting very large volumes of sediment (ca 200 km³) for large distances across very flat sea floor. These observations show that these relatively thin flows could travel quickly enough on very low gradients (0·02° to 0·05°) to suspend sand several metres to tens of metres above the sea floor, and maintain those speeds for up to 250 km across the basin. Near uniform hemipelagic mud interval thickness between beds, and coccolith assemblages in the mud caps of beds, suggest that the flows did not erode significantly into the underlying sea floor mud. Simple calculations imply that some flows, especially in the proximal part of the basin, were powerful enough to have eroded hemipelagic mud if it was exposed to the flow. This suggests that the flows were depositional from the moment they arrived at a basin plain location, and that deposition shielded the underlying hemipelagic mud from erosion. Reproducing the field observations outlined in this exceptionally detailed field data set is a challenge for future experimental and numerical models.     

New insight into the evolution of large-volume turbidity currents: comparison of turbidite shape and previous modelling results

The Marnoso Arenacea Formation provides the most extensive correlation of individual flow deposits (beds) yet documented in an ancient turbidite system. These correlations provide unusually detailed constraints on bed shape, which is used to deduce flow evolution and assess the validity of numerical and laboratory models. Bed volumes have an approximately log‐normal frequency distribution; a small number of flows dominated sediment supply to this non‐channelized basin plain. Turbidite sandstone within small‐volume (<0·7 km³) beds thins downflow in an approximately exponential fashion. This shape is a property of spatially depletive flows, and has been reproduced by previous mathematical models and laboratory experiments. Sandstone intervals in larger‐volume (0·7–7 km³) beds have a broad thickness maximum in their proximal part. Grain‐size trends within this broad thickness maximum indicate spatially near‐uniform flow for distances of ∼30 km, although the flow was temporally unsteady. Previous mathematical models and laboratory experiments have not reproduced this type of deposit shape. This may be because models fail to simulate the way in which near bed sediment concentration tends towards a constant value (saturates) in powerful flows. Alternatively, the discrepancy may be the result of relatively high ratios of flow thickness and sediment settling velocity in submarine flows, together with very gradual changes in sea‐floor gradient. Intra‐bed erosion, temporally varying discharge, and reworking of suspension fallout as bedload could also help to explain the discrepancy in deposit shape. Most large‐volume beds contain an internal erosion surface underlain by inversely graded sandstone, recording waxing and waning flow. It has been inferred previously that these characteristics are diagnostic of turbidites generated by hyperpycnal flood discharge. These turbidites are too voluminous to have been formed by hyperpycnal flows, unless such flows are capable of eroding cubic kilometres of sea‐floor sediment. It is more likely that these flows originated from submarine slope failure. Two beds comprise multiple sandstone intervals separated only by turbidite mudstone. These features suggest that the submarine slope failures occurred as either a waxing and waning event, or in a number of stages.     

The character of seismo-turbidites in the S-1 sapropel, Zakinthos and Strofadhes basins, Greece

The early Holocene S-1 sapropelic sequence in the northwest Hellenic Trench has been studied in six piston cores from the Zakinthos and Strofadhes basins. The S-1 sequence, 0.7-3.5 m thick, consists principally of silt to mud turbidites, with rare, thick, disorganized, sandy turbidites. These lithofacies are described and compared with fine-grained turbidites from the literature. Petrographical data, including the abundance of organic carbon and planktonic microfossils, indicate that the principal source of sediment to the turbidites was from the continental slope. On the basis of composition and texture, five turbidite units can be correlated between the two basins. These basins are fed by separate but adjacent drainage systems. The apparently synchronous occurrence of turbidites in the two drainage systems suggests that the turbidity currents were seismically triggered. Some of the turbidites show poorly organized beds which may reflect the slump origin and the short (30 km) distances of travel. Turbidites were deposited more frequently in the S-1 sapropelic interval than in the over- and underlying sediments. Application of slope stability analysis shows that on the 8° slopes above the basins, a 10-cm-thick sapropel would have a factor of safety of about 2, and would fail with earthquake accelerations in excess of 0.08 g. The frequency of earthquakes likely to produce such accelerations is similar to the observed frequency of turbidites. The low strength of the sapropelic sediment makes it particularly susceptible to such failure. Similar thin-skinned slumping may be an important process for the initiation of turbidity currents in other environments where there are steep slopes or high sedimentation rates.