17 research outputs found
Polyphase Emplacement of a 30 km3 Blocky Debris Avalanche and Its Role in Slope-Gully Development
Revisiting Submarine Mass Movements Along The U.S. Atlantic Continental Margin: Implications For Tsunami Hazards
Deep-Seated Bedrock Landslides and Submarine Canyon Evolution in an Active Tectonic Margin: Cook Strait, New Zealand
Submarine canyons and gullies
Submarine canyons are deep incisions observed along most of the world’s continental margins. Their topographic relief is as dramatic as that of any canyon or river valley on land but is hidden beneath the surface of the ocean. Our knowledge of canyons has therefore come primarily from remote sensing and sampling, and has involved contributions from various oceanographic disciplines. Canyons are a critical link between coastal and shelf waters and abyssal depths; water masses, sediment, nutrients, and even litter and pollutants are carried through them. Advances in technology continue to provide new insights into canyon environments by pushing the frontier of deep marine observations and measurements. In this chapter we describe the main geomorphic features of submarine canyons and what is known about their formation and the processes that shape them. We also consider submarine gullies, which are small valleys commonly found within or alongside submarine canyons on the continental slope and may represent an incipient stage of canyon development. © 2018, Springer International Publishing AG