Morphosedimentary characterization of the Capbreton submarine canyon system, Bay of Biscay (Cantabrian Sea)

Various studies have been carried out to the declaration of new marine protected areas for their importance for habitats, according to the Natura 2000 Network. One of these sites is a sector of the Capbreton Submarine Canyon System, located in front of the Basque Country coast, in the Bay of Biscay (North Atlantic). During the Intemares_CapBreton 0619 and 0620 surveys; bathymetric, backscatter, high-resolution parametric data and samples of sediments, rocks and benthic communities from the seabed were acquired. The study was completed by recording video transects with the underwater vehicle ROTV Politolana from the IEO. The processing and analysis of the geophysical information has allowed obtaining a detailed bathymetry grid of 10 × 10 m, from which the first morphosedimentary characterization of the system of tributary canyons to the E-W trending main canyon and its interfluves has been made. One of the main features of this canyon system is the presence of a large pockmark field on adjacent platforms between canyons, located between 500 and 1000 m water depth. Within this field, pockmarks are shown as circular to elliptical depressions, most likely related to gas rich-fluid emissions to the subsurface.Versión del edito

Nuevos datos de actividad tectónica durante el Pleistoceno Superior-Holoceno en el sector oriental de la plataforma continental del Golfo de Cádiz (SO de Iberia)

La realización de dos campañas de adquisición de datos geofísicos del suelo y subsuelo marino en el año 2010, mediante la utilización de técnicas acústicas de muy alta resolución, ha permitido ampliar el conocimiento de dos sectores de la plataforma continental española en el Golfo de Cádiz, comprendidos entre la desembocadura del río Guadalquivir y la Bahía de Cádiz, y entre Cádiz y Chiclana de la Frontera, respectivamente. En el primero se han localizado varias zonas de fracturas que se caracterizan en los perfiles de sísmica de muy alta resolución por fallas normales de alto ángulo y pequeño salto que desplaza claramente las unidades sedimentarias de edad Holoceno, se trata por tanto de fallas que se pueden considerar activas, si bien deben ser el reflejo en superficie de fallas profundas de mayor entidad. Mientras que en el segundo se ha analizado la morfología asociada a la actividad emergente de una estructura diapirica principal.Two oceanographic surveys have been carried out using very high resolution acoustic techniques in 2010. These surveys have allowed us to improve the knowledge of two sectors of the Spanish continental shelf in the Gulf of Cadiz: the first one, from the mouth of the Guadalquivir River to the Bay of Cadiz, and the second one, between Cadiz and Chiclana de la Frontera. In the first sector, we have located several fracture zones which are characterized in the seismic profiles as high angle normal faults of small vertical displacement. These faults displace clearly the Holocene sedimentary units. Therefore, these faults could be considered currently actives, although should be the surface expression of deeper and more significance faults. In the second sector, we have analyzed the associated morphology with the emerging activity of a main diapi

Ecosistemas marinos vulnerables

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La investigación como base de las políticas internacionales de conservación de los ecosistemas profundos en alta mar: Los estudios del Instituto Español de Oceanografía en el Banco Hatton (Atlántico NE)

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An overview of cold-water coral protection on the High seas: The Hatton Bank (NE Atlantic) - a case study

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Western slope of Hatton Bank (NE Atlantic Ocean): geoenvironmental constrains relation to deep sea ecosystems

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