Erosion of the submarine flanks of the Canary Islands

Surveying with multibeam echo sounders around old (»1 Ma) volcanic ocean islands reveals that their submarine flanks contain a strong downslope-oriented ridge-and-valley corrugation, which modifies the original volcanic morphology of lava terraces and cones. By analogy with canyons in other settings, this corrugation was probably caused by channel incision by erosive sedimentary mass flows such as turbidity currents and debris flows. We adapt a method first used in subaerial geomorphology to isolate the erosion depth (exhumation) and apply it to the eroded flanks of the 6–8 Ma Anaga massif of Tenerife. The channels formed around this massif divert around local topographic highs. These highs, which are probably original volcanic cones, are therefore preferentially preserved during erosion, so that their elevations can be used to construct an artificial reference surface. Terrain depth was calculated by subtracting this reference surface from measured bathymetry. Comparison of the terrain depth of the old, eroded submarine flank of Anaga with that of the young, mostly unaltered submarine flank of El Hierro allows us to infer the mean depth of Anaga's submarine erosion, which is ~100 m. Volcanic terrains can be dated by radiometric methods, so they also provide a way of quantifying long-term denudation rates. We infer that submarine denudation of Anaga has occurred at comparable rates to that of subaerial lowlands and much slower than denudation of highlands, illustrated locally by the more extensive erosion of the subaerial Anaga edifice

The effects of tidally driven temporal variation on measuring intertidal cohesive sediment erosion threshold

Accurate measurement of intertidal sediment erodibility is essential for the development of meaningful and accurate models of sediment dynamics. Despite considerable advances in technology and methodology, the measurement of cohesive intertidal sediment erosion remains problematic. Sediment erodibility varies according to both physical and biological properties and processes. These cannot be considered in isolation, as they can interact to create both positive and negative feedbacks, resulting in seemingly idiosyncratic responses in the system. If working models of estuarine sediment dynamics are to be made, it is essential that the influence of these processes on both the measurements and the system itself be considered. Recent developments in measurement technology enable rapid measurement of sediment stability allowing temporal and spatial variability to be measured on a time scale of minutes. This paper reports temporal variability in cohesive intertidal sediment erosion threshold related to immersion and emersion, and the concomitant responses in selected sediment properties (carbohydrates, water content and chlorophyll). Erosion threshold tended to increase over emersion and decrease over immersion, although the patterns of change varied depending upon local conditions, and in one case there was no temporal trend. Temporal changes resulted in a range of measured erosion threshold, dependant upon the erosion device used. Modifications to existing methodology, in order to account for this variation, are proposed and implications for modelling erosion processes are considered.</p

The effects of rain on the erosion threshold of intertidal cohesive sediments

Intertidal sedimentary environments are complex systems governed by interactions between physical, chemical and biological processes and parameters. Tidally induced flow and wave action are known to be an integral driving force behind the erosion, transport, deposition and consolidation cycle (ETDC) of intertidal sediments. Whilst considerable advances have been made in understanding both the physical and biological processes and their interactions in these systems, it is clear that there are gaps in our understanding. One factor that has been largely ignored to date is that of rain. Visual observations in the field and associated data indicated that rain showers during low tide are correlated with a reduction in the erosion threshold of intertidal cohesive sediments. This paper presents preliminary field and laboratory data showing the importance of rain in reducing the erosion threshold of cohesive intertidal sediments. The implications for our knowledge of, and modelling of the ETDC cycle of cohesive intertidal sediments are discussed