Recurrence of turbidity currents on glaciated continental margins: A conceptual model from eastern Canada

2020 ◽  
Vol 90 (10) ◽  
pp. 1305-1321
Author(s):  
Alexandre Normandeau ◽  
D. Calvin Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Model ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Deep Water ◽  
Turbidity Current ◽  
Sediment Supply ◽  
Turbidity Currents ◽  
Continental Margins ◽  
Submarine Canyons ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Current Activity

ABSTRACT Turbidity currents in submarine canyons transport large volumes of sediment and carbon to the deep sea and are known to present a major risk to submarine infrastructure. Understanding the origin, the triggers, the recurrence, and the timing of these events is important for predicting future events and mitigating their impact. Depending on the morphological and latitudinal setting of submarine canyons, different external controls will govern the recurrence of turbidity currents. Here, we assess the recurrence of turbidity currents in shelf-incising submarine canyons off eastern Canada in order to examine the effects of external forcings such as glacier retreat and sea level on the deep-water sedimentary record. We used multibeam bathymetry, sub-bottom profiles, and the analysis of turbidites in sediment cores to infer the triggers of turbidity currents over time and propose a conceptual model for the activity of turbidity currents during glacial retreat. The chronostratigraphy of turbidites shows that turbidity current activity in the glaciated The Gully submarine canyon (eastern Canada) was highest between 24 ka cal BP (LGM) and 17 ka cal BP, with > 100 turbidites per 1,000 yr, when the ice sheet was directly delivering sediment to submarine canyons. As the ice margin retreated, the dominant sediment supply switched to glaciofluvial and then to longshore drift, while RSL remained low. The recurrence of turbidity currents nonetheless decreased drastically to < 10 per 1000 yr during that time, pre-dating the rise in RSL. This timing suggests that the reduction of turbidity-current activity is closely linked to retreating glaciers rather than to sea-level rise, which occurred later. Following the retreat of the ice sheet, sea level rose progressively to drown the shallow banks on the continental shelf, and turbidity currents ceased being active after 13 ka cal BP. In the late Holocene, landslide and concomitant turbidity-current recurrence increased to 1 per 1,000 yrs, with at least four new events recorded in deep water. This study shows that glacial sediment supply and sea level controlled the type of sediment supply to the continental slope, which in turn controlled the triggers of turbidity currents over time and the flushing of sediment to the deep water. By comparing with other glaciated margins, we propose a conceptual model explaining the recurrence of turbidity currents, taking into account RSL change and the position of the ice margin relative to the shelf edge. This conceptual model can help predict turbidity-current activity and offshore geohazards on other ancient and modern glaciated continental margins.

A Suggested Origin of Continental Slopes and of Submarine Canyons

1950 ◽  
Vol 87 (2) ◽  
pp. 102-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. O. Emery
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
Shear Plane ◽  
Continental Margins ◽  
Submarine Canyons ◽  
Continental Shelves ◽  
Continental Slopes

AbstractThrusting along a shear plane at the continental margins may result in a temporary up-bulging of the margins above sea-level. During the time of exposure erosion by streams should have incised canyons which now, after isostatic readjustment of the margins, constitute the widely distributed submarine canyons. Known downwarped peneplains below the surface of continental shelves may have been developed on the bulged margins by long continued erosion. The margins may, thus, have served as- sources of some sediments now found on land and believed to have been derived from a seaward direction.

scholarly journals Carbon isotope (δ<sup>13</sup>C) excursions suggest times of major methane release during the last 14 kyr in Fram Strait, the deep-water gateway to the Arctic

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 669-685 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Consolaro ◽  
T. L. Rasmussen ◽  
G. Panieri ◽  
J. Mienert ◽  
S. Bünz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Carbon Isotope ◽  
Deep Water ◽  
Planktonic Foraminifera ◽  
Sediment Supply ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Fram Strait ◽  
The North ◽  
Carbon Isotope Excursion

Abstract. We present results from a sediment core collected from a pockmark field on the Vestnesa Ridge (~ 80° N) in the eastern Fram Strait. This is the only deep-water gateway to the Arctic, and one of the northernmost marine gas hydrate provinces in the world. Eight 14C AMS dates reveal a detailed chronology for the last 14 ka BP. The δ 13C record measured on the benthonic foraminiferal species Cassidulina neoteretis shows two distinct intervals with negative values termed carbon isotope excursion (CIE I and CIE II, respectively). The values were as low as −4.37‰ in CIE I, correlating with the Bølling–Allerød interstadials, and as low as −3.41‰ in CIE II, correlating with the early Holocene. In the Bølling–Allerød interstadials, the planktonic foraminifera also show negative values, probably indicating secondary methane-derived authigenic precipitation affecting the foraminiferal shells. After a cleaning procedure designed to remove authigenic carbonate coatings on benthonic foraminiferal tests from this event, the 13C values are still negative (as low as −2.75‰). The CIE I and CIE II occurred during periods of ocean warming, sea-level rise and increased concentrations of methane (CH4) in the atmosphere. CIEs with similar timing have been reported from other areas in the North Atlantic, suggesting a regional event. The trigger mechanisms for such regional events remain to be determined. We speculate that sea-level rise and seabed loading due to high sediment supply in combination with increased seismic activity as a result of rapid deglaciation may have triggered the escape of significant amounts of methane to the seafloor and the water column above.

The influence of turbidity currents and contour currents on the distribution of deep‐water sediment waves offshore eastern Canada

Sedimentology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 66 (5) ◽  
pp. 1746-1767 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandre Normandeau ◽  
D. Calvin Campbell ◽  
Matthieu J. B. Cartigny
Keyword(s):  
Deep Water ◽  
Turbidity Currents ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Sediment Waves

scholarly journals Carbon isotope (δ<sup>13</sup>C) excursions suggest times of major methane release during the last 14 ka in Fram Strait, the deep-water gateway to the Arctic

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 4191-4227 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Consolaro ◽  
T. L. Rasmussen ◽  
G. Panieri ◽  
J. Mienert ◽  
S. Bünz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Carbon Isotope ◽  
Deep Water ◽  
Sediment Supply ◽  
Early Holocene ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Fram Strait ◽  
Methane Release ◽  
The North

Abstract. We present results from a sediment core collected from a pockmark field on the Vestnesa Ridge (∼80° N) in the eastern Fram Strait. This is the only deep-water gateway to the Arctic, and one of the northernmost marine gas hydrate provinces in the world. Eight 14C AMS dating reveals a detailed chronology for the last 14 ka BP. The δ13C record measured on the benthic foraminiferal species Cassidulina neoteretis shows two distinct intervals with negative values, as low as −4.37‰ in the Bølling–Allerød interstadials and as low as −3.41‰ in the early Holocene. After cleaning procedure designed to remove all authigenic carbonate coatings on benthic foraminiferal tests, the 13C values are still negative (as low as −2.75‰). We have interpreted these negative carbon isotope excursions (CIEs) to record past methane release events, resulting from the incorporation of 13C-depleted carbon from methane emissions into the benthic foraminiferal shells. The CIEs during the Bølling–Allerød interstadials and the early Holocene relate to periods of ocean warming, sea level rise and increased concentrations of methane (CH4) in the atmosphere. CIEs with similar timing have been reported from other areas in the North Atlantic suggesting a regional event. The trigger mechanisms for such regional events remain to be determined. We speculate that sea-level rise and seabed loading due to high sediment supply in combination with increased seismic activity as a result of rapid deglaciation may have triggered the escape of significant amounts of methane to the seafloor and the water column above.

scholarly journals Role of sea-level change in deep water deposition along a carbonate shelf margin, Early and Middle Permian, Delaware Basin: implications for reservoir characterization

2015 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shunli Li ◽  
Xinghe Yu ◽  
Shengli Li ◽  
Katherine A. Giles
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
Deep Water ◽  
Sea Level Change ◽  
High Density ◽  
Sediment Supply ◽  
Delaware Basin ◽  
Level Change ◽  
Basin Floor ◽  
Net To Gross ◽  
System Tracts

Abstract The architecture and sedimentary characteristics of deep water deposition can reflect influences of sea-level change on depositional processes on the shelf edge, slope, and basin floor. Outcrops of the northern slope and basin floor of the Delaware Basin in west Texas are progressively exposed due to canyon incision and road cutting. The outcrops in the Delaware Basin were measured to characterize gravity flow deposits in deep water of the basin. Subsurface data from the East Ford and Red Tank fields in the central and northeastern Delaware Basin were used to study reservoir architectures and properties. Depositional models of deep water gravity flows at different stages of sea-level change were constructed on the basis of outcrop and subsurface data. In the falling-stage system tracts, sandy debris with collapses of reef carbonates are deposited on the slope, and high-density turbidites on the slope toe and basin floor. In the low-stand system tracts, deep water fans that consist of mixed sand/mud facies on the basin floor are comprised of high- to low-density turbidites. In the transgression and high-stand system tracts, channel-levee systems and elongate lobes of mud-rich calciturbidite deposits formed as a result of sea level rise and scarcity of sandy sediment supply. For the reservoir architecture, the fan-like debris and high-density turbidites show high net-to-gross ratio of 62 %, which indicates the sandiest reservoirs for hydrocarbon accumulation. Lobe-like deep water fans with net-to-gross ratio of 57 % facilitate the formation of high quality sandy reservoirs. The channel-levee systems with muddy calciturbidites have low net-to-gross ratio of 30 %.

Shelfal sediment transport by an undercurrent forces turbidity-current activity during high sea level along the Chile continental margin

Geology ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 295-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Bernhardt ◽  
Dierk Hebbeln ◽  
Marcus Regenberg ◽  
Andreas Lückge ◽  
Manfred R. Strecker
Keyword(s):  
Sediment Transport ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Continental Margin ◽  
Turbidity Current ◽  
Current Activity

scholarly journals Sediment routing from shelf to basin floor in the Quaternary Golo System of Eastern Corsica, France, western Mediterranean Sea

2019 ◽  
Vol 132 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 1217-1234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael L. Sweet ◽  
Gwladys T. Gaillot ◽  
Gwenael Jouet ◽  
Tammy M. Rittenour ◽  
Samuel Toucanne ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
Deep Water ◽  
Tectonic Setting ◽  
Hydrocarbon Exploration ◽  
Submarine Canyons ◽  
Deposition Rates ◽  
Submarine Fans ◽  
Sediment Routing ◽  
Basin Scale ◽  
Glacial Periods

Abstract How and when sediment moves from shallow marine to deep-water environments is an important and poorly understood control on basin-scale sediment dispersal patterns, the evolution of continental margins, and hydrocarbon exploration in deep-water basins. The Golo River (Eastern Corsica, France), its delta, canyons, and fans provide a unique opportunity to study sediment routing from source to sink in a relatively compact depositional system. We studied this system using an array of high-frequency seismic data, multi-beam bathymetry, and five cores for lithology and age control. Movement of sediment to deep water was controlled by interactions between the Golo River, the Golo Delta, and shelf-penetrating submarine canyons. Sediment moved to deep water when lobes of the Golo Delta prograded to the heads of these canyons, or when the Golo River itself flowed directly into one of them. Sand accumulated in canyons, deep-water channels, and submarine fans during glacial periods of low sea level, while mud was deposited throughout the slope, in the relatively short reach of leveed-confined channels, and in the mud-rich fringes around the sandy fans. During interglacial periods of high sea level, the basin was blanketed by mud-rich deposits up to 10 m thick interbedded with distinctive carbonate-rich sediments. Deposition rates in the basin ranged from 0.07 m/ka to 0.59 m/ka over the last 450 ka. Mud deposition rates remained relatively constant at ∼0.16 m/ka during all time periods, while sand deposition only happened during glacial periods of low sea level with an average rate of 0.24 m/ka. In addition to sea-level controls on sediment delivery, avulsions of the Golo River and its deltaic lobes preferentially routed sediment down either the North or South Golo canyons. Thus, while the larger, sequence-scale architecture of the basin is controlled by allogenic sea level forcing, millennial-scale autogenic processes operating on the shelf and in deep water shaped the distribution of sand and mud, and the internal geometry of the deltas and submarine fans that they fed. While some aspects of the Golo system are characteristic of steep, tectonically active margins, others such as the nature of connections between rivers and shelf-penetrating submarine canyons are observed in most margins with active submarine fans regardless of their tectonic setting.

Groins, sand retention, and the future of Southern California’s beaches

Shore & Beach ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 14-36
Author(s):  
Gary Griggs ◽  
Kiki Patsch ◽  
Charles Lester ◽  
Ryan Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Southern California ◽  
Beach Sand ◽  
Submarine Canyons ◽  
Littoral Drift ◽  
Short Supply ◽  
Land Use Decisions ◽  
Coastal Cliffs ◽  
Retention Structures

Beaches form a significant component of the economy, history, and culture of southern California. Yet both the construction of dams and debris basins in coastal watersheds and the armoring of eroding coastal cliffs and bluffs have reduced sand supply. Ultimately, most of this beach sand is permanently lost to the submarine canyons that intercept littoral drift moving along this intensively used shoreline. Each decade the volume of lost sand is enough to build a beach 100 feet wide, 10 feet deep and 20 miles long, or a continuous beach extending from Newport Bay to San Clemente. Sea-level rise will negatively impact the beaches of southern California further, specifically those with back beach barriers such as seawalls, revetments, homes, businesses, highways, or railroads. Over 75% of the beaches in southern California are retained by structures, whether natural or artificial, and groin fields built decades ago have been important for local beach growth and stabilization efforts. While groins have been generally discouraged in recent decades in California, and there are important engineering and environmental considerations involved prior to any groin construction, the potential benefits are quite large for the intensively used beaches and growing population of southern California, particularly in light of predicted sea-level rise and public beach loss. All things considered, in many areas groins or groin fields may well meet the objectives of the California Coastal Act, which governs coastal land-use decisions. There are a number of shoreline areas in southern California where sand is in short supply, beaches are narrow, beach usage is high, and where sand retention structures could be used to widen or stabilize local beaches before sand is funneled offshore by submarine canyons intercepting littoral drift. Stabilizing and widening the beaches would add valuable recreational area, support beach ecology, provide a buffer for back beach infrastructure or development, and slow the impacts of a rising sea level.

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