Response of unconfined turbidity current to deep‐water fold and thrust belt topography: Orthogonal incidence on solitary and segmented folds

Sea‐floor topography of deep‐water folds is widely considered to have a major impact on turbidity currents and their depositional systems, but understanding the flow response to such features was limited mainly to conceptual notions inspired by small‐scale laboratory experiments. High‐resolution three‐dimensional numerical experiments can compensate for the lack of natural‐scale flow observations. The present study combines numerical modelling of thrusts with fault‐propagation folds by Trishear3D software with computational fluid dynamics simulations of a natural‐scale unconfined turbidity current by MassFlow‐3D? software. The study reveals the hydraulic and depositional responses of a turbidity current (ca 50 m thick) to typical topographic features that it might encounter in an orthogonal incidence on a sea‐floor deep‐water fold and thrust belt. The supercritical current (ca 10 m sec^?1) decelerated and thickened due to the hydraulic jump on the fold backlimb counter‐slope, where a reverse overflow formed through current self‐reflection and a reverse underflow was issued by backward squeezing of a dense near‐bed sediment load. The reverse flows were re‐feeding sediment to the parental current, reducing its waning rate and extending its runout. The low‐efficiency current, carrying sand and silt, outran a downslope distance of >17 km with only modest deposition (<0·2 m) beyond the fold. Most of the flow volume diverted sideways along the backlimb to surround the fold and spread further downslope, with some overspill across the fold and another hydraulic jump at the forelimb toe. In the case of a segmented fold, a large part of the flow went downslope through the segment boundary. Preferential deposition (0·2 to 1·8 m) occurred on the fold backlimb and directly upslope, and on the forelimb slope in the case of a smaller fold. The spatial patterns of sand entrapment revealed by the study may serve as guidelines for assessing the influence of substrate folds on turbiditic sedimentation in a basin.     

New discoveries in dynamics of an M8 earthquake-phenomena and their implications from the 2003 Tokachi-oki earthquake using a long term monitoring cabled observatory

At the 2003 Tokachi-oki earthquake of M8, seafloor phenomena such as a generation process of tsunami, seafloor uplifts, turbidity current, etc., were observed using a cabled observatory installed on the seafloor. The turbidity current was observed as a benthic storm caused presumably by the mainshock. The seafloor uplifts were observed at the mainshock and continuously after the mainshock. The uplifts were 0.35, 0.37, and 0.12 m for epicentral distances of 25.5, 31.4, and 81.7 km, respectively. After the mainshock, a continuous uplift of the seafloor is observed at all three pressure gauge locations indicating that there was a change in the state of friction on the plate boundary interface by the mainshock. In this paper, we first show what was observed using the cabled observatory installed right above the focal area of the earthquake, and then we discuss to summarize these phenomena associated with the earthquake, its possible causes, and future directions in long term monitoring of seismogenic processes.     

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

Sediment waves are commonly observed on the sea floor and often vary in morphology and geometry according to factors such as seabed slope, density and discharge of turbidity currents, and the presence of persistent contour currents. This paper documents the morphology, internal geometry and distribution of deep‐water (4000 to 5000 m) bedforms observed on the sea floor offshore eastern Canada using high‐resolution multibeam bathymetry data and seismic stratigraphy. The bedforms have wavelengths of >1 km but fundamentally vary in terms of morphology and internal stratigraphy, and are distinguished into three main types. The first type, characterized by their long‐wavelength crescentic shape, is interpreted as net‐erosional cyclic steps. These cyclic steps were formed by turbidity currents flowing through canyons and overtopping and breaching levées. The second type, characterized by their linear shape and presence on levées, is interpreted as net‐depositional cyclic steps. These upslope migrating bedforms are strongly aggradational, indicating high sediment deposition from turbidity currents. The third type, characterized by their obliqueness to canyons, is observed on an open slope and is interpreted as antidunes. These antidunes were formed by the deflection of the upper dilute, low‐density parts of turbidity currents by contour currents. The modelling of the behaviour of these different types of turbidity currents reveals that fast‐flowing flows form cyclic steps while their upper parts overspill and are entrained westward by contour currents. The interaction between turbidity currents and contour currents results in flow thickening and reduced sediment concentration, which leads to lower flow velocities. Lower velocities, in turn, allow the formation of antidunes instead of cyclic steps because the densiometric Froude number (Fr′) decreases. Therefore, this study shows that both net‐erosional and net‐depositional cyclic steps are distributed along channels where turbidity currents prevail whereas antidunes form on open slopes, in a mixed turbidite/contourite system. This study provides insights into the influence of turbidity currents versus contour currents on the morphology, geometry and distribution of bedforms in a mixed turbidite–contourite system.     

Contour current imprints and contourite drifts in the Bahamian archipelago

New data collected along the slopes of Little and Great Bahama Bank and the abyssal plain of the Bahama Escarpment provides new insights about contour current‐related erosive structures and associated deposits. The Bahamian slope shows abundant evidence of bottom current activity such as furrows, comet‐like structures, sediment waves and drifts. At a seismic scale, large erosion surfaces and main periods of drift growth resulted from current acceleration related to plate tectonic processes and progressive opening and closure of gateways and long‐term palaeoclimate evolution. At present‐day, erosion features and contourite drifts are either related to relatively shallow currents (<1000 m water depth) or to deep currents (>2500 m water depth). It appears that the carbonate nature of the drifts does not impact the drift morphology at the resolution addressed in the present study. Classical drift morphologies defined in siliciclastic environments are found, such as mounded, plastered and separated drifts. In core, contourite sequences show a bi‐gradational trend that resembles classical contourite sequences in siliciclastic deposits showing a direct relationship with a change in current velocity at the sea floor. However, in a carbonate system the peak in grain size is associated with increased winnowing rather than increased sediment supply as in siliciclastic environments. In addition, the carbonate contourite sequence is usually thinner than in siliciclastics because of lower sediment supply rates. Little Bahama Bank and Great Bahama Bank contourites contain open‐ocean input and slope‐derived debris from glacial episodes. Inner platform, platform edge and open ocean pelagic input characterize the classical periplatform ooze during interglacials. In all studied examples, the drift composition depends on the sea floor topography surrounding the drift location and the type of sediment supply. Carbonate particles are derived from either the slope or the platform in slope and toe of slope drifts, very deep contourites have distant siliciclastic sources of sediment supply. The recent discovery of the importance of a large downslope gravitary system along Bahamian slopes suggests frequent interactions between downslope and along‐slope (contour currents) processes. The interlayering of mass flow deposits and contourites at a seismic scale or the presence of surface structures associated with both contour currents and mass flow processes shows that both processes act at the same location. Finally, contour currents have an important impact on the repartition of deep‐water coral mounds. Currents can actively interact with mounds as a nutrient and oxygen supplier or have a passive interaction, with mounds solely being obstacles orienting erosion and deposition.     

Facies characteristics of Middle Pleistocene (Saalian) ice-margin subaqueous fan and delta deposits,glacial Lake Leine,NW Germany

The blocking of major river valleys in the Leinebergland area by the Early Saalian Scandinavian ice sheet led to the formation of a large glacial lake, referred to as “glacial Lake Leine”, where most of the sediment was deposited by meltwater. At the initial stage, the level of glacial Lake Leine was approx. 110 m a.s.l. The lake level then rose by as much as 100 m to a highstand of approx. 200 m a.s.l.Two genetically distinct ice-margin depositional systems are described that formed on the northern margin of glacial Lake Leine in front of the retreating Scandinavian ice sheet. The Bornhausen delta is up to 15 m thick and characterized by a large-scale tangential geometry with dip angles from 10°–28°, reflecting high-angle foreset deposition on a steep delta slope. Foreset beds consist of massive clast-supported gravel and pebbly sand, alternating with planar-parallel stratified pebbly sand, deposited from cohesionless debris flows, sandy debris flows and high-density turbidity flows. The finer-grained sandy material moved further downslope where it was deposited from low-density turbidity currents to form massive or ripple-cross-laminated sand in the toeset area.The Freden ice-margin depositional system shows a more complex architecture, characterized by two laterally stacked sediment bodies. The lower part of the section records deposition on a subaqueous ice-contact fan. The upper part of the Freden section is interpreted to represent delta-slope deposits. Beds display low- to high-angle bedding (3°–30°) and consist of planar and trough cross-stratified pebbly sand and climbing-ripple cross-laminated sand. The supply of meltwater-transported sediment to the delta slope was from steady seasonal flows. During higher energy conditions, 2-D and 3-D dunes formed, migrating downslope and passing into ripples. During lower-energy flow conditions thick climbing-ripple cross-laminated sand beds accumulated also on higher parts of the delta slope.     

Storm-induced turbidity currents on a sediment-starved shelf: Insight from direct monitoring and repeat seabed mapping of upslope migrating bedforms

The monitoring of turbidity currents enables accurate internal structure and timing of these flows to be understood. Without monitoring, triggers of turbidity currents often remain hypothetical and are inferred from sedimentary structures of deposits and their age. In this study, the bottom currents within 20 m of the seabed in one of the Pointe-des-Monts (Gulf of St. Lawrence, eastern Canada) submarine canyons were monitored for two consecutive years using Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers. In addition, multibeam bathymetric surveys were carried out during deployment of the Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers and recovery operations. These new surveys, along with previous multibeam surveys carried out over the last decade, revealed that crescentic bedforms have migrated upslope by about 20 to 40 m since 2007, despite the limited supply of sediment on the shelf or river inflow in the region. During the winter of 2017, two turbidity currents with velocities reaching 0·5 m sec⁻¹ and 2·0 m sec⁻¹, respectively, were recorded and were responsible for the rapid (<1 min) upstream migration of crescentic bedforms measured between the autumn surveys of 2016 and 2017. The 200 kg (in water) mooring was also displaced 10 m down-canyon, up the stoss side of a bedform, suggesting that a dense basal layer could be driving the flow during the first minute of the event. Two other weaker turbidity currents with speeds <0·5 m sec⁻¹ occurred, but did not lead to any significant change on the seabed. These four turbidity currents coincided with strong and sustained wind speed >60 km h⁻¹ and higher than normal wave heights. Repeat seabed mapping suggests that the turbidity currents cannot be attributed to a canyon-wall slope failure. Rather, sustained windstorms triggered turbidity currents either by remobilizing limited volumes of sediment on the shelf or by resuspending sediment in the canyon head. Turbidity currents can thus be triggered when the sediment volume available is limited, likely by eroding and incorporating canyon thalweg sediment in the flow, thereby igniting the flow. This process appears to be particularly important for the generation of turbidity currents capable of eroding the lee side of upslope migrating bedforms in sediment-starved environments and might have wider implications for the activity of submarine canyons worldwide. In addition, this study suggests that a large external trigger (in this case storms) is required to initiate turbidity currents in sediment-starved environments, which contrasts with supply-dominated environments where turbidity currents are sometimes recorded without a clear triggering mechanism.     

Sedimentation and continental slope processes in the vicinity of an ocean waste‐disposal site,southeastern Tasmania

Digital echo sounding, SeaBeam swath bathymetry data and sediment cores were collected on the continental slope (1500–3700 m water depth) off southeastern Tasmania in order to study sedimentary processes in the vicinity of an ocean disposal site. The new bathymetry data show that the shallower limits of the disposal site are positioned on the seaward edge of a gently dipping (3°) mid‐slope shoulder, between 1200 and 2100 m water depth. The slope below the disposal site is relatively steep (6.5°) and is cut by submarine canyons which lead into the adjacent East Tasman Saddle. The SeaBeam bathymetry data show a small submarine canyon traversing the slope in 2400 m water depth directly downslope from the disposal site, with local slopes of up to 22°. The canyon feeds into a perched basin at 2450 m, which could be acting as a local sediment trap. Short (<90 cm) gravity cores indicate that indurated erosional surfaces characterise the slope environment. The cores contain Upper Cretaceous (upper Campanian) sandstones and siltstones, which in places crop out on the sea floor where they are locally draped by a thin (0–30 cm), modern layer of hemipelagic calcareous ooze. Five cores collected from the vicinity of the disposal site had lead and zinc concentrations in the surface 1 cm of 10.3 ± 5.0 and 39.5 ± 19.6 mg/kg, respectively, significantly greater than the background values (2.9 ± 1.4 for lead and 21.2 ± 5.4 for zinc) which characterise the underlying unit that is composed of the same hemipelagic calcareous ooze. Lead and zinc are constituents of the dumped material, jarosite, which, after mixing with slope sediments, can be used as sediment tracers. One core contains a fining‐upwards bed which is also elevated in lead and zinc. This is interpreted as evidence for dispersal of the jarosite from the disposal site downslope to depths >3000 m via turbidity flows sometime during the past 24 years. Current meter data collected from 30 m above the sea floor over one year at the disposal site show that bottom currents attain speeds of up to 0.46 m/s. The current events are attributed to eddies shed by the East Australia Current. The measured bottom currents are capable of transporting fine‐grained hemipelagic muds and could provide a trigger mechanism for turbidity flows.     

Numerical simulation of turbidity current flow and sedimentation: II. Results and geological applications

A process-based, forward computer model of turbidity current flow and sedimentation, termed the TCFS model, has been developed to trace the downslope evolution of individual turbidity flows. Details of the model itself have been presented in a preceding paper. We here outline a series of tests of the TGFS model. The sensitivity tests of the TCFS model to general geological controls reveal the quantitative relationship between these controls and the behaviour of turbidity flows and the geometry and textural features of the resulting turbidites. Experimental turbidity currents on relatively steep slopes accelerate more rapidly and reach higher velocities than those on gentle slopes. Flows with larger initial volumes have higher initial velocities, travel further downslope, and form beds of greater thickness and downslope extent than smaller flows. Experimental high-concentration flows with suspended-sediment concentrations of 25% accelerate more rapidly and reach higher downslope velocities than dilute flows with 5% suspended sediment. The higher velocities and enhanced hindered-settling effects of the high-concentration flows lead to much greater transport distances and reduced vertical and lateral sediment size grading in the resulting turbidites. Beds formed by experimental high-concentration flows are massive or show coarse-tail grading whereas beds formed by low-concentration flows show distribution-grading. Experimental flows fed by coarse sediment sources tend to deposit the bulk of their suspended sediment loads on the proximal slope, resulting in more rapid flow deceleration and sedimentation than flows fed by silt-rich, fine-grained sediment sources. Turbidites formed by coarse-sediment flows tend to have a wedge-shaped geometry, with low downslope extent and high surface relief, whereas turbidites formed by fine-sediment flows tend to have a tabular geometry, with greater downslope extent and lower surface relief. A specific geological test of the TCFS model is based on studies of modern turbidity currents in Bute Inlet, British Columbia, Canada. With the input initial and boundary conditions estimated from Bute Inlet, the model predicts the downslope velocity evolution of turbidity currents comparable to those of modern and ancient turbidity flows measured in Bute Inlet. Model-calculated vertical and downslope grain-size properties of turbidites are similar to those exhibited by surface and cored Bute Inlet turbidites. Model flows tend to decelerate more rapidly than some stronger turbidity currents in the Bute Inlet system, and model beds tend to decrease in grain-size downslope more rapidly than observed bottom sediments. This is probably because the TCFS model flows lacked clay, which is abundant in Bute Inlet; they do not fully simulate turbulent mixing of suspended sediments; and they better represent the unsteady, depositional stage of turbidity-currents than the preceding stage of more-or-less steady-flow conditions. These tests demonstrate that the TCFS model provides a semi-quantitative method to study the growth patterns of submarine turbidite systems. It can serve as a predictive tool for analysing the facies architecture of ancient turbidite systems through simulating multi-depositional events by improving its erosion function, and the compatibility between its numerical components.     

Deep-water sediment wave fields, bottom current sand channels and gravity flow channel-lobe systems: Gulf of Cadiz, NE Atlantic

Abstract A study of the seafloor of the Gulf of Cadiz west of the Strait of Gibraltar, using an integrated geophysical and sedimentological data set, gives new insights into sediment deposition from downslope thermohaline bottom currents. In this area, the Mediterranean Outflow (MO) begins to mix with North Atlantic waters and separates into alongslope geostrophic and downslope ageostrophic components. Changes in bedform morphology across the study area indicate a decrease in the peak velocity of the MO from >1 m s^?1 to <0·5 m s^?1. The associated sediment waves form a continuum from sand waves to muddy sand waves to mud waves. A series of downslope‐oriented channels, formed by the MO, are found where the MO starts to descend the continental slope at a water depth of ≈700 m. These channels are up to 40 km long, have gradients of <0·5°, a fairly constant width of ≈2 km and a depth of ≈75 m. Sand waves move down the channels that have mud wave‐covered levees similar to those seen in turbidite channel–levee systems, although the channel size and levee thickness do not decrease downslope as in typical turbidite channel systems. The channels terminate abruptly where the MO lifts off the seafloor. Gravity flow channels with lobes on the basin floor exist downslope from several of the bottom current channels. Each gravity flow system has a narrow, slightly sinuous channel, up to 20 m deep, feeding a depositional lobe up to 7 km long. Cores from the lobes recovered up to 8·5 m of massive, well‐sorted, fine sand, with occasional mud clasts. This work provides an insight into the complex facies patterns associated with strong bottom currents and highlights key differences between bottom current and gravity flow channel–levee systems. The distribution of sand within these systems is of particular interest, with applications in understanding the architecture of hydrocarbon reservoirs formed in continental slope settings.     

Non-uniform across-shelf variations in thickness, grain size, and frequency of turbidites in a transgressive outer-shelf, the Middle Pleistocene Kakinokidai Formation, Boso Peninsula, Japan

Across-shelf variations in thickness, grain size, and frequency of sandstone beds in a transgressive outer-shelf succession were investigated from the Middle Pleistocene (ca. 0.7 Ma) Kakinokidai Formation on the Boso Peninsula, Japan. The transgressive deposits are generally muddy and contain slumps and slump scars. The intercalated sandstone beds are interpreted to have been formed from turbidity currents as a response to erosion and resuspension of sandridge-complex deposits in the southwestern upslope area during storm events. Mapping of volcanic ash beds and a transgressive surface in the base of the formation permits detailed bed-by-bed correlation of the outer-shelf sandstone beds. Although, overall, thickness, grain size, and frequency of sandstone beds decrease in the downslope direction, some sandstone beds locally thin out and coarsen in association with slump scars in the surrounding muddy deposits. These sandstone beds subsequently thicken and fine, and finally thin out in the farther downslope area. In addition to the local thinning of sandstone beds, the frequency of sandstone beds first decreases and then increases in the farther offshore direction. From this evidence, we concluded that these non-uniform patterns of across-outer-shelf variations in thickness, grain size, and frequency of sandstone beds were caused by the local increases in flow speeds and subsequent expansion and reduced speeds of turbidity currents, along with a local increase in the seafloor gradient that was induced by the development of slump scars in the transgressive outer-shelf floor. These physiographic features in the outer shelf are interpreted not to have permitted monotonous downslope thinning and fining of sandstone beds, compared with the bed-shape models of depletive turbidity currents and with the proximality trend of shelf sandstones from modern and ancient highstand-stage shelf systems.     

印度河扇水道堤岸外侧更新世沉积物波发育特征与形成过程分析*

印度河扇更新世发育的沉积物波结构复杂、形态多样,其形成过程的认识程度低。本次研究通过高分辨率地震数据和地震解释技术,研究了印度河扇沉积物波的波长、形态、波峰变化等形态特征;阐述了沉积物波与沉积物变形特征的差异、识别了两者的区分标志;总结了水道堤岸斜坡和区域斜坡上沉积物波的分布规律;在此基础上,讨论了沉积物波的形成机理和控制因素,分析了沉积物波的形成过程,并建立了印度河扇沉积物波的形成模式。研究表明: (1)研究区沉积物波波长平均为486.84 m,最大1473 m;波高在10~60 m之间,平均30 m。(2)沉积物波的形态有对称型和非对称型,其迁移方式有上坡迁移型、加积型和下坡迁移型;沉积物波主要发育在水道堤岸的斜坡上,在区域斜坡上也发育少量的沉积物波,这2种沉积物波波脊的走向差异很大,水道堤岸斜坡上的沉积物波主要分布于水道凹岸堤岸的外侧,距离水道越远其规模(波长、波高)越小,波脊走向近于NE-SW方向,与水道的走向平行或斜交;区域斜坡上的沉积物波波脊的走向多为NW-SE向,平行于区域斜坡的走向,离源区越远规模越大。(3)水道堤岸斜坡上的沉积物波是由水道型浊流在离心力的作用下,溢出水道的凹岸,在堤岸外侧的斜坡上沉积形成的,堤岸斜坡的角度对沉积物波的发育规模影响不大,浊流的强度和输沙量对其规模影响大;区域斜坡上发育的沉积物波是由顺坡而下的非水道化的浊流沉积形成;滑塌变形造成的起伏地貌以及早期沉积物波的存在,也都影响了后期沉积物波的发育。     

印度河扇水道堤岸外侧更新世沉积物波发育特征与形成过程分析*

印度河扇更新世发育的沉积物波结构复杂、形态多样,其形成过程的认识程度低。本次研究通过高分辨率地震数据和地震解释技术,研究了印度河扇沉积物波的波长、形态、波峰变化等形态特征;阐述了沉积物波与沉积物变形特征的差异、识别了两者的区分标志;总结了水道堤岸斜坡和区域斜坡上沉积物波的分布规律;在此基础上,讨论了沉积物波的形成机理和控制因素,分析了沉积物波的形成过程,并建立了印度河扇沉积物波的形成模式。研究表明: (1)研究区沉积物波波长平均为486.84 m,最大1473 m;波高在10~60 m之间,平均30 m。(2)沉积物波的形态有对称型和非对称型,其迁移方式有上坡迁移型、加积型和下坡迁移型;沉积物波主要发育在水道堤岸的斜坡上,在区域斜坡上也发育少量的沉积物波,这2种沉积物波波脊的走向差异很大,水道堤岸斜坡上的沉积物波主要分布于水道凹岸堤岸的外侧,距离水道越远其规模(波长、波高)越小,波脊走向近于NE-SW方向,与水道的走向平行或斜交;区域斜坡上的沉积物波波脊的走向多为NW-SE向,平行于区域斜坡的走向,离源区越远规模越大。(3)水道堤岸斜坡上的沉积物波是由水道型浊流在离心力的作用下,溢出水道的凹岸,在堤岸外侧的斜坡上沉积形成的,堤岸斜坡的角度对沉积物波的发育规模影响不大,浊流的强度和输沙量对其规模影响大;区域斜坡上发育的沉积物波是由顺坡而下的非水道化的浊流沉积形成;滑塌变形造成的起伏地貌以及早期沉积物波的存在,也都影响了后期沉积物波的发育。     

Numerical simulation of turbidity current flow and sedimentation: I. Theory

A computer-based numerical model of turbidity current flow and sedimentation is presented that integrates geological observations with basic equations for fluid and sediment motion. The model quantifies those aspects of turbidity currents that make them different from better-understood fluvial processes, including water mixing across the upper flow boundary and the interactions between the suspended-sediment concentration and the flow dynamics and sedimentation. The model includes three numerical components: (1) a layer-averaged three-equation flow model for tracing downslope flow evolution using continuity and momentum equations, (2) a sedimentation/fluidization model for tracing sediment-size fractionation in sedimenting multicomponent suspensions and (3) a concentration-viscosity model for quantifying the changes in resistance of such suspensions toward fluid and sediment motion. The model traces the evolution of a model turbidity current in terms the layer-averaged flow velocity, flow thickness, sediment concentration distribution, and the rate of sedimentation and sediment size fractionation. It generates synthetic turbidites with downslope variations in thickness and grain-size structuring at each point along the flow path. This study represents an effort to evaluate quantitatively the effects of basin geometry, sediment supply and sediment properties on the mechanics of turbidity current flow and sedimentation and on the geometry and grain size characteristics of the resulting deposits.     

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.     

The sequence of events around the epicentre of the 1929 Grand Banks earthquake: initiation of debris flows and turbidity current inferred from sidescan sonar

Continental slope sediment failures around the epicentre of the 1929 'Grand Banks' earthquake have been imaged with the SAR (Système Acoustique Remorqué) high-resolution, deep-towed sidescan sonar and sub-bottom profiler. The data are augmented by seismic reflection profiles, cores and observations from submersibles. Failure occurs only in water depths greater than about 650 m. Rotational, retrogressive slumps, on a variety of scales, appear to have been initiated on local steep areas of seabed above shallow (5–25 m) regional shear planes covering a large area of the failure zone. The slumps pass downslope into debris flows, which include blocky lemniscate bodies and intervening channels. Clear evidence of current erosion is found only in steep-sided valleys: we infer that debris flows passed through hydraulic jumps on these steep slopes and were transformed into turbidity currents which then evolved ignitively. Delayed retrogressive failure and transformation of debris flows into turbidity currents through hydraulic jumps provide a mechanism to produce a turbidity current with sustained flow over many hours.     

Sediment dynamics of a sandy contourite: the sedimentary context of the Darwin cold-water coral mounds,Northern Rockall Trough

Grainsize, mineralogy and current-meter data from the Northern Rockall Trough are presented in order to characterise the sandy contourite that forms the sedimentary environment of the Darwin cold-water coral mounds, and to investigate the impact of this environment on the mound build-up. Large clusters of small cold-water coral mounds, 75 m across and 5 m high, have been found southwest of the Wyville Thomson Ridge, at 900–1,100 m water depth. Their present-day sedimentary environment consists of a subtly sorted sandy contourite, elongated NE–SW, roughly parallel to the contours. Critical erosional and depositional current speeds were calculated, and trends in both the quartz/feldspar and foraminifera fractions of the sands show a bi-directional fining from bedload/erosion-dominated sands in the NE to suspension/deposition-dominated sediments in the SW and towards the S (downslope). This is caused by a gradual reduction in governing current speed, linked to a reduction in slope gradient, and by the increasing distance from the current core in the downslope direction. No specific characteristics were found distinguishing the mound sediments from the surrounding sands: they fit in the overall spatial pattern. Some mound cores show hints of a fining-upward trend. Overall the mound build-up process is interpreted as a result of sediment baffling.     

Response of unconfined turbidity current to normal‐fault topography

Turbidity currents descending the slopes of deep‐water extensional basins or passive continental margins commonly encounter normal‐fault escarpments, but such large‐magnitude phenomena are hydraulically difficult to replicate at small scale in the laboratory. This study uses advanced computational fluid dynamics numerical simulations to monitor the response of large, natural‐scale unconfined turbidity currents (100 m thick and 2000 m wide at the inlet gate) to normal‐fault topography with a maximum relief of nearly 300 m. For comparative purposes, the turbidity current is first released on a non‐faulted pristine slope of 1·5° (simulation model 1). The expanding and waxing flow bypasses the slope without recognizable deposition within the visibility limit of 8 vol.% sand grain packing. Similar flow is then released towards the tip (model 2) and towards the centre (model 3) of a normal‐fault escarpment. In both of these latter models, the sand carried by flow tends to be entrapped in four distinct depozones: an upslope near‐gate zone of flow abrupt expansion and self‐regulation; a flow‐transverse zone at the fault footwall edge; a flow‐transverse zone at the immediate hangingwall; and a similar transverse zone near the crest of the hangingwall counter‐slope, where some of the deposited sand also tends to be reshuffled to the previous zone by a secondary reverse underflow. The near‐bottom reverse flow appears to be generated on a counter‐slope of 1·1°, increased to 2·0° by deposition. The Kelvin–Helmholtz interface instability plays an important role by causing three‐dimensional fluctuations in the flow velocity magnitude and sediment concentration. The thick deposits of large single‐surge flows may thus show hydraulic fluctuations resembling those widely ascribed to hyperpycnal flows. The study indicates further that the turbiditic slope fans formed on such fault topographies are likely to be patchy and hence may differ considerably from the existing slope‐fan conceptual models when it comes to the spatial prediction of main sand depozones.     

Evaluation of potential landslide damming: Case study of Urni landslide,Kinnaur, Satluj valley,India

This work aims to understand the process of potential landslide damming using slope failure mechanism,dam dimension and dam stability evaluation. The Urni landslide, situated on the right bank of the Satluj River, Himachal Pradesh(India) is taken as the case study. The Urni landslide has evolved into a complex landslide in the last two decade(2000-2016) and has dammed the Satluj River partially since year 2013,damaging ～200 m stretch of the National Highway(NH-05). The crown of the landslide exists at an altitude of ～2180-2190 m above msl, close to the Urni village that has a human population of about 500.The high resolution imagery shows ～50 m long landslide scarp and ～100 m long transverse cracks in the detached mass that implies potential for further slope failure movement. Further analysis shows that the landslide has attained an areal increase of 103,900 ± 1142 m^2 during year 2004-2016. About 86% of this areal increase occurred since year 2013. Abrupt increase in the annual mean rainfall is also observed since the year 2013. The extreme rainfall in the June, 2013; 11 June(～100 mm) and 16 June(～115 mm),are considered to be responsible for the slope failure in the Urni landslide that has partially dammed the river. The finite element modelling(FEM) based slope stability analysis revealed the shear strain in the order of 0.0-0.16 with 0.0-0.6 m total displacement in the detachment zone. Further, kinematic analysis indicated planar and wedge failure condition in the jointed rockmass. The debris flow runout simulation of the detached mass in the landslide showed a velocity of ～25 m/s with a flow height of ～15 m while it(debris flow) reaches the valley floor. Finally, it is also estimated that further slope failure may detach as much as 0.80 ±0.32 million m^3 mass that will completely dam the river to a height of 76±30 m above the river bed.     

Characteristics of modern carbonate contourite drifts

Carbonate environments inhabit the realm of the surface, intermediate and deep currents of the ocean circulation where they produce and continuously deliver material which is potentially deposited into contourite drifts. In the tropical realm, fine‐grained particles produced in shallow water and transported off‐bank by tidal, wind‐driven, and cascading density currents are a major source for transport and deposition by currents. Sediment production is especially high during interglacial times when sea level is high and is greatly reduced during glacial times of sea‐level lowstands. Reduced sedimentation on carbonate contourite drifts leads to early marine cementation and hardened surfaces, which are often reworked when current strength increases. As a result, reworked lithoclasts are a common component in carbonate drifts. In areas of temperate and cool water carbonates, currents are able to flow across carbonate producing areas and incorporate sediment directly to the current. The entrained skeletal carbonate particles have variable bulk density and shapes that lower the prediction of transport rates in energy‐based transport models, as well as prediction of current velocity based on grain size. All types of contourite drifts known in clastic environments are found in carbonate environments, but three additional drift types occur in carbonates because of local sources and current flow diversion in the complicated topography inherent to carbonate systems. The periplatform drift is a carbonate‐specific plastered drift that is nearly exclusively made of periplatform ooze. Its geometry is built by the interaction of along‐slope currents and downslope currents, which deliver sediment from the adjacent shallow‐water carbonate realm to the contour current via a line source. Because the periplatform drift is plastered on the slopes of the platforms it is also subject to mass gravity flow and large slope failures. At platform edges, a special type of patch drift develops. These hemiconal platform‐edge drifts also contain exclusively periplatform ooze but their geometry is controlled by the current around the corner of the platform. At the north‐western end of Little and Great Bahama Bank are platform‐edge drifts that are over 100 km long and up to 600 m thick. A special type of channel‐related drift forms when passages between carbonate buildups or channels within a platform open into deeper water. A current flowing in these channels will entrain material shed from the sediment producing areas. At the channel mouth, the sediment‐charged current deposits its sediment load into the deeper basin. With continuous flow, a submarine delta drift is built that progrades into the deep water. The strongly focused current forming the delta drift, is able to rework coarse skeletal grains and clasts, making this type of carbonate drift the coarsest drift type.     

含沙量对草地坡面径流泥沙沉积和水力特性的影响

通过室内模拟试验,在坡度为3°和9°、流量为20和60L/min条件下研究了不同浓度(0～350kg/m3)含沙水流流经草地的泥沙沉积过程及其水力学特性。结果表明,坡面泥沙沉积量随含沙量的增加而增大,3°时泥沙沉积率与含沙量呈正相关,而9°时沉积率与含沙量呈反势。坡度对泥沙沉积影响显著,而在相同坡度条件下,两种流量试验的泥沙沉积量无明显差异。相同坡面坡上部位流速小于坡下部位,且含沙量对坡面流速影响较小。在相同坡度和流量条件下,水流雷诺数随含沙量的增大而减小。3°时水流阻力系数和曼宁糙率均随含沙量的增加而增大,而9°时含沙量对阻力影响不明显,因此在土壤侵蚀较严重地区进行坡面水文过程演算时需考虑含沙量对缓坡糙率的影响。