Soutter, EL, Kane, IA, Hodgson, DM orcid.org/0000-0003-3711-635X et al. (1 more author) (2021) The concavity of submarine canyon longitudinal profiles. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 126 (10). e2021JF006185. ISSN 2169-9011
Abstract
Submarine canyons incise continental shelves and slopes, and are important conduits for the transport of sediment, nutrients, organic carbon and pollutants from continents to oceans. Submarine canyons bear morphological similarities to subaerial valleys, such as their longitudinal (long) profiles. Long profiles record the interaction between erosion and uplift, making their shape, or concavity, a record of environmental and tectonic processes. The processes that govern concavity of subaerial valleys and rivers are well documented on a global scale, however, the processes that control submarine canyon concavity are less well constrained. We address this problem by utilizing existing geomorphological, tectonic and climatic datasets to measure the long profiles and quantify the concavities of 377 modern submarine canyons. Key results show that: (1) the dominant control on submarine canyon concavity is tectonics, with forearcs and tectonically active margins hosting the least concave-up profiles; (2) present-day canyon position affects canyon concavity, with river-associated canyons being less concave than canyons currently dissociated from rivers on forearcs; (3) present-day onshore climate appears to have a more limited impact on submarine canyon concavity when compared to these factors. While significant local variation exists, these results indicate that tectonic processes are the dominant control on the concavity of submarine canyons on a global scale.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2021 American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved. Reproduced in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Earth and Environment (Leeds) > Institute for Applied Geosciences (IAG) (Leeds) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number University of Manchester R123936 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 21 Sep 2021 09:49 |
Last Modified: | 24 Mar 2022 01:38 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Identification Number: | 10.1029/2021JF006185 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:178358 |