McArthur, A.D. orcid.org/0000-0002-7245-9465, Tek, D.E., Poyatos-Moré, M. et al. (2 more authors) (2024) Deep-ocean channel-wall collapse order of magnitude larger than any other documented. Communications Earth & Environment, 5. 143. ISSN 2662-4435
Abstract
Submarine channels are the largest conveyors of sediment on Earth, yet little is known about their stability in the deep-ocean. Here, 3D seismic data from the deep-ocean Hikurangi channel-levee system, offshore New Zealand, reveal the largest channel-wall failure yet documented. Collapse of both channel-walls along a 68 km stretch created a mass-transport deposit of 19 km3, containing 4 km long blocks. Channel-walls typically collapse piecemeal, but here synchronous failure of both channel-walls and landslide erosion of the seafloor is documented, requiring a new process model for channel-wall failure. Mass-failure on this scale poses an under-appreciated risk to seafloor infrastructure both within channels and over regions extending twice the channel width into their overbank. Hitherto, channel-wall failures of this size are unrecognised in abyssal plains; its scale changes our understanding of how channel-levee systems are constructed and how they conduct sediment, carbon and pollutants into the deep-ocean.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Author(s) 2024. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. |
Dates: |
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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) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 29 Apr 2024 13:54 |
Last Modified: | 29 Apr 2024 14:28 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Springer |
Identification Number: | 10.1038/s43247-024-01311-z |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:211979 |