Katherine L. Maier
Linking Direct Measurements of Turbidity Currents to Submarine Canyon-Floor Deposits
Maier, Katherine L.; Gales, Jennifer A.; Paull, Charles K.; Rosenberger, Kurt; Talling, Peter J.; Simmons, Stephen M.; Gwiazda, Roberto; McGann, Mary; Cartigny, Matthieu J.B.; Lundsten, Eve; Anderson, Krystle; Clare, Michael A.; Xu, Jingping; Parsons, Daniel; Barry, James P.; Wolfson-Schwehr, Monica; Nieminski, Nora M.; Sumner, Esther J.
Authors
Jennifer A. Gales
Charles K. Paull
Kurt Rosenberger
Professor Peter Talling peter.j.talling@durham.ac.uk
Professor
Stephen M. Simmons
Roberto Gwiazda
Mary McGann
Matthieu J.B. Cartigny
Eve Lundsten
Krystle Anderson
Michael A. Clare
Jingping Xu
Daniel Parsons
James P. Barry
Monica Wolfson-Schwehr
Nora M. Nieminski
Esther J. Sumner
Abstract
Submarine canyons are conduits for episodic and powerful sediment density flows (commonly called turbidity currents) that move globally significant amounts of terrestrial sediment and organic carbon into the deep sea, forming some of the largest sedimentary deposits on Earth. The only record available for most turbidity currents is the deposit they leave behind. Therefore, to understand turbidity current processes, we need to determine the degree to which these flows are represented by their deposits. However, linking flows and deposits is a major long-standing scientific challenge. There are few detailed measurements from submarine turbidity currents in action, and even fewer direct measurements that can be compared to resulting seabed deposits. Recently, an extensive array of moorings along Monterey Canyon, offshore California, took measurements and samples during sediment density flow events, providing the most comprehensive dataset to date of turbidity current flows and their deposits. Here, we use sediment trap samples, velocity measurements, and seafloor cores to document how sand is transported through a submarine canyon, and how the transported sediment is represented in seafloor deposits. Sediment trap samples from events contain primarily fine to medium-grained sand with sharp bases, normal grading, and muddy tops. Sediment captured from the water column during the flow shows normal grading, which is broadly consistent with the initial peak and waning of flow velocities measured at a single height within the flow, and may be enhanced by collapsing flows. Flow events contain coarser sand concentrated toward the seafloor and larger grain sizes on the seafloor or in the dense near-bed layer, possibly representative of stratified flows. Although flow velocity varies, sand grain sizes in sediment traps are similar over distances of 50 km down-canyon, suggesting that grain size is an unfaithful record of down-canyon changes in maximum flow speeds. Sand transported within flow events and sampled in sediment traps is similar to sand sampled from the seafloor shortly after the events, but traps do not contain pebbles and gravel common in seabed deposits. Seabed deposits thus appear to faithfully record the sand component that is transported in the water column during sub-annual turbidity currents.
Citation
Maier, K. L., Gales, J. A., Paull, C. K., Rosenberger, K., Talling, P. J., Simmons, S. M., Gwiazda, R., McGann, M., Cartigny, M. J., Lundsten, E., Anderson, K., Clare, M. A., Xu, J., Parsons, D., Barry, J. P., Wolfson-Schwehr, M., Nieminski, N. M., & Sumner, E. J. (2019). Linking Direct Measurements of Turbidity Currents to Submarine Canyon-Floor Deposits. Frontiers in Earth Science, 7, Article 144. https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2019.00144
Journal Article Type | Article |
---|---|
Acceptance Date | May 20, 2019 |
Online Publication Date | Jun 6, 2019 |
Publication Date | Jun 6, 2019 |
Deposit Date | Jun 13, 2019 |
Publicly Available Date | Jun 14, 2019 |
Journal | Frontiers in Earth Science |
Publisher | Frontiers Media |
Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
Volume | 7 |
Article Number | 144 |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2019.00144 |
Public URL | https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1294487 |
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Published Journal Article (Advance Online Version)
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Publisher Licence URL
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Copyright Statement
Advance Online Version © 2019 Maier, Gales, Paull, Rosenberger, Talling, Simmons, Gwiazda, McGann, Cartigny, Lundsten, Anderson, Clare, Xu, Parsons, Barry, Wolfson-Schwehr, Nieminski and Sumner. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Published Journal Article
(9.2 Mb)
PDF
Publisher Licence URL
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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