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Which triggers produce the most erosive, frequent and longest runout turbidity currents on deltas?

Hizzett, J.L.; Hughes Clarke, J.E.; Sumner, E.J.; Cartigny, M.J.B.; Talling, P.J.; Clare, M.A.

Which triggers produce the most erosive, frequent and longest runout turbidity currents on deltas? Thumbnail


Authors

J.L. Hizzett

J.E. Hughes Clarke

E.J. Sumner

M.A. Clare



Abstract

Subaerial rivers and turbidity currents are the two most voluminous sediment transport processes on our planet, and it is important to understand how they are linked offshore from river mouths. Previously it was thought that slope failures or direct plunging of river flood water (hyperpycnal flow) dominated the triggering of turbidity currents on delta-fronts. Here we re-analyse the most detailed time-lapse monitoring yet of a submerged delta; comprising 93 surveys of the Squamish Delta in British Columbia, Canada. We show that most turbidity currents are triggered by settling of sediment from dilute surface river plumes, rather than landslides or hyperpycnal flows. Turbidity currents triggered by settling plumes occur frequently, run out as far as landslide-triggered events, and cause the greatest changes to delta and lobe morphology. For the first time, we show that settling from surface plumes can dominate the triggering of hazardous submarine flows and offshore sediment fluxes.

Citation

Hizzett, J., Hughes Clarke, J., Sumner, E., Cartigny, M., Talling, P., & Clare, M. (2018). Which triggers produce the most erosive, frequent and longest runout turbidity currents on deltas?. Geophysical Research Letters, 45(2), 855-863. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017gl075751

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Dec 10, 2017
Online Publication Date Jan 24, 2018
Publication Date Jan 28, 2018
Deposit Date Jan 8, 2018
Publicly Available Date Jan 10, 2018
Journal Geophysical Research Letters
Print ISSN 0094-8276
Electronic ISSN 1944-8007
Publisher Wiley
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 45
Issue 2
Pages 855-863
DOI https://doi.org/10.1002/2017gl075751
Public URL https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1341990
Related Public URLs http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/518892/

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Copyright Statement
©2017. The Authors.
This is an open access article under the
terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution License, which permits use,
distribution and reproduction in any
medium, provided the original work is
properly cited.






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