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Seismic and Acoustic Monitoring of Submarine Landslides: Ongoing Challenges, Recent Successes, and Future Opportunities (2023)
Book Chapter
Clare, M. A., Lintern, G., Pope, E., Baker, M., Ruffell, S., Zulkifli, M. Z., …Talling, P. J. (2024). Seismic and Acoustic Monitoring of Submarine Landslides: Ongoing Challenges, Recent Successes, and Future Opportunities. In G. Bayrakci, & F. Klingelhoefer (Eds.), Noisy Oceans: Monitoring Seismic and Acoustic Signals in the Marine Environment (59-82). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119750925.ch5

Submarine landslides pose a hazard to coastal communities and critical seafloor infrastructure, occurring on all of the world's continental margins, from coastal zones to hadal trenches. Offshore monitoring has been limited by the largely unpredictab... Read More about Seismic and Acoustic Monitoring of Submarine Landslides: Ongoing Challenges, Recent Successes, and Future Opportunities.

Predicting turbidity current activity offshore from meltwater-fed river deltas (2023)
Journal Article
Bailey, L. P., Clare, M. A., Pope, E. L., Haigh, I. D., Cartigny, M. J., Talling, P. J., …Heijnen, M. (2023). Predicting turbidity current activity offshore from meltwater-fed river deltas. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 604, Article 117977. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2022.117977

Quantification of the controls on turbidity current recurrence is required to better constrain land to sea fluxes of sediment, carbon and pollutants, and design resilient infrastructure that is vulnerable to such flows. This is particularly important... Read More about Predicting turbidity current activity offshore from meltwater-fed river deltas.

Carbon and sediment fluxes inhibited in the submarine Congo Canyon by landslide-damming (2022)
Journal Article
Pope, E. L., Heijnen, M. S., Talling, P. J., Jacinto, R. S., Gaillot, A., Baker, M. L., …Urlaub, M. (2022). Carbon and sediment fluxes inhibited in the submarine Congo Canyon by landslide-damming. Nature Geoscience, 15(10), 845-853. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-022-01017-x

Landslide-dams, which are often transient, can strongly affect the geomorphology, and sediment and geochemical fluxes, within subaerial fluvial systems. The potential occurrence and impact of analogous landslide-dams in submarine canyons has, however... Read More about Carbon and sediment fluxes inhibited in the submarine Congo Canyon by landslide-damming.

Stratigraphic record reveals contrasting roles of overflows and underflows over glacial cycles in a hypersaline lake (Dead Sea) (2022)
Journal Article
Lu, Y., Pope, E. L., Moernaut, J., Bookman, R., Waldmann, N., Agnon, A., …Strasser, M. (2022). Stratigraphic record reveals contrasting roles of overflows and underflows over glacial cycles in a hypersaline lake (Dead Sea). Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 594, Article 117723. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2022.117723

In lakes and oceans, links between modern sediment density flow processes and deposits preserved in long-term geological records are poorly understood. Consequently, it is unclear whether, and if so how, long-term climate changes affect the magnitude... Read More about Stratigraphic record reveals contrasting roles of overflows and underflows over glacial cycles in a hypersaline lake (Dead Sea).

Longest sediment flows yet measured show how major rivers connect efficiently to deep sea (2022)
Journal Article
Talling, P. J., Baker, M. L., Pope, E. L., Ruffell, S. C., Jacinto, R. S., Heijnen, M. S., …Hilton, R. J. (2022). Longest sediment flows yet measured show how major rivers connect efficiently to deep sea. Nature Communications, 13(1), https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-31689-3

Here we show how major rivers can efficiently connect to the deep-sea, by analysing the longest runout sediment flows (of any type) yet measured in action on Earth. These seafloor turbidity currents originated from the Congo River-mouth, with one flo... Read More about Longest sediment flows yet measured show how major rivers connect efficiently to deep sea.

Turbidity Currents Can Dictate Organic Carbon Fluxes Across River‐Fed Fjords: An Example From Bute Inlet (BC, Canada) (2022)
Journal Article
Hage, S., Galy, V., Cartigny, M., Heerema, C., Heijnen, M., Acikalin, S., …Talling, P. (2022). Turbidity Currents Can Dictate Organic Carbon Fluxes Across River‐Fed Fjords: An Example From Bute Inlet (BC, Canada). Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 127(6), https://doi.org/10.1029/2022jg006824

The delivery and burial of terrestrial particulate organic carbon (OC) in marine sediments is important to quantify, because this OC is a food resource for benthic communities, and if buried it may lower the concentrations of atmospheric CO2 over geo... Read More about Turbidity Currents Can Dictate Organic Carbon Fluxes Across River‐Fed Fjords: An Example From Bute Inlet (BC, Canada).

First source-to-sink monitoring shows dense head controls sediment flux and runout in turbidity currents (2022)
Journal Article
Pope, E. L., Cartigny, M. J., Clare, M. A., Talling, P. J., Lintern, D. G., Vellinga, A., …Vendettuoli, D. (2022). First source-to-sink monitoring shows dense head controls sediment flux and runout in turbidity currents. Science Advances, 8(20), Article eabj3220. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abj3220

Until recently, despite being one of the most important sediment transport phenomena on Earth, few direct measurements of turbidity currents existed. Consequently, their structure and evolution were poorly understood, particularly whether they are de... Read More about First source-to-sink monitoring shows dense head controls sediment flux and runout in turbidity currents.

Fill, flush or shuffle: How is sediment carried through submarine channels to build lobes? (2022)
Journal Article
Heijnen, M. S., Clare, M. A., Cartigny, M. J., Talling, P. J., Hage, S., Pope, E. L., …Hughes Clarke, J. E. (2022). Fill, flush or shuffle: How is sediment carried through submarine channels to build lobes?. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 584, Article 117481. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2022.117481

Submarine channels are the primary conduits for land-derived material, including organic carbon, pollutants, and nutrients, into the deep-sea. The flows (turbidity currents) that traverse these systems can pose hazards to seafloor infrastructure such... Read More about Fill, flush or shuffle: How is sediment carried through submarine channels to build lobes?.

Re-channelization of turbidity currents in South China Sea abyssal plain due to seamounts and ridges (2021)
Journal Article
Yin, S., Pope, E. L., Lin, L., Ding, W., Gao, J., Wu, Z., …Li, J. (2021). Re-channelization of turbidity currents in South China Sea abyssal plain due to seamounts and ridges. Marine Geology, 440, Article 106601. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2021.106601

Turbidity currents can be characterized as net-erosive, net-depositional or net-bypassing. Whether a flow is erosive, depositional or bypasses depends on the flow velocity, concentration and size but these can also be impacted by external controls su... Read More about Re-channelization of turbidity currents in South China Sea abyssal plain due to seamounts and ridges.

Novel sensor array helps to understand submarine cable faults off West Africa (2021)
Working Paper
Talling, P., Baker, M., Pope, E., Cula, C., Cartigny, M., Faria, R., …Nunny, R. (2021). Novel sensor array helps to understand submarine cable faults off West Africa

Seabed telecommunication cables can be damaged or broken by powerful seafloor flows of sediment (called turbidity currents), which may runout for hundreds of kilometres into the deep ocean. These flows have the potential to affect multiple cables nea... Read More about Novel sensor array helps to understand submarine cable faults off West Africa.

Novel acoustic method provides first detailed measurements of sediment concentration structure within submarine turbidity currents (2020)
Journal Article
Simmons, S., Azpiroz-Zabala, M., Cartigny, M., Clare, M., Cooper, C., Parsons, D., …Talling, P. (2020). Novel acoustic method provides first detailed measurements of sediment concentration structure within submarine turbidity currents. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 125(5), Article e2019JC015904. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019jc015904

Turbidity currents transport prodigious volumes of sediment to the deep‐sea. But there are very few direct measurements from oceanic turbidity currents, ensuring they are poorly understood. Recent studies have used acoustic Doppler current profilers... Read More about Novel acoustic method provides first detailed measurements of sediment concentration structure within submarine turbidity currents.

Bedforms on the submarine flanks of insular volcanoes: New insights gained from high resolution seafloor surveys (2020)
Journal Article
Casalbore, D., Clare, M., Pope, E., Quartau, R., Bosman, A., Chiocci, F., …Santos, R. (2021). Bedforms on the submarine flanks of insular volcanoes: New insights gained from high resolution seafloor surveys. Sedimentology, 68(4), 1400-1438. https://doi.org/10.1111/sed.12725

A comparative analysis of bedform fields along the submarine flanks of insular volcanoes, characterized by different morpho‐structural settings, volcanic and meteo‐marine regimes (Vanuatu, Kermadec, Bismark, Madeira and Aeolian archipelagos), is pres... Read More about Bedforms on the submarine flanks of insular volcanoes: New insights gained from high resolution seafloor surveys.

What determines the downstream evolution of turbidity currents? (2019)
Journal Article
Heerema, C. J., Talling, P. J., Cartigny, M. J., Paull, C. K., Bailey, L., Simmons, S. M., …Pope, E. (2020). What determines the downstream evolution of turbidity currents?. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 532, Article 116023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2019.116023

Seabed sediment flows called turbidity currents form some of the largest sediment accumulations, deepest canyons and longest channel systems on Earth. Only rivers transport comparable sediment volumes over such large areas; but there are far fewer me... Read More about What determines the downstream evolution of turbidity currents?.

Direct monitoring reveals initiation of turbidity currents from extremely dilute river plumes (2019)
Journal Article
Hage, S., Cartigny, M. J., Sumner, E. J., Clare, M. A., Hughes Clarke, J. E., Talling, P. J., …Watts, C. (2019). Direct monitoring reveals initiation of turbidity currents from extremely dilute river plumes. Geophysical Research Letters, 46(20), 11310-11320. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019gl084526

Rivers (on land) and turbidity currents (in the ocean) are the most important sediment transport processes on Earth. Yet, how rivers generate turbidity currents as they enter the coastal ocean remains poorly understood. The current paradigm, based on... Read More about Direct monitoring reveals initiation of turbidity currents from extremely dilute river plumes.

Continental slope-confined canyons in the Pearl River Mouth Basin in the South China Sea dominated by erosion, 2004–2018 (2019)
Journal Article
Yin, S., Lin, L., Pope, E. L., Li, J., Ding, W., Wu, Z., …Zhao, D. (2019). Continental slope-confined canyons in the Pearl River Mouth Basin in the South China Sea dominated by erosion, 2004–2018. Geomorphology, 344, 60-74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2019.07.016

Repeat multibeam bathymetric surveys conducted in 2004, 2005 and 2018 show that seven slope-confined canyons on the continental slope of the Pearl River Mouth Basin, South China Sea, were dominated by large volume, widespread erosion. Erosion volumes... Read More about Continental slope-confined canyons in the Pearl River Mouth Basin in the South China Sea dominated by erosion, 2004–2018.

Controls on the formation of turbidity current channels associated with marine-terminating glaciers and ice sheets (2019)
Journal Article
Pope, E. L., Normandeau, A., Ó Cofaigh, C., Stokes, C. R., & Talling, P. J. (2019). Controls on the formation of turbidity current channels associated with marine-terminating glaciers and ice sheets. Marine Geology, 415, Article 105951. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2019.05.010

Submarine channels, and the sediment density flows which form them, act as conduits for the transport of sediment, macro-nutrients, fresher water and organic matter from the coast to the deep sea. These systems are therefore significant pathways for... Read More about Controls on the formation of turbidity current channels associated with marine-terminating glaciers and ice sheets.

Origin of spectacular fields of submarine sediment waves around volcanic islands: distinguishing eruption-fed supercritical flow bedforms from slope failures (2018)
Journal Article
Pope, E. L., Jutzeler, M., Cartigny, M. J., Shreeve, J., Talling, P. J., Wright, I. C., & Wysoczanski, R. J. (2018). Origin of spectacular fields of submarine sediment waves around volcanic islands: distinguishing eruption-fed supercritical flow bedforms from slope failures. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 493, 12-24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2018.04.020

Understanding how large eruptions and landslides are recorded by seafloor morphology and deposits on volcanic island flanks is important for reconstruction of volcanic island history and geohazard assessment. Spectacular fields of bedforms have been... Read More about Origin of spectacular fields of submarine sediment waves around volcanic islands: distinguishing eruption-fed supercritical flow bedforms from slope failures.

The relationship between ice sheets and submarine mass movements in the Nordic Seas during the Quaternary (2018)
Journal Article
Pope, E. L., Talling, P. J., & Ó Cofaigh, C. (2018). The relationship between ice sheets and submarine mass movements in the Nordic Seas during the Quaternary. Earth-Science Reviews, 178, 208-256. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2018.01.007

Quaternary evolution of high-latitude margins has, to a large degree been shaped by the advance and retreat of ice sheets. Our understanding of these margins and the role of ice sheets is predominantly derived from the polar North Atlantic during the... Read More about The relationship between ice sheets and submarine mass movements in the Nordic Seas during the Quaternary.

Newly recognized turbidity current structure can explain prolonged flushing of submarine canyons (2017)
Journal Article
Azpiroz-Zabala, M., Cartigny, M., Talling, P., Parsons, D., Sumner, E., Clare, M., …Pope, E. (2017). Newly recognized turbidity current structure can explain prolonged flushing of submarine canyons. Science Advances, 3(10), Article e1700200. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1700200

Seabed-hugging flows called turbidity currents are the volumetrically most important process transporting sediment across our planet and form its largest sediment accumulations. We seek to understand the internal structure and behavior of turbidity c... Read More about Newly recognized turbidity current structure can explain prolonged flushing of submarine canyons.

Damaging sediment density flows triggered by tropical cyclones (2016)
Journal Article
Pope, E., Talling, P., Carter, L., Clare, M., & Hunt, J. (2017). Damaging sediment density flows triggered by tropical cyclones. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 458, 161-169. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2016.10.046

The global network of subsea fibre-optic cables plays a critical role in the world economy and is considered as strategic infrastructure for many nations. Sediment density flows have caused significant disruption to this network in the recent past. T... Read More about Damaging sediment density flows triggered by tropical cyclones.

Long-term record of Barents Sea Ice Sheet advance to the shelf edge from a 140,000 year record (2016)
Journal Article
Pope, E., Talling, P., Hunt, J., Dowdeswell, J., Allin, J., Cartigny, M., …Watts, M. (2016). Long-term record of Barents Sea Ice Sheet advance to the shelf edge from a 140,000 year record. Quaternary Science Reviews, 150, 55-66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2016.08.014

The full-glacial extent and deglacial behaviour of marine-based ice sheets, such as the Barents Sea Ice Sheet, is well documented since the Last Glacial Maximum about 20,000 years ago. However, reworking of older sea-floor sediments and landforms dur... Read More about Long-term record of Barents Sea Ice Sheet advance to the shelf edge from a 140,000 year record.

Drainage networks, lakes and water fluxes beneath the Antarctic ice sheet (2016)
Journal Article
Willis, I., Pope, E., Leysinger Vieli, G., Arnold, N., & Long, S. (2016). Drainage networks, lakes and water fluxes beneath the Antarctic ice sheet. Annals of Glaciology, 57(72), 96-108. https://doi.org/10.1017/aog.2016.15

Antarctica Bedmap2 datasets are used to calculate subglacial hydraulic potential and the area, depth and volume of hydraulic potential sinks. There are over 32 000 contiguous sinks, which can be thought of as predicted lakes. Patterns of subglacial m... Read More about Drainage networks, lakes and water fluxes beneath the Antarctic ice sheet.

Which earthquakes trigger damaging submarine mass movements: Insights from a global record of submarine cable breaks? (2016)
Journal Article
Pope, E., Talling, P., & Carter, L. (2017). Which earthquakes trigger damaging submarine mass movements: Insights from a global record of submarine cable breaks?. Marine Geology, 384(1), 131-146. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2016.01.009

Submarine landslides, debris flows and turbidity currents are significant geohazards for seafloor infrastructure in many locations around the world. Their deposits potentially provide a valuable record of major earthquakes, which extends further back... Read More about Which earthquakes trigger damaging submarine mass movements: Insights from a global record of submarine cable breaks?.