High resolution bathymetric survey on the NW slope of Walvis Ridge, offshore Namibia.

Behrmann, Jan H. , Shulgin, Alexey and Prokoph, Andreas (2011) High resolution bathymetric survey on the NW slope of Walvis Ridge, offshore Namibia. In: Berichte der Naturforschenden Gesellschaft zu Freiburg i. Breisgau. ; 101 . Aedificatio-Verlag, Freiburg, pp. 97-110.

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Abstract

Expedition 17/1 of the German research vessel R/V MARIA S. MERIAN, carried out geophysical
surveys and experiments between November and December 2010 in the area
around Walvis Ridge, Southeast Atlantic Ocean. Among the data collected, a high-resolution
bathymetric dataset aquired on the northwestern slope of the ridge offers some important
preliminary insights into the tectonic evolution of the ridge and the adjoining lower
continental slopes and ocean basin. The NE-SW trending Walvis Ridge has a trapezoid
shape and is likely built up by thick sequences of plateau basalts, with top of basement
rocks inclined to the south. Sediments are almost absent on the NW side of the ridge, preserving
a fascinating mountainscape formed early in the tectonic history, most probably
on-land. This interpretation is supported by clear denudational features, like steep cliffs up
to 150 m high, and deeply incised valleys, defining paleo-drainages. Isolated, flat-topped
guyots seaward of the ocean-continent boundary attest to a later history of wave abrasion
and progressive subsidence of Walvis Ridge.

Document Type: Book chapter
Keywords: Meeresgeologie; Geophysics; Multibeam bathymetry, Walvis Ridge, Atlantic Ocean, denudation, plateau basalt
Research affiliation: OceanRep > GEOMAR > FB4 Dynamics of the Ocean Floor > FB4-GDY Marine Geodynamics
Open Access Journal?: Yes
Publisher: Aedificatio-Verlag
Expeditions/Models/Experiments:
Date Deposited: 24 Apr 2012 09:06
Last Modified: 06 Jul 2012 15:11
URI: https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/14261

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