What causes large submarine landslides on low gradient (<2°) continental slopes with slow (∼0.15 m/kyr) sediment accumulation?.

Urlaub, Morelia , Talling, Peter J, Zervos, Antonis and Masson , Douglas G (2015) What causes large submarine landslides on low gradient (<2°) continental slopes with slow (∼0.15 m/kyr) sediment accumulation?. Open Access Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 120 (10). pp. 6722-6739. DOI 10.1002/2015JB012347.

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Abstract

Submarine landslides can cause damaging tsunamis, the height of which scales up with the volume of the displaced mass. The largest underwater landslides are far bigger than any landslides on land, and these submarine megaslides tend to occur on open continental slopes with remarkably low gradients of less than 2°. For geohazard assessments it is essential to understand what preconditions and triggers slope failure on such low gradients. Previous work has suggested that generation of high excess pore pressure due to rapid sediment deposition plays a key role in such failures. However, submarine slope failure also occurs where sedimentation rates are low (<0.15 m/kyr), such as off northwest Africa. We use a fully coupled stress and fluid flow finite element model to test whether such low sedimentation rates can generate sufficient excess pore pressures to cause failure of a 2° slope. The sensitivity of overpressure generation and slope stability is assessed with respect to different sedimentation rates and patterns, sediment consolidation properties, and stratigraphic layer configurations. The simulations show that, in general, it is difficult to generate significant excess pore pressure if sediment accumulation is slow and the only pressure source. However, we identify a sediment compression behavior that can lead to submarine landslides in locations worldwide. Our results imply that compressibility is an important factor for the stability of low gradient continental slopes.

Document Type: Article
Funder compliance: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/FP7/603839
Additional Information: WOS:000366842400003
Keywords: Submarine landslides, finite element modelling, excess pore pressure
Research affiliation: OceanRep > GEOMAR > FB4 Dynamics of the Ocean Floor > FB4-GDY Marine Geodynamics
Refereed: Yes
Open Access Journal?: No
Publisher: AGU (American Geophysical Union), Wiley
Related URLs:
Projects: ASTARTE
Date Deposited: 13 Oct 2015 07:11
Last Modified: 02 May 2017 10:42
URI: https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/30008

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