Geophysical studies of mass transport deposits on the slope canyon floor with high-resolution autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) in the Shenhu area and its implications for sediment transportation

LIU Zheng; CHEN Duanxin; ZHU Yousheng; ZHANG Guangxu; DONG Dongdong

doi:10.16562/j.cnki.0256-1492.2020110301

2021 Vol. 41, No. 2

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LIU Zheng, CHEN Duanxin, ZHU Yousheng, ZHANG Guangxu, DONG Dongdong. Geophysical studies of mass transport deposits on the slope canyon floor with high-resolution autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) in the Shenhu area and its implications for sediment transportation[J]. Marine Geology & Quaternary Geology, 2021, 41(2): 13-21. doi: 10.16562/j.cnki.0256-1492.2020110301

Citation:

LIU Zheng, CHEN Duanxin, ZHU Yousheng, ZHANG Guangxu, DONG Dongdong. Geophysical studies of mass transport deposits on the slope canyon floor with high-resolution autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) in the Shenhu area and its implications for sediment transportation[J]. Marine Geology & Quaternary Geology, 2021, 41(2): 13-21. doi: 10.16562/j.cnki.0256-1492.2020110301

Geophysical studies of mass transport deposits on the slope canyon floor with high-resolution autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) in the Shenhu area and its implications for sediment transportation

1.
Shenzhen Branch of CNOOC, Shenzhen 518054, China
2.
Key Laboratory of Marine Geology and Environment, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266061, China
3.
Laboratory for Marine Geology, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao 266071, China
4.
Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou 511458, China
5.
Center for Ocean Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China
6.
China Oilfield Services Limited, Tianjin 300459, China
7.
Laboratory for Marine Mineral Resources, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao 266061, China

More Information

Corresponding author: CHEN Duanxin, chenduanxin07@qdio.ac.cn

Received Date: 03 November 2020

Revised Date: 28 December 2020

Publish Date: 28 April 2021

Abstract

Abstract

Submarine canyons are important pathways for terrestrial sediment moving to the deep water far away from the land, and turbidity current is considered as the primary agent. Detailed sedimentary features of the canyon floor are not clear so far due to the low resolution of conventional geophysical data and complicated operating setting in deep water. Here, in this program, high-resolution autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) based multi-beam bathymetry data, side-scan sonar data and chirp sub-bottom profiles are jointly used to map the floor of a canyon and image its shallow strata in the Shenhu area. The canyon floor looks quite flat. However, the underlying shallow strata are composed of widespread mass transport deposits (MTDs) which are a little less than 8.4 meters with weak and chaotic acoustic reflections. They are distributed along the canyon floor in an elongated shape and show little direct links with adjacent steep canyon ridges at the middle and lower segments of the canyon. Thus, we suggest the repeated mass wasting downslope on the canyon floor is an effective mechanism for sediment transportation in addition to turbidity currents. The AUV based geophysical exploration is a efficient tool for further studies of marine sedimentation and seabed installation under deep water.
- submarine canyon /
- sediment transportation /
- autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) /
- mass transport deposits (MTDs) /
- canyon groups in the Shenhu area

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References

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