Mass failures associated with the passage of a large tropical cyclone over the Swatch of No Ground submarine canyon (Bay of Bengal)

作者：Rogers Kimberly G^*; Goodbred Steven L Jr

来源：Geology, 2010, 38(11): 1051-U123.

DOI：10.1130/G31181.1

Acoustic surveys collected six months before and after the passing of a major tropical cyclone over the Swatch of No Ground submarine canyon (Bay of Bengal) revealed the formation of widespread mass failures 30 km offshore of the Ganges-Brahmaputra river delta. Mass sediment flows several kilometers wide with minimal run-out distances (<300 m) are interpreted as liquefied strata that formed in response to hydrostatic loading and cyclic wave pumping during the storm. Several massive slide valleys (>1 km wide x 5-60 m thick) developed in areas with preexisting subsurface sediment deformation and evidence for active submarine fluid discharge. In contrast, narrow, steep-walled (7 degrees-10 degrees) gullies present before the storm did not fail, suggesting that the gully walls may be shear hardened by the preferential funneling of gravity flows from the Bengal shelf. Combined, the widespread mass failures and gullies are part of a rapidly accreting (5-50 cm/yr), net-aggradational canyon system that supports multiple mechanisms for sediment transport from the active river mouth to the canyon.

• 出版日期2010-11