Geophysical Monograph 246
This Work is a co‐publication of the American Geophysical Union and John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
This Work is a co‐publication between the American Geophysical Union and John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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Library of Congress Cataloging‐in‐Publication Data
Hardback: 9781119500582
Cover Design: Wiley
Cover Image: Conglomerate rock located at Point Reyes, California, deposited by a submarine landslide (licensed under CC BY‐SA)
Dedicated to Nello Luciani and Giuliana
Barbieri, who keep lighting the darkness
Juan Luis Alonso
Department of Geology, University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain
G. Ian Alsop
Department of Geology and Petroleum Geology, School of Geosciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom
Tiago M. Alves
3D Seismic Lab, School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
Flavio S. Anselmetti
Institute of Geological Sciences and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
Malcolm Arnot
Department of Petroleum Geoscience, GNS Science, Lower Hutt, New Zealand
Marcos Arroyo
Polytechnic University of Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
Robin Jordan Beaman
College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland, Australia
Greg Browne
Department of Petroleum Geoscience, GNS Science, Lower Hutt, New Zealand
Morgane Brunet
University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany
Suzanne Bull
Department of Petroleum Geoscience, GNS Science, Lower Hutt, New Zealand
Jean‐Pierre Burg
Department of Earth Sciences, ETH‐ and University Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Victoria Valdez Buso
Department of Geology and Petroleum Geology, School of Geosciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom
Michael Cassidy
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
Antonio Cattaneo
IFREMER, Géosciences Marines, Brest, France
Mike A. Clare
National Oceanography Centre, University of Southampton Waterfront Campus, Southampton, United Kingdom
Maya Coussens
University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
Martin Crundwell
Department of Petroleum Geoscience, GNS Science, Lower Hutt, New Zealand
Giacomo Dalla Valle
Institute for Marine Sciences (ISMAR), National Council of Research (CNR), Bologna, Italy
James Daniell
College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland, Australia
Chris Elders
Department of Applied Geology, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Andrea Festa
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
Federica Foglini
Institute for Marine Sciences (ISMAR), National Council of Research (CNR), Bologna, Italy
Fabiano Gamberi
Institute for Marine Sciences (ISMAR), National Council of Research (CNR), Bologna, Italy
Davide Gamboa
Portuguese Institute for the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA, I.P.), Lisbon, Portugal
Eulàlia Gràcia
B‐CSI, Institute of Marine Sciences (CSIC), Barcelona, Spain
Carl B. Harbitz
Norwegian Geotechnical Institute, Oslo, Norway
Michael Hilbe
Institute of Geological Sciences and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
Gustavo Hinestrosa
School of Geosciences, Geocoastal Research Group, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Matt Hornbach
SMU Dedman College, Dallas, Texas, United States
Katrin Huhn
MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany
Ben Kneller
Department of Geology and Petroleum Geology, School of Geosciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom
Achim Kopf
MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany
Sebastian Krastel
Institute of Geosciences, Christian‐Albrechts‐University, Kiel, Germany
Jason K. Lackey
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
Sara Lafuerza
Sorbonne University, Paris, France
Anne Le Friant
CNRS, Paris Institute of Earth Physics, University of Paris, Paris, France
Elodie Lebas
Christian‐Albrechts‐University of Kiel, Kiel, Germany
Tsafrir Levi
Geological Survey of Israel, Jerusalem, Israel
Katja Lindhorst
Institute of Geoscience, University of Kiel, Kiel, Germany
Javier López‐Cabrera
Irish Centre for Research in Applied Geosciences, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Finn Løvholt
Norwegian Geotechnical Institute, Oslo, Norway
Claudio Corrado Lucente
Agency for Territorial Safety and Civil Protection, Emilia‐Romagna Region, Rimini, Italy
Shmuel Marco
Department of Geophysics, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv‐Yafo, Israel
Ken McClay
Fault Dynamics Research Group, Department of Earth Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, United Kingdom
Juan Pablo Milana
CONICET and Institute of Geology, National University of San Juan, San Juan, Argentina
Jasper Moernaut
Institute of Geology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
Gregory F. Moore
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
Andy Nicol
Department of Geological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
Kei Ogata
Faculty of Science, Department of Earth Sciences, Free University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Kamaldeen Olakunle Omosanya
Timelapsegeo AS, Trondheim, Norway
Aitor Payros
Department of Stratigraphy and Paleontology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Bilbao, Spain
Alberto Piazza
Department of Chemistry, Life Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, Earth Sciences Unit, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
Gian Andrea Pini
Department of Mathematics and Geosciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
Victoriano Pujalte
Department of Stratigraphy and Paleontology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Bilbao, Spain
Nore Praet
Renard Centre of Marine Geology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Ángel Puga‐Bernabéu
Department of Stratigraphy and Paleontology, University of Granada, Granada, Spain; and
School of Geosciences, Geocoastal Research Group, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Marzia Rovere
Institute for Marine Sciences (ISMAR), National Council of Research (CNR), Bologna, Italy
Maddalena Sammartini
Institute of Geology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
Nicola Scarselli
Fault Dynamics Research Group, Department of Earth Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, United Kingdom
Tilmann Schwenk
Faculty of Geosciences, MARUM‐Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany
Matheus S. Sobiesiak
Postgraduate Program in Geology, University of the Sinos Valley, São Leopoldo, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Lorna Strachan
School of Environment, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Michael Strasser
Institute of Geology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
Peter J. Talling
Departments of Earth Sciences and Geography, University of Durham, Durham, United Kingdom
Amanda Thran
School of Geosciences, EarthByte Group, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Roberto Tinterri
Department of Chemistry, Life Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, Earth Sciences Unit, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
Fabio Trincardi
Institute for Marine Sciences (ISMAR), National Council of Research (CNR), Bologna, Italy
Roger Urgeles
B‐CSI, Institute of Marine Sciences (CSIC), Barcelona, Spain
Morelia Urlaub
GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Kiel, Germany
Masayuki Utsunomiya
Research Institute of Geology and Geoinformation, Geological Survey of Japan, AIST, Tsukuba, Japan
Sonia Venturi
Ecosistema s.c.r.l., Imola, Italy
Sebastian Watt
University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
Jody Michael Webster
School of Geosciences, Geocoastal Research Group, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Rami Weinberger
Geological Survey of Israel, Jerusalem, Israel; and
Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel
Yuzuru Yamamoto
Department of Mathematical Science and Advanced Technology, Japan Agency for Marine‐Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), Yokohama Institute for Earth Sciences, Yokohama, Japan
Mikiya Yamashita
Japan Agency for Marine‐Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), Yokohama, Japan
Giant (>1 km3) submarine landslides are common in every subaqueous geodynamic context (from passive and active continental margins to oceanic and continental intraplate settings) and are among the most threatening geohazard in offshore and coastal areas, due to their recurrence times (about 50 years), dimensions (thousands of cubic kilometers), long traveled distances (hundreds of kilometers), terminal velocity (up to 20 m/s), and proven ability to generate tsunamis, whose destructive potential equals that of large earthquakes. Moreover, such submarine landslides also play fundamental role in changing geological fluxes, as they critically impact the hydrosphere, atmosphere, cryosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere in several ways, with strong synergic autocyclic (local to intraregional) and allocyclic (interregional to global) interactions and interplay of causes and effects (e.g., seismic shocks, liquefaction/fluidization, gas hydrate dissociation, etc.).
The vast amount of geophysical data acquired from modern active and passive margins show that submarine landslide deposits systematically occur at various scales, varying in abundance, morphology, and other characteristics depending on the mode, nature, and interplay of different geological processes in their depositional setting. These geological units, called mass‐transport deposits (MTDs) and complexes (MTCs), represent the products of either single depositional event or composite bodies originating from superposed, multiple events, respectively, and may involve sediments with different degrees of consolidation/lithification and grain sizes (from clay to silt to sand to gravel size). Their volume can range from tens of cubic meters to up to hundreds of thousands of cubic kilometers, extending over areas up to millions of square kilometers and showing long runout distance (more than 500 km, considering the associated, forerunning turbulent flows) over very low‐angled (0.05°) slopes. In summary these units can occur in every type of geologic setting, and for different causes, their upper scale threshold is sometimes transitional with gravitational and tectonically transported nappes (differing mainly in terms of velocity of processes), and the amounts of transferred material in a single, large‐scale mass‐transport event may overcome the cumulative, yearly sediment discharge of all the major modern river systems combined. Such bodies are commonly characterized by great internal heterogeneity and deformation, resulting in acoustic artifacts and transparent zones in 2D and 3D seismic imagery, and thus usually overlooked in terms of internal anatomy.
The ancient “fossil” counterparts of these MTDs and MTCs are widely represented in orogenic belts and in exhumed subduction‐accretion complexes, being known in the classic literature as “olistostromes” and “sedimentary mélanges.” These units represent optimal submarine landslide deposits' analogues that can be studied directly in the field instead of using geophysical tools. Olistostromes in fact provide insights from the micro‐ to the mesoscale (2D or 3D) not only within the thickness of the whole deposit but also within the underlying and overlying units, with a resolution unresolvable by modern geophysical means. In this framework, detailed studies combining high‐resolution marine geophysical data, well core analysis, and outcrop‐based surveys show a partition of internal structural arrangement into discrete deformation domains, suggesting (i) differential movement of discrete bodies of mass during translation and emplacement, (ii) episodic pulses during the same depositional event(s), and (iii) interplay of different, synchronous mass‐transport processes.
The practical implications of submarine landslide studies sensu lato are timely and of high importance. Natural disasters directly or indirectly caused by submarine landslides in near shore, coastal, and offshore areas could potentially result in huge socioeconomic losses; therefore it is reasonable to understand that the broadband study of mass‐transport processes and the robust linking of cause‐effect relationships are crucial for a sustainable civil development and need to be considered as an integral part of both “pure” and “applied” scientific research.
Despite the important scientific repercussions (e.g., sediment delivery processes, changes in global to local geological cycles) and socioeconomic implications (e.g., destabilization of coastal/offshore infrastructures, submarine cables ruptures, etc.), our understanding of the controlling mechanisms remains severely limited. This is especially due to the lack of in‐depth, shared knowledge between marine and field geologists. In fact, the products of these submarine landslide events are generally well preserved in the ancient to recent geological record, from mountain belts to present‐day continental margins, and they have been intensively studied at different scales and detail and for different purposes, leading to the production of an overwhelming amount of data and interpretations, which usually remain confined within the boundaries of specific field of specialization. As consequence, important, combined information coming from the study of these geological units is still basically “undigested” and underappreciated by the scientific community at whole.
In this framework, the actual challenge is to gather all the available data into a broadband, synoptic outline of the different types of MTDs, with a combined approach that illustrates the main common features of the different case studies in an immediate, reader‐friendly way, allowing cross‐disciplinary and multiscale observations and (re)interpretations. In this book we emphasize this integrated and intuitive approach presenting updated and comparable on‐ and offshore case studies collected in exhumed orogenic bets and modern active and passive margins worldwide to provide a tuned‐up, timely overview of large‐scale, heterogeneous sedimentary mass‐transport processes and products, with an exhaustive and comprehensive perspective.
This book gathers original and review contributions to showcase submarine landslide deposits from both field‐based and geophysical studies, and it is organized in two main parts: Part I dedicated to outcrop case studies from exhumed orogenic belts and Part II dedicated to the seismic‐acoustic (and core) examples studied in marine geology surveys of continental margins. Each section is introduced by a review chapter that briefly outlines the state of the art and the way further in that specific discipline.
The book format is designed to provide:
The following reviewers are thankfully acknowledged (in alphabetical order): Juan Luis Alonso, Christian Beck, Hannah Brooks, Sebastian Cardona, Daniele Casalbore, Paolo Conti, Luis Pedro Fernández, Joana Gafeira Goncalves, Michael Garcia, Aggeliki Georgiopoulou, Jan Golonka, Andrew N. Green, Shun‐Kun Hsu, Kijiro Kawamura, Mattia Marini, Massimo Moretti, Vittorio Maselli, Lilian Navarro, Odonne Francis, Yujiro Ogawa, Luca Pandofi, Loren A. Raymond, Francesca Remitti, Claudia Romagnoli, Jonas B. Ruh, Jara Schnyder, Maria Rosaria Senatore, Glenn Sharman, Luis Somoza, Lorna Strachan, Enrico Tavarnelli, Roberto Tinterri, Roger Urgeles, Morelia Urlaub, Gustavo Villarosa, Geoff Wadge, Sally Watson, Marek Wendorff, and Yuzuru Yamamoto.