Journal
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
Volume 45, Issue 2, Pages 855-863Publisher
AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION
DOI: 10.1002/2017GL075751
Keywords
River deltas; Turbidity current triggers; Settling river plume; Submarine landslides; Turbidity current runout; Turbidity current trigger frequency
Categories
Funding
- National Environmental and Research Council (NERC) Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Oil and Gas
- University of Southampton
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (Canada)
- Chair in Ocean Mapping at the University of New Brunswick
- Natural Environment Research Council [NE/M017540/1, NE/P009190/1, NE/M007138/1, NE/N012798/1]
- NERC [NE/L008130/1, NE/M017540/2, NE/K011480/1, NE/N012798/1, noc010011, NE/P009190/1, NE/P005780/1, NE/M007138/1, NE/M017540/1, NE/K011480/2] Funding Source: UKRI
- Natural Environment Research Council [NE/M017540/1, 1498875, noc010011, NE/P005780/1, NE/N012798/1, NE/M007138/1, NE/M017540/2, NE/P009190/1, NE/K011480/2, NE/L008130/1, NE/K011480/1] Funding Source: researchfish
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Subaerial rivers and turbidity currents are the two most voluminous sediment transport processes on our planet, and it is important to understand how they are linked offshore from river mouths. Previously, it was thought that slope failures or direct plunging of river floodwater (hyperpycnal flow) dominated the triggering of turbidity currents on delta fronts. Here we reanalyze the most detailed time-lapse monitoring yet of a submerged delta; comprising 93 surveys of the Squamish Delta in British Columbia, Canada. We show that most turbidity currents are triggered by settling of sediment from dilute surface river plumes, rather than landslides or hyperpycnal flows. Turbidity currents triggered by settling plumes occur frequently, run out as far as landslide-triggered events, and cause the greatest changes to delta and lobe morphology. For the first time, we show that settling from surface plumes can dominate the triggering of hazardous submarine flows and offshore sediment fluxes.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available