The French Atlantic margin and deep-sea submarine systems

The sedimentary infill of the Bay of Biscay off Ireland, UK, France and Spain took place in four phases. The last one (35 Ma to present) is characterised by gravitational, pelagic, contouritic and glacigenic processes leading to the setup of three deep sea systems. To the North, the Celtic and Armorican fans are fed by a canyon-dominated margin and its connection with the Manche palaeoriver, which drained a large area of western Europe. To the South, the Cap-Ferret fan results from the evolution of a tectonic-dominated margin and the erosion of the Pyrenee mountains.