The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Near-synchronous and delayed initiation of long run-out submarine sediment flows from a record breaking river-flood, offshore Taiwan

Near-synchronous and delayed initiation of long run-out submarine sediment flows from a record breaking river-flood, offshore Taiwan
Near-synchronous and delayed initiation of long run-out submarine sediment flows from a record breaking river-flood, offshore Taiwan
Subsea fiber-optic telecommunication cables can break under fast sediment flows that travel 100s of kilometers through the deep ocean in response to earthquakes and submarine landslides. Similar flows are inferred to form from major river floods whose sediment-laden waters plunge and travel along the seabed. However, the complex initiation of flood-related flows and their hazard potential have not been observed until now. Here we use cable fault data from the Gaoping Canyon/Manila Trench off Taiwan to show that a major river flood, formed during Typhoon Morakot (2009), generated two, long run-out, destructive sediment flows; one during peak flood and the other 3 days later. The latter flow was more damaging with speeds and run-out similar to that of landslide-triggered turbidity currents formed in the same catchment. If the second flow was due to remobilized canyon sediment, it occurred during low earthquake (>Mw 2.0) activity, suggesting other triggering mechanisms.
0094-8276
L12603
Carter, L.
f6a3fdba-a559-4287-b0ef-22bdc52dc31d
Milliman, J.D.
275f41fc-1e58-4b01-b5c0-34922ea48dec
Talling, P.J.
1cbac5ec-a9f8-4868-94fe-6203f30b47cf
Gavey, R.
e32e86f4-18b2-4bfe-8113-8b2f4fc35103
Wynn, R.B.
72ccd765-9240-45f8-9951-4552b497475a
Carter, L.
f6a3fdba-a559-4287-b0ef-22bdc52dc31d
Milliman, J.D.
275f41fc-1e58-4b01-b5c0-34922ea48dec
Talling, P.J.
1cbac5ec-a9f8-4868-94fe-6203f30b47cf
Gavey, R.
e32e86f4-18b2-4bfe-8113-8b2f4fc35103
Wynn, R.B.
72ccd765-9240-45f8-9951-4552b497475a

Carter, L., Milliman, J.D., Talling, P.J., Gavey, R. and Wynn, R.B. (2012) Near-synchronous and delayed initiation of long run-out submarine sediment flows from a record breaking river-flood, offshore Taiwan. Geophysical Research Letters, 39, L12603. (doi:10.1029/2012GL051172).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Subsea fiber-optic telecommunication cables can break under fast sediment flows that travel 100s of kilometers through the deep ocean in response to earthquakes and submarine landslides. Similar flows are inferred to form from major river floods whose sediment-laden waters plunge and travel along the seabed. However, the complex initiation of flood-related flows and their hazard potential have not been observed until now. Here we use cable fault data from the Gaoping Canyon/Manila Trench off Taiwan to show that a major river flood, formed during Typhoon Morakot (2009), generated two, long run-out, destructive sediment flows; one during peak flood and the other 3 days later. The latter flow was more damaging with speeds and run-out similar to that of landslide-triggered turbidity currents formed in the same catchment. If the second flow was due to remobilized canyon sediment, it occurred during low earthquake (>Mw 2.0) activity, suggesting other triggering mechanisms.

This record has no associated files available for download.

More information

Published date: 2012
Organisations: Marine Geoscience

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 342297
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/342297
ISSN: 0094-8276
PURE UUID: 916d2753-7b75-4e08-899d-70112e973664

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 20 Aug 2012 15:56
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 11:49

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: L. Carter
Author: J.D. Milliman
Author: P.J. Talling
Author: R. Gavey
Author: R.B. Wynn

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×