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The last glacial maximum Balearic Abyssal Plain megabed revisited

The last glacial maximum Balearic Abyssal Plain megabed revisited
The last glacial maximum Balearic Abyssal Plain megabed revisited

Megabeds are thick sedimentary layers extending over thousands of square kilometres in deep-sea basins and are thought to result from large slope failures triggered by major external events. Such deposits have been found in at least three areas of the Mediterranean Sea. Although their discovery dates back to the early 1980s, many questions remain concerning their initiation, source area, extent and the nature of their emplacement. One of the largest previously documented megabeds was emplaced during the Last Glacial Maximum across the Balearic Abyssal Plain, with a thickness of 8–10 m in water depths of up to 2800 m. New 3.5 kHz sub-bottom profiles and sediment cores provide greater constraints on the lateral variability of the megabed and allow it to be mapped beyond previous estimates, with a revised areal extent of 90 000– 100 000 km 2. The megabed terminations show a gradual pinchout to the west and an abrupt eastward termination against the steep Sardinia margin. The megabed presents, in seismic profiles and sediment cores, a tripartite subdivision, which most likely corresponds to the changes in flow regimes across the basin, with a central area of sandy facies and an erosional base oriented NNE–SSW; this allows renewed discussions about the sources and triggers of the megabed.

0305-8719
341-357
Cattaneo, Antonio
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Badhani, Shray
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Caradonna, Cristina
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Bellucci, Massimo
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Leroux, Estelle
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Babonneau, Nathalie
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Garziglia, Sébastien
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Poort, Jeffrey
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Akhmanov, Grigorii G.
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Bayon, Germain
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Dennielou, Bernard
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Jouet, Gwenael
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Migeon, Sebastien
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Rabineau, Marina
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Droz, Laurence
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Clare, Michael
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Cattaneo, Antonio
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Badhani, Shray
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Caradonna, Cristina
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Bellucci, Massimo
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Leroux, Estelle
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Babonneau, Nathalie
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Garziglia, Sébastien
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Poort, Jeffrey
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Akhmanov, Grigorii G.
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Bayon, Germain
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Dennielou, Bernard
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Jouet, Gwenael
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Migeon, Sebastien
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Rabineau, Marina
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Droz, Laurence
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Clare, Michael
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Cattaneo, Antonio, Badhani, Shray, Caradonna, Cristina, Bellucci, Massimo, Leroux, Estelle, Babonneau, Nathalie, Garziglia, Sébastien, Poort, Jeffrey, Akhmanov, Grigorii G., Bayon, Germain, Dennielou, Bernard, Jouet, Gwenael, Migeon, Sebastien, Rabineau, Marina, Droz, Laurence and Clare, Michael (2020) The last glacial maximum Balearic Abyssal Plain megabed revisited. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, (1), 341-357, [SP500-2019-188]. (doi:10.1144/SP500-2019-188).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Megabeds are thick sedimentary layers extending over thousands of square kilometres in deep-sea basins and are thought to result from large slope failures triggered by major external events. Such deposits have been found in at least three areas of the Mediterranean Sea. Although their discovery dates back to the early 1980s, many questions remain concerning their initiation, source area, extent and the nature of their emplacement. One of the largest previously documented megabeds was emplaced during the Last Glacial Maximum across the Balearic Abyssal Plain, with a thickness of 8–10 m in water depths of up to 2800 m. New 3.5 kHz sub-bottom profiles and sediment cores provide greater constraints on the lateral variability of the megabed and allow it to be mapped beyond previous estimates, with a revised areal extent of 90 000– 100 000 km 2. The megabed terminations show a gradual pinchout to the west and an abrupt eastward termination against the steep Sardinia margin. The megabed presents, in seismic profiles and sediment cores, a tripartite subdivision, which most likely corresponds to the changes in flow regimes across the basin, with a central area of sandy facies and an erosional base oriented NNE–SSW; this allows renewed discussions about the sources and triggers of the megabed.

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SP500-2019-188.full (1) - Accepted Manuscript
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Accepted/In Press date: 1 December 2019
e-pub ahead of print date: 14 May 2020
Published date: 2020
Additional Information: Funding Information: This project has received funding from the European Union?s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sk?odowska-Curie grant agreement no. 721403 (ITN SLATE project, PhD of SB). Publisher Copyright: © 2020 The Author(s).

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 439836
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/439836
ISSN: 0305-8719
PURE UUID: 428240a8-b66f-4b0e-97fd-54634a7dedb1

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Date deposited: 05 May 2020 16:31
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 05:32

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Contributors

Author: Antonio Cattaneo
Author: Shray Badhani
Author: Cristina Caradonna
Author: Massimo Bellucci
Author: Estelle Leroux
Author: Nathalie Babonneau
Author: Sébastien Garziglia
Author: Jeffrey Poort
Author: Grigorii G. Akhmanov
Author: Germain Bayon
Author: Bernard Dennielou
Author: Gwenael Jouet
Author: Sebastien Migeon
Author: Marina Rabineau
Author: Laurence Droz
Author: Michael Clare

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