Time-lapse imagery of a highly active submarine channel and its implications for seafloor geohazards
National Oceanography Centre (1); Ocean and earth Sciences, University of Southampton (2); Departments of geography and Earth Sciences, Durham University (3); Department of Geoscience, University of Calgary (4); Natural Resources Canada (5); Energy and Environment Institute, University of Hull (6); Center for Coastal Ocean Mapping, University of New Hampshire (7)
With increasing energy and communication demands, and recent advances in technology, seafloor infrastructure becomes more abundant. For instance, a global network of seafloor cables transfers 99% of digital data traffic and breakage of those cables can disrupt financial trading, communications and internet connections. Cables that cross submarine channels are particularly vulnerable to breaks by powerful avalanches of sediment, called turbidity currents. Assessing geohazards in these systems is difficult due to limited mapping or monitoring. Submarine canyons and channels cannot be monitored using satellites, hence we rely on offshore expeditions to these often-remote systems and use acoustic instruments like multibeam echosounders to map them.
With increasing energy and communication demands, and recent advances in technology, seafloor infrastructure becomes more abundant. For instance, a global network of seafloor cables transfers 99% of digital data traffic and breakage of those cables can disrupt financial trading, communications and internet connections. Cables that cross submarine channels are particularly vulnerable to breaks by powerful avalanches of sediment, called turbidity currents. Assessing geohazards in these systems is difficult due to limited mapping or monitoring. Submarine canyons and channels cannot be monitored using satellites, hence we rely on offshore expeditions to these often-remote systems and use acoustic instruments like multibeam echosounders to map them.
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Author
Maarten Heijnen (1,2), Michael Clare (1), Matthieu Cartigny(3), Sophie Hage(2,4), Gwyn Lintern (5), Cooper Stacey (5), Daniel Parsons (6), Stephen Simmons (6), Ye Chen (6), Esther Sumner (2), Justin Dix (2), John Huges Clarke (7),Institutionen
National Oceanography Centre, UK;; National Oceanography Centre; Departments of geography and Earth Sciences, Durham University; Ocean and earth Sciences, University of Southampton;; Natural Resources Canada; Natural Resources Canada; Energy and Environment Institute, University of Hull; Energy and Environment Institute, University of Hull; Energy and Environment Institute, University of Hull; Ocean and earth Sciences, University of Southampton; Ocean and earth Sciences, University of Southampton;; Ocean and earth Sciences, University of Southampton;;DOI
10.48380/DGGV-G2QS-ZQ28Geolocation
World
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