Advances in Natural and Technological Hazards Research, 2013
14 15 The Malta-Sicily Escarpment (MSE) is a steep carbonate escarpment that appears 16 to have l... more 14 15 The Malta-Sicily Escarpment (MSE) is a steep carbonate escarpment that appears 16 to have largely remained isolated from inputs of fluvial and littoral sediments 17 since the Messinian Salinity Crisis. Mass movement activity has so far only been 18 inferred from sediment cores at the base of the MSE. In this study we use geo-19 physical and sedimentological data acquired from the upper MSE and outer Malta 20 Plateau to: (i) map and characterise the dominant forms of mass movements, and 2
Submarine Mass Movements and Their Consequences, 2011
The Cook Strait sector of the Hikurangi subduction margin, off south-east central New Zealand, is... more The Cook Strait sector of the Hikurangi subduction margin, off south-east central New Zealand, is dominated by a multi-branched canyon system where landslides are widespread. The objective of this study is to determine the character, origin, and influence of these landslides on the evolution of the canyon system. Multibeam bathymetry covering seven submarine canyons is utilised to characterise landslides' spatial distribution, morphological attributes and area-frequency characteristics. We demonstrate that mass movements within the Cook Strait canyons consist of spatially dense, predominantly retrogressive, small, deep-seated, translational bedrock landslides occurring in Late Cenozoic sequences. These landslides affect up to a quarter of the canyoned area. Concentration of landslides in the shallow canyon reaches (down to 800 m) is attributed to the influence of oceanographic processes originating on the continental shelf such as tidegenerated currents, dense shelf water cascading and internal waves. Canyon incision and wall undercutting, locally favoured by underlying lithological control, are proposed as major landslide drivers in Cook Strait. Ground motion during regional earthquakes is considered a secondary cause. Retrogressive landslides are responsible for canyon widening and wall retreat, cross-sectional asymmetry, preconditioning for additional failure, destabilisation of adjacent slopes and delivery of sediment into canyon floors.
Advances in Natural and Technological Hazards Research, 2013
14 15 The Malta-Sicily Escarpment (MSE) is a steep carbonate escarpment that appears 16 to have l... more 14 15 The Malta-Sicily Escarpment (MSE) is a steep carbonate escarpment that appears 16 to have largely remained isolated from inputs of fluvial and littoral sediments 17 since the Messinian Salinity Crisis. Mass movement activity has so far only been 18 inferred from sediment cores at the base of the MSE. In this study we use geo-19 physical and sedimentological data acquired from the upper MSE and outer Malta 20 Plateau to: (i) map and characterise the dominant forms of mass movements, and 2
Submarine Mass Movements and Their Consequences, 2011
The Cook Strait sector of the Hikurangi subduction margin, off south-east central New Zealand, is... more The Cook Strait sector of the Hikurangi subduction margin, off south-east central New Zealand, is dominated by a multi-branched canyon system where landslides are widespread. The objective of this study is to determine the character, origin, and influence of these landslides on the evolution of the canyon system. Multibeam bathymetry covering seven submarine canyons is utilised to characterise landslides' spatial distribution, morphological attributes and area-frequency characteristics. We demonstrate that mass movements within the Cook Strait canyons consist of spatially dense, predominantly retrogressive, small, deep-seated, translational bedrock landslides occurring in Late Cenozoic sequences. These landslides affect up to a quarter of the canyoned area. Concentration of landslides in the shallow canyon reaches (down to 800 m) is attributed to the influence of oceanographic processes originating on the continental shelf such as tidegenerated currents, dense shelf water cascading and internal waves. Canyon incision and wall undercutting, locally favoured by underlying lithological control, are proposed as major landslide drivers in Cook Strait. Ground motion during regional earthquakes is considered a secondary cause. Retrogressive landslides are responsible for canyon widening and wall retreat, cross-sectional asymmetry, preconditioning for additional failure, destabilisation of adjacent slopes and delivery of sediment into canyon floors.
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Papers by J. Mountjoy