Incision of submarine channels over pockmark trains in the South China Sea

Yu, Kaiqi, Miramontes, Elda, Alves, Tiago M. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2765-3760, Li, Wei, Liang, Linlin, Li, Shuang, Zhan, Wenhuan and Wu, Shiguo 2021. Incision of submarine channels over pockmark trains in the South China Sea. Geophysical Research Letters 48 (24) , e2021GL092861. 10.1029/2021GL092861

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Abstract

The genesis of submarine channels is often controlled by gravity flows, but channels can also be formed by oceanographic processes. Using multibeam bathymetry and two-dimensional seismic data from the western South China Sea, this study reveals how pockmarks can ultimately form channels under the effect of bottom currents and gravity-driven sedimentary processes. We demonstrate that alongslope and across-slope channels were initiated by pockmark trains on the seafloor. Discrete pockmarks were elongated due to the erosion of gravity-driven sedimentary processes and bottom currents, and later coalesced to form immature channels with irregular thalwegs. These gradually evolved into mature channels with continuous overbanks and smooth thalwegs. Submarine channel evolution was significantly influenced by seafloor topography since the Late Miocene. The evolutionary model documented here is a key to understanding how channels are formed in deep-water environments.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Earth and Environmental Sciences
Publisher:	Wiley
ISSN:	0094-8276
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	14 January 2022
Date of Acceptance:	10 December 2021
Last Modified:	21 May 2023 21:29
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/146684

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