Abstract
The Corsica Trough between the island of Corsica and the mainland of Italy is dominated on its western side by turbidite channel-lobe systems fed by high-gradient rivers during glacial epochs, while the eastern side is markedly different. It is flanked by the Pianosa Ridge, a prominent tectonic structure confining the distal reaches of turbidite lobes and it is characterized by the development of contourite drifts with evident seafloor expression. The southern part of the Pianosa Ridge hosts a submarine landslide called ‘Pianosa Slump’ (PS, 6 km long, 14 km wide). Multichannel Sparker and Chirp profiles reveal the internal geometry of the PS, formed by two sediment bodies of up to 0.85 and 0.34 km3. A buried submarine landslide below the PS shows that mass wasting is a recurrent process in this area. Preliminary results suggest that submarine landslides have volumes and ages comparable with those of turbidite lobes from the Golo turbidite system and contribute actively to their confinement and to basin filling. Relatively steep gradients, rapid contourite drift accumulation during times of sea level lowstands, and fluid escape from distal turbidite sandy lobes are the main factors conducive to seafloor instability.
Keywords
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Artale M, Gasparini GP (1990) Simultaneous temperature and velocity measurements of the internal wave field in the Corsican Channel (Eastern Ligurian Sea). J Geophys Res 95(C2):1635–1645
Bacini Sedimentari (1979) Primi dati geologici sul Bacino della Corsica (Mar Tirreno). Atti Convegno Scientifico Nazionale, P.F. Oceanografia e Fondi Marini: 713–727
Bellaiche G, Droz L, Gaullier V, Pautot G (1994) Small submarine fans on the eastern margin of Corsica: sedimentary significance and tectonic implications. Mar Geol 117:177–185
Calvès G, Toucanne S, Jouet G, Charrier S, Thereau E, Etoubleau J, Marsset T, Droz L, Bez M, Abreu V, Jorry S, Mulder T, Lericolais G (2012) Inferring denudation variations from the sediment record; an example of the last glacial cycle record of the Golo Basin and watershed, East Corsica, western Mediterranean sea. Basin Res 24:1–22
Deptuck ME, Piper DJW, Savoye B, Gervais A (2008) Dimensions and architecture of late Pleistocene submarine lobes off the northern margin of East Corsica. Sedimentology 55:869–898
Faugères J-C, Stow DAV, Imbert P, Viana A (1999) Seismic features diagnostic of contourite drifts. Mar Geol 162:1–38
Gervais A (2002) Analyse multi-échelles de la morphologie, de la géométrie et de l’architecture d’un système turbiditique sableux profound (système du Golo, marge est Corse, mer Méditerranée). Unpublished PhD thesis, University Bordeaux 1, no. 2 621, 285 pp. http://www.asf.epoc.u-bordeaux1.fr/theses/Manuscrits/GERVAIS_2002.pdf
Gervais A, Savoye B, Mulder T, Piper DJW, Cremer M, Pichevin L (2004) Present morphology and depositional architecture of a sandy submarine system: the Golo turbidite system (Eastern margin of Corsica). In: Lomas S, Joseph P (eds) Confined turbidite systems, Geological Society of London special Publication, vol 222, pp 59–89
Gervais A, Savoye B, Mulder T, Gonthier E (2006) Sandy modern turbidite lobes: a new insight from high resolution seismic data. Mar Petrol Geol 23:485–502
Lafuerza S, Sultan N, Canals M, Lastras G, Cattaneo A, Frigola J, Costa S, Berndt C (2012) Failure mechanisms of Ana Slide from geotechnical evidence, Eivissa Channel, Western Mediterranean Sea. Mar Geol 307–310:1–21
Lee HJ (2009) Timing of occurrence of large submarine landslides on the Atlantic Ocean margin. Mar Geol 264:53–64
Marani M, Argnani A, Roveri M, Trincardi F (1993) Sediment drifts and erosional surfaces in the central Mediterranean: seismic evidence of bottom-current activity. Sediment Geol 82:207–220
Roveri M (2002) Sediment drift of the Corsica Channel, northern Tyrrhenian Sea. In: Stow DAV, Pudsey CJ, Howe JA, Faugères J-C, Viana A (eds) Deep-water contourite systems: modern drifts and ancient series, seismic and sedimentary characteristics, Geological Society of London Memoirs, 22, pp 191–208
Sømme TO, Piper DJW, Deptuck ME, Helland-Hansen W (2011) Linking onshore-offshore sediment dispersal in the Golo source-to-sink system (Corsica, France) during the late Quaternary. J Sediment Res 81:118–137
Stanley DJ, Réhault JP, Stuckenrath R (1980) Turbid-layer bypassing model: the Corsican Trough, northwestern Mediterranean. Mar Geol 37:19–40
Toucanne S, Jouet G, Ducassou E, Bassetti M-A, Dennielou B, Minto’o CMA, Lahmi M, Touyet N, Charlier K, Lericolais G, Mulder T (2012) A 130,000-year record of Levantine Intermediate Water flow variability in the Corsica Trough, western Mediterranean Sea. Quat Sci Rev 33:55–73
Trincardi F, Cattaneo A, Correggiari A, Mongardi S, Breda A, Asioli A (2003) Submarine slides during relative sea-level rise: two examples from the eastern Tyrrhenian margin. In: Locat J, Mienert J (eds) Submarine mass movements and their consequences. Kluwer, Amsterdam, pp 469–478
Verdicchio G, Trincardi F (2008) Shallow water contourites. In: Rebesco M, Camerlenghi A (eds) 238 Contourites, Developments in sedimentology, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 60, pp 409–433
Viaris de Lesegno L (1978) Etude structurale de la Mer Tyrrhenienne Septentrionale. Thèse de iiième cycle, Université Paris 6, 170 pp
Acknowledgments
We thank the Captain and crew of the Corfan2 (2001) campaign onboard R/V Le Suroît. We are grateful to reviewers D. Mosher and M. Roveri and guest editor D. Voelker for skilled insights that improved the manuscript. This is CNR-ISMAR contribution N. 1790.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Cattaneo, A., Jouet, G., Charrier, S., Théreau, E., Riboulot, V. (2014). Submarine Landslides and Contourite Drifts Along the Pianosa Ridge (Corsica Trough, Mediterranean Sea). In: Krastel, S., et al. Submarine Mass Movements and Their Consequences. Advances in Natural and Technological Hazards Research, vol 37. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-00972-8_39
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-00972-8_39
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-00971-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-00972-8
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)