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Carbon and sediment fluxes inhibited in the submarine Congo Canyon by landslide-damming
Nature Geoscience2022
29 citations
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Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count.
Score: 40
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Maarten Heijnen,
Maarten Heijnen,
Maarten Heijnen,
Stephen M. Simmons,
Michael Clare,
Sophie Hage,
Sophie Hage,
Ed Pope,
Peter J. Talling,
Maarten Heijnen,
Megan L. Baker,
Daniel R. Parsons,
Michael Clare,
Michael Clare,
Michael Clare,
Michael Clare,
Michael Clare,
Michael Clare,
Matthieu Cartigny,
Michael Clare,
Sophie Hage,
Michael Clare,
Matthieu Cartigny,
Matthieu Cartigny,
Daniel R. Parsons,
Matthieu Cartigny,
Daniel R. Parsons,
Daniel R. Parsons,
Michael Clare,
Matthieu Cartigny,
Michael Clare,
Matthieu Cartigny,
Michael Clare,
Ricardo Silva Jacinto,
Michael Clare,
Michael Clare,
Daniel R. Parsons,
Megan L. Baker,
Megan L. Baker,
Peter J. Talling,
Daniel R. Parsons,
Michael Clare,
Daniel R. Parsons,
Ricardo Silva Jacinto,
Michael Clare,
Peter J. Talling,
Daniel R. Parsons,
Peter J. Talling,
Michael Clare,
Peter J. Talling,
Michael Clare,
Michael Clare,
Michael Clare,
Michael Clare,
Daniel R. Parsons,
Daniel R. Parsons,
Ricardo Silva Jacinto,
Bernard Dennielou,
Ricardo Silva Jacinto,
Daniel R. Parsons,
Arnaud Gaillot,
Arnaud Gaillot,
Arnaud Gaillot,
Arnaud Gaillot,
Michael Clare,
Daniel R. Parsons,
Daniel R. Parsons,
Ricardo Silva Jacinto,
Daniel R. Parsons,
Daniel R. Parsons,
Daniel R. Parsons,
Ricardo Silva Jacinto,
Daniel R. Parsons,
Sophie Hage,
Daniel R. Parsons,
Peter J. Talling,
Megan L. Baker,
Ricardo Silva Jacinto,
Sophie Hage,
Daniel R. Parsons,
Daniel R. Parsons,
Sophie Hage,
Ricardo Silva Jacinto,
Stephen M. Simmons,
Daniel R. Parsons,
Sophie Hage,
Sean Ruffell,
Ed Pope,
Stephen M. Simmons,
Daniel R. Parsons,
Daniel R. Parsons,
Martin Hasenhündl,
Daniel R. Parsons,
Peter J. Talling,
Stephen M. Simmons,
Ricardo Silva Jacinto,
Ricardo Silva Jacinto,
Ricardo Silva Jacinto,
Ricardo Silva Jacinto,
Catharina Heerema
Daniel R. Parsons,
Claire McGhee,
Sean Ruffell,
Maarten Heijnen,
Michael Clare,
Sean Ruffell,
Daniel R. Parsons,
Michael Clare,
Stephen M. Simmons,
Stephen M. Simmons,
Martin Hasenhündl,
Matthieu Cartigny,
Michael Clare,
Michael Clare,
Ed Pope,
Ricardo Silva Jacinto,
Ricardo Silva Jacinto,
Bernard Dennielou,
Maarten Heijnen,
Daniel R. Parsons,
C. Peirce,
Daniel R. Parsons,
Sophie Hage,
Stephen M. Simmons,
Ed Pope,
Morelia Urlaub,
Martin Hasenhündl,
Catharina Heerema
Summary
Researchers used repeat sonar surveys of the Congo Canyon, a massive submarine channel off West Africa, to show that a 2005 underwater landslide temporarily dammed the canyon, trapping roughly 5 million tons of organic carbon-rich sediment over 26 kilometers. The findings reveal that canyon-wall collapses can significantly interrupt the flow of carbon to the deep ocean, affecting both deep-sea ecosystems and global carbon cycling.
Abstract Landslide-dams, which are often transient, can strongly affect the geomorphology, and sediment and geochemical fluxes, within subaerial fluvial systems. The potential occurrence and impact of analogous landslide-dams in submarine canyons has, however, been difficult to determine due to a scarcity of sufficiently time-resolved observations. Here we present repeat bathymetric surveys of a major submarine canyon, the Congo Canyon, offshore West Africa, from 2005 and 2019. We show how an ~0.09 km 3 canyon-flank landslide dammed the canyon, causing temporary storage of a further ~0.4 km 3 of sediment, containing ~5 Mt of primarily terrestrial organic carbon. The trapped sediment was up to 150 m thick and extended >26 km up-canyon of the landslide-dam. This sediment has been transported by turbidity currents whose sediment load is trapped by the landslide-dam. Our results suggest canyon-flank collapses can be important controls on canyon morphology as they can generate or contribute to the formation of meander cut-offs, knickpoints and terraces. Flank collapses have the potential to modulate sediment and geochemical fluxes to the deep sea and may impact efficiency of major submarine canyons as transport conduits and locations of organic carbon sequestration. This has potential consequences for deep-sea ecosystems that rely on organic carbon transported through submarine canyons.