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Emplacement of massive turbidites linked to extinction of turbulence in turbidity currents

Abstract

Submarine turbidity currents are controlled by gravity acting on suspended sediments that pull water downslope along with them1. In addition to suspended sediments, turbidity currents also transport sediments at the base of the flow2, which causes the reorganization of basal sediments prior to the settling of suspended grains3,4,5,6. However, as turbidity currents reach areas with minimal slope, they cross a fall-velocity threshold beyond which the suspended sediments begin to stratify the flow. This process extinguishes the turbulence near the bed7,8. Here we use direct numerical simulation of turbidity currents to show that this extinction of turbulence eliminates the ability of the flow to re-entrain sediment and rework the sediment at the base of the flow. Our simulations indicate that deposits from flows without basal reworking should lack internal structures such as laminations. Under appropriate conditions, then, sustained delivery of fine sediments will therefore result in the emplacement of massive turbidites. We suggest that this mechanism can explain field observations of massive deposits9 that were emplaced gradually by dilute but powerful turbidity currents. We also conclude that turbulence in submarine turbidity currents is more fragile than river systems, and more sensitive to damping by the stratification of suspended sediment in the flow.

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Figure 1: Sedimentary deposits.
Figure 2: Turbidity current modelling.
Figure 3: Reynolds flux profiles in the TCR model.

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Acknowledgements

Research funded by Shell Innovation Research and Development. Additional support provided by the National Center for Earth-surface Dynamics, a Science and Technology Center funded by the US National Science Foundation (EAR-0120914). M.I.C. acknowledges research funding from CONICET, CNEA, ANPCyT and the University of Florida.

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M.I.C., A.C., C.P., S.B., D.M., T.A.H. and G.P. proposed the research. M.I.C. and S.B. developed the code and performed the numerical simulations. M.I.C., S.B. and G.P. analysed the results and wrote the text. M.I.C. and A.C. prepared the figures. All authors participated in the interpretation of results, read and commented on the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Gary Parker.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Cantero, M., Cantelli, A., Pirmez, C. et al. Emplacement of massive turbidites linked to extinction of turbulence in turbidity currents. Nature Geosci 5, 42–45 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1320

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