Flushing submarine canyons

Miquel Canals (), Pere Puig, Xavier Durrieu de Madron, Serge Heussner, Albert Palanques and Joan Fabres
Additional contact information
Miquel Canals: University of Barcelona
Pere Puig: Marine Sciences Institute, CSIC
Xavier Durrieu de Madron: CEFREM, UMR 5110 CNRS-University of Perpignan
Serge Heussner: CEFREM, UMR 5110 CNRS-University of Perpignan
Albert Palanques: Marine Sciences Institute, CSIC
Joan Fabres: University of Barcelona

Nature, 2006, vol. 444, issue 7117, 354-357

Abstract: Off the shelf Submarine canyons — steep-sided valleys cut into the continental slope — funnel flows of water and sediment from shallow coastal regions to the deep ocean. It is thought that most of these flows are initiated by sediment failure or river floods. New observations from the Gulf of Lions (or Golfe du Lion) off the French coast near Marseille show that they are also triggered by 'dense shelf water cascading', a relatively common type of current in which cold, dense water flows off the continental shelf. This means that the transport of sediment and organic material to the deep ocean may be more significant than previously believed. Any changes in the amount of dense shelf water cascading caused by future climate change may have important implications for nutrient supply to deep ocean ecosystems, as well as for carbon storage in the deep ocean.

Date: 2006
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DOI: 10.1038/nature05271

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