Secrets of the underwater canyons-revolutionary study reveals facts!

Secrets of the underwater canyons-revolutionary study reveals facts!

Berlin, Deutschland - The fascinating world of underwater canyons increasingly comes into focus on research. These partly kilometer-deep gorges extend along the continental edges and are crucial for the transport dynamics of sediments, nutrients and carbon to the deep sea. Geoscientist like Prof. Dr. Anne Bernhardt from the Free University of Berlin and PD. Dr. Wolfgang Schwanghart from the University of Potsdam has carried out a comprehensive study on the creation of these canyons, which was published in the renowned specialist journal "Science Advances". A global statistical model was used here to analyze over 2,000 canyons worldwide, which led to new knowledge about the geoscientific influencing variables.

A central result of the study is that the tendency to slope the sea floor was identified as the most important predictor for the distribution of canyons. Other factors, such as the proximity to river mouths or seismic activity, play a less crucial role. Once advantageously positioned canyons can "slow down" neighboring canyons in their sediment recording. These findings question the previous assumption that rivers are the main cause of the formation of underwater canyons, and prove that tectonic elevation, thermal cooling and slope stability are the primary drivers.

The role of the cloudy flows

Another important topic in the study of underwater canyons are the cloudy flows that often remain unobserved, but can have great effects on the sea environment and the infrastructure. These streams form deeper gorges and cause sediment deposits, but can also damage submarine cables and pipelines. The danger of these currents has been known for about 100 years, but the measurement remains a challenge because the intensive movements endanger the measuring instruments.

An international team under the direction of the Geomar Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research Kiel has developed an innovative method for analyzing these currents. Ocean floor seismometers that are normally used for earthquake research were used in the Congo basin and channel in October 2019. These instruments registered seismic signals of two cloudy streams, which moved over 1,100 kilometers at speeds between 5 and 8 m/s, and are therefore ever measured.

implications for climate regulation

The knowledge of these studies is not only important for science, but also contribute to improving the understanding of the interactions between the geodynamics of the earth's crust and the global carbon cycle. Underwater canyons play an essential role in long-term climate regulation by transporting organic carbon to the deep sea. These mechanisms are crucial for the identification of regions in which carbon gets efficiently in depth, as well as for the development of precise models for sediment and carbon transport in the ocean.

The detailed analysis of cloudy flows also shows that the current is not constant, but is shaped by numerous batches, each with 5 to 30 minutes. These new findings question the assumption that the highest speeds are to be expected at the top of the current, and expand our understanding of the dynamics of such phenomena.

For in-depth information on the studies and its results, a look at the detailed analysis on the websites of Freie University Berlin , Geomar and Frontiers in Earth Science