Deep-ocean channel-wall collapse order of magnitude larger than any other documented

Submarine channels are the largest conveyors of sediment on Earth, yet little is known about their stability in the deep-ocean. 3D seismic data from the deep-ocean Hikurangi channel-levee system, offshore New Zealand, reveal the largest channel-wall failure yet documented. Collapse of both channel-walls along a 68 km stretch created a mass-transport deposit of 19 km³, containing 4 km long blocks. Whereas channel-walls typically collapse piecemeal, here synchronous failure of both channel-walls and landslide erosion of the seafloor are documented, requiring a new process model for channel-wall failure. Mass-failure on this scale poses an under-appreciated risk to seafloor infrastructure both within channels and over regions extending twice the channel width into their overbank. Channel-wall failures of this size are unrecognised in abyssal plains; its scale changes our understanding of how channel-levee systems are constructed and how they conduct sediment, carbon and pollutants into the deep-ocean.

Adam D. McArthur, Daniel E. Tek, Miquel Poyatos-Moré, Luca Colombera, William D. McCaffrey