Chaytor, Jason D., Demopoulos, Amanda W. J., Brink, Uri S. ten, Baxter, Christopher D. P., Quattrini, Andrea M., and Brothers, Daniel S. 2016. "Assessment of canyon wall failure process from multibeam bathymetry and Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) observations, U.S. Atlantic continental margin." In Submarine mass movements and their consequences: 7th international symposium part II. Lamarche, Geoffroy, Mountjoy, Joshu, Bull, Suzanne, Hubble, Tom, Krastel, Sebastian, Lane, Emily, Micallef, Aaron, Moscardelli, Lorena, Mueller, Christof, Pecher, Ingo, and Woelz, Susanne, editors. 103–113. Springer International Publishing; Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center. In Advances in Natural and Technological Hazards Research, 41.. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20979-1_10.
Over the last few years, canyons along the northern U.S. Atlantic continental margin have been the focus of intensive research examining canyon evolution, submarine geohazards, benthic ecology and deep-sea coral habitat. New high-resolution multibeam bathymetry and Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) dives in the major shelf-breaching and minor slope canyons, provided the opportunity to investigate the size of, and processes responsible for, canyon wall failures. The canyons cut through thick Late Cretaceous to Recent mixed siliciclastic and carbonate-rich lithologies which impart a primary control on the style of failures observed. Broad-scale canyon morphology across much of the margin can be correlated to the exposed lithology. Near vertical walls, sedimented benches, talus slopes, and canyon floor debris aprons were present in most canyons. The extent of these features depends on canyon wall cohesion and level of internal fracturing, and resistance to biological and chemical erosion. Evidence of brittle failure over different spatial...
