A LATE PLEISTOCENE SUBMARINE SLIDE ON THE BEAR ISLAND TROUGH MOUTH FAN

A large submarine slide on the southern flank of the Bear Island Troug h Mouth Fan, southwestern Barents Sea continental slope, has a run-out distance of about 400 km, a total volume of about 1100 km3, and is yo unger than 330 ka. Three seismic units, comprising mainly hemipelagic sediments has partly filled the slide scar. An increased sedimentation rate on the Bear Island Trough Mouth Fan from Late Pliocene time, pro bably in combination with abundant earthquakes, is the most likely cau se of the slide. Based on these and previous studies, we suggest that large-scale slides were important sediment transport processes during Plio-Pleistocene.