R. Boe et al., Submarine slide scars and mass movements in Karmsundet and Skudenesfjorden, southwestern Norway: morphology and evolution, MARINE GEOL, 167(1-2), 2000, pp. 147-165
Shallow seismic sections, multibeam bathymetric images and geotechnical inv
estigations of the seafloor in Karmsundet and Skudenesfjorden, SW Norway, h
ave revealed the occurrence of large slide scars and associated mass-moveme
nt deposits. The slide escarpments are up to 30-40 m high and 8 km long, wi
th up to 20 x 10(6) m(3) of sediment released during a single event of retr
ogressive sliding. The slide scars show a range of associated seafloor topo
graphy, reflecting various modes of sediment displacement. The variation in
the escarpment morphology and sediment deformation style can be attributed
to the varied intensity of liquefaction. Sliding involved mud deposits of
Allerod-Younger Dryas to early Holocene age, but partly also deposits older
than ca. 12,000 C-14 years BP. The sediment failures were probably trigger
ed by seismic reactivation of a local fault by postglacial regional isostat
ic rebound. Prior to failure, the seafloor deposits were undercompacted and
metastable due to high pore pressure, the presence of shallow gas and the
relatively steep local slope created by the formation of a major scour trou
gh by sea currents. Minor gravitational sliding may still occur along some
of the escarpments, although engineering slope-stability analysis indicates
that the deposits can be regarded as stable in the present-day conditions
of static load and the anticipated weak sporadic earthquakes with an occurr
ence likelihood of 10(-4)/year and a peak acceleration of 0.25 g. (C) 2000
Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.