The Nile deep sea fan: preliminary results from a swath bathymetry survey

We present and discuss a set of data, mainly swath bathymetry, backscatter images and a few seismic data, that have been recently recorded over large areas of the Nile deep-sea fan between water depths of 1200 and 3000 m. The se data demonstrate the presence of at least three distinct morphostructura l provinces where interacting sedimentary, tectonic, and salt tectonic proc esses control the present day morphology and the recent evolution of the ma jor Mediterranean deep-sea fan. The rule of the ongoing collision presently occurring bt tween the continental Eratosthenes Seamount and the Cyprus Ar e may have been, and still is, a determining parameter for the development of the Nile deep-sea fan. (C) 2001 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.