Abstract
Several previous studies have shown that submarine mass-movements can profoundly impact the shape of pore water profiles. Therefore, pore water geochemistry and diffusion models were proposed as tools for identifying and dating recent (max. several thousands of years old) mass-transport deposits (MTDs). In particular, sulfate (SO 2−4 ) profiles evidentially indicate transient pore water conditions generated by submarine landslides. After mass-movements that result in the deposition of sediment packages with distinct pore water signatures, the SO 2−4 profiles can be kink-shaped and evolve into the concave and linear shape with time due to molecular diffusion. Here we present data from the RV METEOR cruise M78/3 along the continental margin off Uruguay and Argentina. SO 2−4 profiles of 15 gravity cores are compared with the respective acoustic facies recorded by a sediment echosounder system. Our results show that in this very dynamic depositional setting, non-steady state profiles occur often, but are not exclusively associated with mass-movements. Three sites that show acoustic indications for recent MTDs are presented in detail. Where recent MTDs are identified, a geochemical transport/reaction model is used to estimate the time that has elapsed since the perturbation of the pore water system and, thus, the timing of the MTD emplacement. We conclude that geochemical analyses are a powerful complementary tool in the identification of recent MTDs and provide a simple and accurate way of dating such deposits.
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Acknowledgments
GL Arnold and J Sawicka are acknowledged for analyzing SO 2−4 . R Violante and V Bender are acknowledged for the visual description of the cores. The PARASOUND figures were created using the free software SENT developed by H Keil, University of Bremen. The manuscript benefited from the very constructive reviews of C Hensen and B Dugan. This study was funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) in the frame of the International Graduate College “Proxies in Earth History” (EUROPROX) and the Research Center/Cluster of Excellence “The Ocean in the Earth System” (MARUM). We appreciate further financial support from the Helmholtz Association (AWI Bremerhaven). All data are available via the database Pangaea (http://www.pangaea.de).
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Henkel, S. et al. (2012). Pore Water Geochemistry as a Tool for Identifying and Dating Recent Mass-Transport Deposits. In: Yamada, Y., et al. Submarine Mass Movements and Their Consequences. Advances in Natural and Technological Hazards Research, vol 31. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2162-3_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2162-3_8
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