Abstract
Multibeam bathymetry, high-resolution seismic profiles and sediment cores were collected from the upper continental slope outside Andøya, the northernmost island in Vesterålen, northern Norway (69°N). Eight small slides are identified at water depths between 500 and 800 m. These are linked to a larger slide related to the development of the Andøya Canyon by high resolution seismic. Slope angles adjacent to the headwalls of the small slides are 3–4° while slide deposits have accumulated where slope angles are 2–3°. The slides occurred in parallel-stratified glacial marine sediments, and three seismic horizons are interpreted. One of these horizons coincides with failure planes in four of the slides. A 12 m long core terminates above this level, but penetrates another horizon representing a slip plane in two of the slides. The core comprises silty clay with varying content of ice rafted debris. The upper slope shallower than 450 m appears stable although it may be up to 8° steep. Tension cracks up to 2 m deep on the lower slopes may suggest that deformation is active near the canyon systems.
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Acknowledgements
We thank the SEABED-Project within the Norwegian Deepwater Programme (www.ndwp.org) for financial support, and the MAREANO programme (www.mareano.no) for providing the multibeam bathymetric data. The reviewers, Drs. Dave Long and Dag Ottesen, are thanked for constructive comments. This is ICG publication no. 356.
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Rise, L. et al. (2012). Investigations of Slides at the Upper Continental Slope Off Vesterålen, North Norway. 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_15
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2162-3_15
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