Abstract
The Betsiamites 7,250 cal BP submarine landslide mobilized a volume of 1.3 km3 in the St. Lawrence Estuary, Eastern Canada. The failure was initiated in shallow water between 10 and 140 mbsl and most likely developed in a unit stratified clayey silt deposits following a very strong earthquake. Most of the failed mass appears dislocated and evacuated the failure source area. This paper concludes that gas hydrates dissociation could not have influenced slope stability on the shelves of the Lower St. Lawrence Estuary in the Early Holocene and that despite the high sedimentation rates prior to the failure this condition did not act independently as a significant trigger for the Betsiamites failure.
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Acknowledgments
The authors wish to thank the Ministère des Transports du Québec (MTQ), NSERC and FQRNT for their financial support. We thank the MTQ for the permission to use their topographic and LIDAR surveys, borehole, and piezocone soundings data of the Colombier – Betsiamites area. We recognize the contribution of all scientists and crew members on board the Coriolis II, F.G. Creed, and Guillemot vessels. The Canadian Hydrographic Service and GSC-Quebec are also acknowledged for their contribution to bathymetric data acquisition. We thank Homa Lee and Jean-Sébastien L’Heureux for their constructive comments.
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Cauchon-Voyer, G., Locat, J., St-Onge, G., Leroueil, S., Lajeunesse, P. (2012). Development and Potential Triggering Mechanisms for a Large Holocene Landslide in the Lower St. Lawrence Estuary. 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_6
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