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. 2016 Dec 6:6:38529.
doi: 10.1038/srep38529.

Arctic megaslide at presumed rest

Wolfram H Geissler  1 , A Catalina Gebhardt  1 , Felix Gross  2 , Jutta Wollenburg  1 , Laura Jensen  1 , Mechita C Schmidt-Aursch  1 , Sebastian Krastel  2 , Judith Elger  3 , Giacomo Osti  4
Affiliations

Arctic megaslide at presumed rest

Wolfram H Geissler et al. Sci Rep. .

Erratum in

  • Corrigendum: Arctic megaslide at presumed rest.
    Geissler WH, Gebhardt AC, Gross F, Wollenburg J, Jensen L, Schmidt-Aursch MC, Krastel S, Elger J, Osti G. Geissler WH, et al. Sci Rep. 2017 May 17;7:46821. doi: 10.1038/srep46821. Sci Rep. 2017. PMID: 28513599 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

Abstract

Slope failure like in the Hinlopen/Yermak Megaslide is one of the major geohazards in a changing Arctic environment. We analysed hydroacoustic and 2D high-resolution seismic data from the apparently intact continental slope immediately north of the Hinlopen/Yermak Megaslide for signs of past and future instabilities. Our new bathymetry and seismic data show clear evidence for incipient slope instability. Minor slide deposits and an internally-deformed sedimentary layer near the base of the gas hydrate stability zone imply an incomplete failure event, most probably about 30000 years ago, contemporaneous to or shortly after the Hinlopen/Yermak Megaslide. An active gas reservoir at the base of the gas hydrate stability zone demonstrate that over-pressured fluids might have played a key role in the initiation of slope failure at the studied slope, but more importantly also for the giant HYM slope failure. To date, it is not clear, if the studied slope is fully preconditioned to fail completely in future or if it might be slowly deforming and creeping at present. We detected widespread methane seepage on the adjacent shallow shelf areas not sealed by gas hydrates.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Compiled seafloor topography (sources: refs , and , new data) illustrates the Hinlopen/Yermak Megaslide as well as the intact slope north of it.
Inset: Study area within the Arctic Ocean. B, Basin; BS, Barents Sea; NA, North Atlantic; Sv, Svalbard. Black dots, acoustic gas flare locations; red dots, buried gas vent locations; orange dot, sample location; black lines, curvilinear features (steps) at the seafloor; blue line, high-resolution seismic profile; yellow dotted lines, surface projection of observed bottom-simulating reflections; red line, 300 m isobath; turquoise area, extrapolated surface of incipient slide block; violet area, slope affected by instability; orange areas, areas of mapped acoustic gas flares. We used Global Mapper (V16.1) to create the map. For uninterpreted seafloor topography see Fig. S1.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Interpreted seismic profile AWI-20130390.
The slide debris at the foot of the slope stems from the Hinlopen/Yermak Megaslide. BSR, Bottom simulating reflector. For uninterpreted version see Fig. S2.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Interpretation of seismic profile AWI-20130390.
The turquoise arrow should indicate that the slope started to move/slid westward. BSR, Bottom simulating reflector. For uninterpreted version see Fig. S3.
Figure 4
Figure 4. Gas flare sampling at station MSM31/575.
Left: 18 KHz Parasound Primary High Frequency (PHF) image of the acoustic flare. Right: methane concentration in water samples taken close to the seafloor.
Figure 5
Figure 5. 3D conceptual model of the Nordaustlandet Shelf.
BSR, Bottom simulating reflector; GHSZ, gas hydrate stability zone.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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