Abstract
We present new evidence of shallow-water muddy contourite drifts at two distinct locations in the central Mediterranean characterized by a relatively deep shelf edge (between 170 and 300 m below sea level): the south-eastern Adriatic margin and the north-western Sicily Channel. The growth of these shelf-edge contourite drifts is ascribed to the long-term impact of the Mediterranean themohaline circulation. The Levantine Intermediate Water flows continuously, with annual or inter-annual variations, and affects the shelf edge and the upper slope in both study areas. In addition, the SW Adriatic margin is im**ed by the seasonally modulated off-shelf cascading of North Adriatic Dense Water. This water mass has formed ever since the large Adriatic continental shelf was drowned by the post-glacial sea-level rise. It energetically sweeps the entire slope from the shelf edge to the deep basin. These bottom currents flow parallel or oblique to the depth contours, and are laterally constricted along markedly erosional moats aligned parallel to the shelf edge where they increase in flow velocity. The internal geometry and growth patterns of the shelf-edge contourites reflect changes in oceanographic setting affecting the whole Mediterranean Sea. In particular, seismic correlation with published sediment cores documents that these deposits are actively growing and migrating during the present interglacial, implying an enhancement in bottom-water formation during intervals of relative sea-level rise and highstand. Regardless of the specific mechanisms of formation, sediment drifts in both study areas have been affected by widespread thin-skinned mass-wasting events during post-glacial times. Repeated mass-transport processes have affected in particular the downslope flank of the shelf-edge contourite drifts, indicating that these muddy deposits are prone to failure during, or soon after, their deposition.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Argnani A, Favali P, Frugoni F, Gasperini M, Ligi M, Marani M, Mattietti G, Mele G (1993) Foreland deformational pattern in the southern Adriatic Sea. Ann Geofis 36(2):229–247
Barberi F, Civetta L, Gasparini P, Innocenti F, Scandone R, Villari L (1974) Evolution of a section of the Africa–Europe plate boundary; paleomagnetic and volcanological evidence from Sicily. Earth Planet Sci Lett 22(2):123–132
Bertotti G, Casolari E, Picotti V (1999) The Gargano Promontory; a Neogene contraction belt within the Adriatic Plate. Terra Nova 11(4):168–173
Bosellini A, Morsilli M, Neri C (1999) Long-term event stratigraphy of the Apulia Platform margin (Upper Jurassic to Eocene, Gargano, southern Italy). J Sediment Res 69(6):1241–1252
Bryn P, Berg K, Stoker MS, Haflidason H, Solheim A (2005) Contourites and their relevance for mass wasting along the Mid-Norwegian Margin. Mar Pet Geol 22(1/2):85–96
Butler RWH, Grasso M, LaManna F (1992) Origin and deformation of the Neogene-Recent Maghrebian foredeep at the Gela Nappe, SE Sicily. J Geol Soc (Lond) 149:547–556
Cacchione DA, Schwab WC, Noble MA, Tate GB (1988) Internal tides and sediment movement on Horizon Guyot, Mid-Pacific Mountains. Geo Mar Lett 9(1):11–17
Cacchione DA, Pratson LF, Ogston AS (2002) The sha** of continental slopes by internal tides. Science 296(5568):724–727
Colantoni P (1975) Note di geologia marina sul Canale di Sicilia. Giornale Geol 40(1):181–207
Colantoni P, Tramontana M, Tedeschi R (1990) Contributo alla conoscenza dell’avanpaese apulo: struttura del Golfo di Manfredonia. Giornale Geol 52(1/2):19–32
de Dominicis A, Mazzoldi G (1987) Interpretazione geologico-strutturale del margine orientale della piattaforma Apula. Mem Soc Geol Ital 38:163–176
Ercilla G, Baraza J, Alonso B, Estrada F, Casas D, Farran M (2002) The Ceuta Drift, Alboran Sea, southwestern Mediterranean. In: Stow DAV, Pudsey CJ, Howe JH, Faugères JC, Viana AR (eds) Deep-water contourite systems: modern drifts and ancient series, seismic and sedimentary characteristics. Geol Soc Lond Mem 22:155–170
Faugères JC, Stow DAV (1993) Bottom-current-controlled sedimentation; a synthesis of the contourite problem. Sediment Geol 82(1/4):287–297
Faugères JC, Mézerais ML, Stow DAV (1993) Contourite drift types and their distribution in the North and South Atlantic Ocean basins. Sediment Geol 82(1/4):189–203
Faugères JC, Stow DAV, Imbert P, Viana A (1999) Seismic features diagnostic of contourite drifts. Mar Geol 162(1):1–38
Finetti I (1984) Geophysical study of the Sicily Channel rift zone. Boll Geofis Teor Appl 26(101/102):3–28
Flemming BW (1981) Factors controlling shelf sediment dispersal along the Southeast African continental margin. Mar Geol 42(1/4):259–277
Gardiner W, Grasso M, Sedgeley D (1995) Plio-Pleistocene fault movement as evidence for mega-block kinematics within the Hyblean–Malta Plateau, central Mediterranean. J Geodynamics 19(1):35–51
Gascard JC (1978) Mediterranean deep water formation baroclinic instability and oceanic eddies. Oceanol Acta 1(3):315–330
Grasso M, Reuther CD (1988) The western margin of the Hyblean Plateau; a neotectonic transform system on the SE Sicilian Foreland. Ann Tecton 2(2):107–120
Heezen BC, Hollister CD, Ruddiman WF (1966) Sha** of the continental rise by deep geostrophic contour currents. Science 152(3721):502–508
Hollister CD (1993) The concept of deep-sea contourite. Sediment Geol 82(1/4):5–11
Killworth PD (1983) Deep convection in the World Ocean. Rev Geophys Space Phys 21:1–26
Lascaratos A, Williams RG, Tragou E (1993) A mixed-layer study of the formation of Levantine Intermediate Water. J Geophys Res E Planets 98:739–749
Lascaratos A, Roether W, Nittis K, Klein B (1999) Recent changes in deep water formation and spreading in the eastern Mediterranean Sea: a review. Prog Oceanogr 44(1/3):5–36
Le Bas T, Masson DC, Millar NW (1995) TOBI image processing—the state of the art. IEEE J Oceanic Eng 20:85–93
Lermusiaux PFJ, Robinson AR (2001) Features of dominant mesoscale variability, circulation patterns and dynamics in the Strait of Sicily. Deep-Sea Res I Oceanogr Res Pap 48(9):1953–1997
Malanotte-Rizzoli P, Hecht A (1988) Large-scale properties of the Eastern Mediterranean: a review. Oceanol Acta 11(4):323–335
Marani M, Argnani A, Roveri M, Trincardi F (1993) Sediment drifts and erosional surfaces in the central Mediterranean; seismic evidence of bottom-current activity. Sediment Geol 82(1/4):207–220
Martin AK, Flemming BW (1986) The Holocene shelf sediment wedge off the south and east coast of South Africa. In: Knight RJ, McLean JR (eds) Shelf sands and sandstones. Can Soc Petrol Geol Mem 11:27–44
Masson DG, Howe JA, Stoker MS (2002) Bottom-current sediment waves, sediment drifts and contourites in the northern Rockall Trough. Mar Geol 192(1/3):215–237
Millot C, Monaco A (1984) Deep strong currents and sediment transport in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea. Geo-Mar Lett 4(1):13–17
Minisini D, Trincardi F, Asioli A (2006) Evidence of slope instability in the Southwestern Adriatic Margin. Natural Hazards Earth System Sci 6(1):1–20
Minisini D, Trincardi F, Asioli A, Canu M, Foglini F (2007) Morphologic variability of exposed mass-transport deposits on the eastern slope of Gela Basin (Sicily Channel). Basin Res 19:217–240
Morelli D (2002) Evoluzione tettonico-stratigrafica del Margine Adriatico compreso tra il Promontorio garganico e Brindisi—Tectono-stratigraphic evolution of the Adriatic margin between Gargano Promontory and Brindisi. Mem Soc Geol Ital 57(1):343–353
Myers PG, Haines K, Rohling EJ (1998) Modeling the paleocirculation of the Mediterranean; the last glacial maximum and the Holocene with emphasis on the formation of sapropel S1. Paleoceanography 13(6):586–606
Nelson CH, Baraza J, Maldonado A (1993) Mediterranean undercurrent sandy contourites, Gulf of Cadiz, Spain. Sediment Geol 82(1/4):103–131
Okada H, Ohta S (1993) Photographic evidence of variable bottom-current activity in the Suruga and Sagami bays, central Japan. Sediment Geol 82(1/4):221–237
Patacca E, Scandone P, Giunta G, Liguori V (1979) Mesozoic paleotectonic evolution of the Ragusa zone (Southeastern Sicily). Geol Romana 18:331–369
Pickard GL, Emery WJ (1990) Descriptive physical oceanography: an introduction. Pergamon, Oxford
Pinardi N, Masetti E (2000) Variability of the large scale general circulation of the Mediterranean Sea from observations and modelling; a review. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol 158(3/4):153–173
Reeder MS, Rothwell G, Stow DAV (2002) The Sicilian gateway; anatomy of the deep-water connection between East and West Mediterranean basins. In: Stow DAV, Pudsey CJ, Howe JH, Faugères JC, Viana AR (eds) Deep-water contourite systems; modern drifts and ancient series, seismic and sedimentary characteristics. Geol Soc Lond Mem 22:171–189
Reuther CD (1987) Extensional tectonics within the central Mediterranean segment of the Afro-European zone of convergence. Mem Soc Geol Ital 38:69–80
Ridente D, Trincardi F (2002) Eustatic and tectonic control on deposition and lateral variability of Quaternary regressive sequences in the Adriatic basin (Italy). Mar Geol 184(3/4):273–293
Ridente D, Trincardi F (2006) Active foreland deformation evidenced by shallow folds and faults affecting late Quaternary shelf-slope deposits (Adriatic Sea, Italy). Basin Res 18(2):171–188
Rodriguez AB, Anderson JB (2004) Contourite origin for shelf and upper slope sand sheet, offshore Antarctica. Sedimentology 51(4):699–711
Roussenov V, Stanev E, Artale V, Pinardi N (1995) A seasonal model of the Mediterranean Sea general circulation. J Geophys Res C Oceans 100(C7):13515
Roveri M (2002) Sediment drifts of the Corsica Channel, northern Tyrrhenian Sea. In: Stow DAV, Pudsey CJ, Howe JH, Faugères JC, Viana AR (eds) Deep-water contourite systems: modern drifts and ancient series, seismic and sedimentary characteristics. Geol Soc Lond Mem 22:191–208
Stoker MS (1998) Sediment-drift development on the continental margin off NW Britain. Geol Soc Lond Spec Publ 129:229–254
Stow DAV, Holbroock JA (1984) North Atlantic contourite: an overview. In: Stow DAV, Piper DJW (eds) Fine-grained sediments: deep-water processes and facies. Geol Soc Lond Spec Publ 15:245–256
Stow DAV, Faugères JC, Howe JA, Pudsey CJ, Viana AR (2002a) Bottom currents, contourites and deep-sea sediment drifts; current state-of-the-art. In: Stow DAV, Pudsey CJ, Howe JH, Faugères JC, Viana AR (eds) Deep-water contourite systems: modern drifts and ancient series, seismic and sedimentary characteristics. Geol Soc Lond Mem 22:7–20
Stow DAV, Armishaw JE, Holmes R (2002b) Holocene contourite sand sheet on the Barra Fan slope, NW Hebridean margin. In: Stow DAV, Pudsey CJ, Howe JH, Faugères JC, Viana AR (eds) Deep-water contourite systems: modern drifts and ancient series, seismic and sedimentary characteristics. Geol Soc Lond Mem 22:99–119
Tramontana M, Morelli D, Colantoni P (1995) Tettonica plio-quaternaria del sistema sud-garganico (settore orientale) nel quadro evolutivo dell’Adriatico centro-meridionale. Vol Spec Studi Geoogici Camerti 2:467–473
Trincardi F, Argnani A (1990) Gela submarine slide: a major basin-wide event in the Plio-Quaternary foredeep of Sicily. Geo-Mar Lett 10:13–21
Trincardi F, Correggiari A (2000) Quaternary forced regression deposits in the Adriatic Basin and the record of composite sea-level cycles. Geol Soc Lond Spec Publ 172:245–269
Trincardi F, Verdicchio G, Miserocchi S (2007) Sea-floor evidences for the interaction between cascading and along-slope bottom-water masses. J Geophys Res 112, F03011
Turchetto M, Boldrin A, Langone L, Miserocchi S, Tesi T, Foglini F (2007) The Bari Canyon System: interaction between mass-transport and along-slope processes on the SW-Adriatic Margin (Central Mediterranean). Mar Geol (in press)
Verdicchio G, Trincardi F (2006) Short-distance variability in slope bed-forms along the southwestern Adriatic margin (central Mediterranean). Mar Geol 234(1/4):271–292
Verdicchio G, Trincardi F, Asioli A (2007) Mediterranean bottom-current deposits: an example from the Southwestern Adriatic Margin. Geol Soc Lond Spec Publ 276:199–224
Viana AR, Faugères JC, Stow DAV (1998) Bottom-current-controlled sand deposits; a review of modern shallow- to deep-water environments. Sediment Geol 115(1/4):53–80
Viana AR, de Almeida W Jr, de Almeida CW (2002) Upper slope sands; late Quaternary shallow-water sandy contourites of Campos Basin, SW Atlantic margin. In: Stow DAV, Pudsey CJ, Howe JH, Faugères JC, Viana AR (eds) Deep-water contourite systems: modern drifts and ancient series, seismic and sedimentary characteristics. Geol Soc Lond Mem 22:261–270
Williams WJ, Carmack EC, Shimada K, Melling H, Aagaard K, MacDonald RW, Ingram RG (2006) Joint effects of wind and ice motion in forcing upwelling in Mackenzie Trough, Beaufort Sea. Cont Shelf Res 26(19):2352–2366
Wüst G (1961) On the vertical circulation of the Mediterranean Sea. J Geophys Res 66:3261–3271
Acknowledgements
We thank the captains and crews of the R/V Urania and M/V Odin Finder, the TOBI team (NOC, Southampton) and all participants of the oceanographic cruises SAGA03, STRATA04 and BARI05. We acknowledge the journal editor B.W. Flemming and two anonymous reviewers for their useful comments to the manuscript. This study was supported by the European project EUROSTRATAFORM (EC contract no. EVK3-CT-2002-00079), HERMES European project (G0CECT200551112341). This is ISMAR-Bologna (CNR) contribution no. 1583.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Verdicchio, G., Trincardi, F. Mediterranean shelf-edge muddy contourites: examples from the Gela and South Adriatic basins. Geo-Mar Lett 28, 137–151 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00367-007-0096-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00367-007-0096-9