Echo character mapping and depositional processes on the western Svalbard continental margin

Niamh I. Doherty; John A. Howe

doi:10.33265/polar.v44.10847

Niamh I. Doherty Scottish Association for Marine Science & the University of the Highlands and Islands, Dunbeg, Oban, Scotland, UK
John A. Howe Scottish Association for Marine Science & the University of the Highlands and Islands, Dunbeg, Oban, Scotland, UK

DOI: https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v44.10847

Keywords: Sub-bottom profiles, sedimentary processes, Svalbard–Barents Sea Ice Sheet, sea floor morphology, seismic facies, Arctic

Abstract

An echo character mapping study of the western Svalbard continental margin, based on ca. 3980 km of archived sub-bottom profile data, is presented. Four distinct echo character types are recognized. Type I is found on the continental slope and in the fjords as thin, irregularly parallel, sub-bottom reflectors, interpreted as glaciomarine plumes, turbidites and other features resulting from low-energy depositional processes. Type II occurs in the deeper water regions of the slope and basins as continuous, well-stratified, parallel reflectors that are interpreted as hemipelagites, distal turbidites and contourites. Type III, found only on the shelf, comprises continuous, highly reflective reflectors that are interpreted as coarse-grained sediments or exposed bedrock. Type IV occurs in fjords and shelf regions and is characterized by a single sub-bottom reflector with a transparent unit; it is interpreted as poorly sorted glacial diamict. This study also mapped numerous seabed features, including debris flow lobes, channel systems, pockmarks and gas chimneys. It illustrates how echo character mapping furthers our understanding of processes on the margin and contributes to reconstructing palaeoceanographic and palaeoclimatic conditions.

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