Keywords
Emperor Seamount Chain
submarine landslides
debris deposits
Section
Abstract
Slope failures and submarine landslides formation in the northern Emperor Seamounts Chain, the northern section of the Hawaiian-Emperor Ridge, were studied using bathymetric and seismic data. These data were obtained during cruise SO201-1a on the research vessel Sonne, carried out in frames of the Russian-German KALMAR project. Their analysis made it possible to identify submarine landslides and mass transport deposits, which were formed as a result of four episodes of slope failure. The two episodes could be caused by active growth of volcanoes, during which their edifices are unstable and seismic activity is the highest. The first occurred when edifices were forming over the Hawaiian hotspot. The second episode is likely related to the reactivation of volcanism that occurred due to the change of the Kula Plate motion in Eocene. The slope failure during the third and fourth episodes was likely caused by the formation of unstable sediment volumes. This material was carried out of the Bering Sea, forming the Meiji Drift, and its volume increased as the Emperor Seamounts Chain approached the Aleutian Island arc.
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