The significance of mass-transport deposits for the evolution of a proglacial continental slope

Abstract

The continental slope off southeast Canada has been influenced by ice sheet fluctuations in the Pleistocene. These ice sheets have supplied the bulk of the sediment, which is the driving process for the observed slope architecture. Several studies with a more local scope have explored the Late Quaternary geological history of the Scotian slope and have used the sedimentary sequence including mass-transport deposits (MTDs) to understand depositional processes on the slope over time. Using this existing understanding of the geological setting on the slope, a new slope-wide regional seismic stratigraphy was developed. This stratigraphy was used to understand variations of MTD deposition on a regional scale on the Scotian Margin. The spatial occurrence of different types of MTDs and their relationship to the regional morphology is used to establish different MTD zones. Mapping of the zones improved the understanding of slope stability and the importance of MTDs for continental-margin evolution. © Springer Science + Business Media B.V. 2010.