The block composite submarine landslide, Southern New England Slope, U.S.A.: A morphological analysis

Abstract

Recent multibeam surveys along the continental slope and rise off southeast New England has enabled a detailed morphological analysis of the Block composite landslide. This landslide consists of at least three large debris lobes resting on a gradient less than 0.5°. The slide took place on gradients of between 1° and 5° in Quaternary sediments likely deposited at the time of low sea level and high sedimentation rates associated with glaciations. The slide debris lobes are very close to each other and cover an area of about 1.125 km2 of the sea floor. With an average thickness of 50 m, the total volume of the deposit is estimated at 36 km3. In some cases, the departure zone appears to be near the crest of the continental slope, at a water depth between 500 and 2, 000 m with debris spreading over about 20 km at a depth ranging from 2, 500 to 2, 600 m. From preliminary analysis, at least one lobe of the Block Composite slide (lobe 2) would require further study to evaluate its tsunamigenic potential. © Springer Science + Business Media B.V. 2010.