Dynamic Processes of Abyssal Sedimentation: Erosion, Transportation, and Redeposition on the Deep‐sea floor

Abstract

The concept of a quiet, nearly motionless, and certainly currentless deep‐sea floor lacking the processes of erosion so prevalent in shallower seas was well ingrained in scientific thought until discoveries of the past decade revised this serene and static picture. The new concept is a more dynamic one in which submarine landslides, raging turbidity currents, internal tides, deep‐sea current scour, and submarine post‐depositional solution and alteration play a part in shaping the sea floor, in disturbing and nurturing its fauna and which produce sedimentary structures and distributions formerly thought to be the exclusive mark of shallow water deposits. The concepts involved are still in a critical state of flux with many conflicting viewpoints as to the processes involved and their relative importance. The development of the major concepts is traced and the principal variant viewpoints are briefly reviewed. Copyright © 1959, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved