The source and origin of the 1929 grand banks turbidity current inferred from sediment budgets

Abstract

Side-scan data from the epicentral area of the 1929 Grand Banks earthquake and cores from the resulting turbidite are used to determine a sediment budget for the event. The 1929 turbidite has a volume of about 185 cubic km, which is mostly sand. Features indicating failure on the continental slope are observed only in muddy sediment. A major source of sand in the heads of the fan valleys of the Laurentian Fan is postulated to balance the sediment budget. This sand accumulated proglacially during the Wisconsinan glaciation and probably failed through liquefaction in the 1929 earthquake. © 1987 Springer-Verlag New York Inc.