Sorting out submarine canyons

Abstract

Marine Geology Submarine canyons, often found directly off the coastline, are common but understudied features of Earth. Despite their prevalence, what determines their location and morphology remains a mystery. Smith et al. used a massive data set from the entire western coast of the United States to determine what variables best correlated with underwater canyon formation. They found that the distribution of rock type and sediment flux were the most important factors for explaining the location of submarine canyons. Geophys. Res. Lett. 10.1002/2017GL075139 (2017).