Submarine mass movements on glaciated and non-glaciated European continental margins: A review of triggering mechanisms and preconditions to failure

Abstract

In this paper we present an overview of the major triggering mechanisms and preconditions for slope failure on the European continental margins, a vast area in which the dominant factors on sedimentation and erosional processes vary both spatially and temporally. Therefore, we have collated and integrated new as well as published data for both the formerly glaciated and non-glaciated areas of this highly dynamic margin for a time period mainly from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) to the present. Mass transport type is predominantly translational sliding on the high-latitude continental margins (north of 52°N), whereas turbidites dominate on lower latitudes. This is partly related to the average slope of the respective continental margin segments and differences in both sediment types and soil properties. Additionally, on low latitudes, submarine slope failures mainly occurred during glacial conditions with low sea level, whereas on high latitudes, they occur during the relatively fast transition from glacial to interglacial conditions (i.e. during periods of sea level rise). The largest submarine slides (e.g. Storegga, Trænadjupet, Andøya) on the glaciated Norwegian margin occurred during the Holocene, a time of rapid ice sheet decay, continental uplift and increased seismic activity, one of the most important triggering mechanisms for large failures during deglaciation processes. Preconditioning factors such as weak layers related to contourite drifts and rapid loading by glacial sediments may enhance strain localization and creep processes on the slope.