Testing turbidite conceptual models with the Kaikōura Earthquake co-seismic event bed, Aotearoa New Zealand

Abstract

The 2016 Mw7.8 Kaikōura Earthquake in Aotearoa New Zealand provides an opportunity to test widely applied turbidite sedimentation models because it triggered a co-seismic turbidity current. The resultant Kaikōura event bed (KEB), interpreted as a turbidite, is sampled for approx. 1300-km down-flow along the depositional system. Sediment core lithologies, computed tomography (CT), and particle-size data are used to test event-bed thickness, silt content, facies distribution and stacking patterns against the foundations of the turbidite conceptual model of Bouma (1962). KEB thickness is variable to approx. 100 km down-flow distance and attains a maximum thickness at approx. 700 km down-flow distance before thinning distally, similar to the predicted bell-shaped proximal to distal trend. Silt content is high throughout the KEB from canyon to fan. The KEB is dominated by laminated Td facies and Te facies that evolve down-system from laminated, then graded, to homogenous muds. CT and granulometry data ar e key to differentiating subtle density and textural variations within fine-grained deposits and reveal that KEB Td and Te facies in the KEB that are often not preserved or readily observed in older deposits. The KEB highlights a fine-grained sedimentary system that contrasts with more widely studied sandy turbidite basins. In particular, the KEB example reveals that Td and Te facies are ubiquitous in this fine-grained, silt-rich system. A varied conceptual model developed from the KEB may be applicable to many modern deep-sea turbidite systems and crucial for understanding present-day particulate transport to the deep sea and interpreting evidence from the stratigraphic record.