Sediment transport processes in the Rockall Through (North Atlantic) with special emphasis on submarine mass wasting

罗卡尔海槽及其边缘离岸西爱尔兰形成了一个宝贵的天然实验室，保存有关斜坡稳定性，沉积物搬运，海底洋流和冰川/间冰期历史的信息，但它是一个相对较少研究的地区。2011年9月，爱尔兰研究船“凯尔特探索者号”将进行一次巡航考察，收集北方罗卡尔海槽的新地震和沉积数据。这次跨学科巡航的目的是i）研究海底滑坡沉积物，特别是其空间范围和时间分布以及内部结构，ii）研究冰川循环的影响，特别是最后的英国-爱尔兰冰盖（BIIS），对西北爱尔兰大陆坡发生的沉积过程，以及iii）确定水柱的温度-盐度结构与在声学数据上观察到的反向散射之间的关系。在该项目的框架内，我们建议采集和处理所有目标所需的地震数据。巡航后的解释将侧重于海底物质浪费和相关危害，但也将包括冰川特征的描述。

The Rockall Trough and its margins offshore Western Ireland form a valuable natural laboratory holding information on slope stability, sediment transport, bottom ocean currents, and glacial/interglacial history and yet it is a relatively lightly-studied area. New seismic and sedimentological data across the northern Rockall Trough will be collected during a cruise with the Irish Research Vessel Celtic Explorer in September 2011. This interdisciplinary cruise aims in i) studying the submarine landslide deposits and especially their spatial extent and temporal distribution as well as internal architecture, ii) examining the effect glacial cycles, and in particular the last British-Irish Ice Sheet (BIIS), had on the sedimentary processes occurring on the NW Irish continental slope, and iii) determining the relationship between the temperature-salinity structure of the water column and backscatter observed on acoustic data. In the frame of this project we propose to acquire and process the seismic data needed for all objectives. Interpretation after the cruise will focus on submarine mass wasting and associated hazards but will also include the characterization of glacial features.