A Collaborative Proposal: Geological Investigation of En Echelon Cracks Along the Outer Shelf Off Virginia/North Carolina: Implications of Slope Stability

在一次为期两周的地质/地球物理调查巡航期间，PI将详细研究弗吉尼亚州和北卡罗来纳州外大陆架沿线的梯队裂缝，并使用深拖曳高分辨率垂直入射声纳系统。准确绘制这些特征及其地下几何图形将有助于评估裂缝系统表明沿陆架边缘的新生斜坡破坏的假设。这些数据，以及NOAA发布的网格测深数据，将提供过去灾难性失败的证据，并将有助于更好地理解这些裂缝在大规模浪费和随后的峡谷演变中所起的作用。

The PIs will study the enechelon cracks along the outer shelf of Virginia and North Carolina in detail during a two-week geological/geophysical survey cruise with a deep-towed high-resolution vertical-incidence sonar system. Accurate mapping of these features and their subsurface geometry will help evaluate the hypothesis that the crack system indicates nascent slope failure along the shelf edge. This data, as well as data released by NOAA on gridded bathymetry, will provide evidence of past catastrophic failure and will lead to a better understanding of the role of these cracks in mass wasting and subsequent canyon evolution.