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

西爱尔兰近海的罗卡尔海槽及其边缘形成了一个有价值的自然实验室，保存着关于斜坡稳定性、沉积物运输、海底洋流和冰川/间冰期历史的信息，但它是一个研究相对较少的地区。2011年9月，爱尔兰科考船凯尔特探险号将在罗卡尔海槽北部的一次巡航中收集到新的地震和沉积学数据。这次跨学科巡航的目的是：一)研究海底滑坡沉积，特别是其空间范围和时间分布以及内部结构；二)研究冰川周期，特别是最后一次不列颠-爱尔兰冰盖对爱尔兰西北部大陆斜坡上发生的沉积过程的影响；三)确定水柱的温盐结构与利用声学数据观测到的后向散射之间的关系。在这个项目的框架内，我们建议获取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险，但也将包括冰川特征的特征。

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.