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Sediment blocks on the sea floor in British Columbia fjords

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Abstract

In the deepest parts of Bute and Knight Inlets, British Columbia, unusual blocky mounds of sediment rise abruptly from the otherwise smooth sea floor. The mounds (up to 28 m high, 80 m wide, and 150 m long) display bioturbated surfaces with transverse fractures and elongate depressions. The origin of the mounds and sediment blocks, which contrast with the otherwise flat-lying fjord-bottom strata, remains unknown. Two mechanisms for their formation are considered: (1) subsidence associated with earthquake-induced liquefaction; and (2) uplift driven by the growth of localized gas hydrates in the near-surface sediments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geological Survey of Canada, Pacific Geoscience Centre, V8L 4B2, Sidney, British Columbia, Canada

    Brian D. Bornhold

  2. Coastal Studies Institute and Department of Geology and Geophysics, Louisiana State University, 70803, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA

    David B. Prior

Authors
  1. Brian D. Bornhold
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  2. David B. Prior
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Bornhold, B.D., Prior, D.B. Sediment blocks on the sea floor in British Columbia fjords. Geo-Marine Letters 9, 135–144 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02431040

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02431040

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