Tuaheni Landslide Complex, New Zealand

The Tuaheni Landslide is a spreading style submarine landslide on the upper continental slope of the Hikurangi Margin, east of New Zealand’s North Island. The landslide has been studied extensively in the past decade, which included the acquisition of high-resolution 3D seismic data (in 2014), MeBo drilling (in 2016) and IODP drilling (in 2017-18). Combining these datasets represents an excellent opportunity to characterise the landslide system and provide insight into the nature of material that has failed, and why it failed.

Existing data types:

  • High-resolution 3D seismic data (P-Cable system)
  • High-resolution 2D seismic data (various systems)
  • Long-offset 2D seismic data (RV Marcus Langseth)
  • Drilling data and core:
    • MeBo drill core at two locations
    • Multi-sensor core logger (MSCL) data from MeBo core
    • IODP drill core at one location
    • IODP logging-while drilling (LWD) data (e.g. density and Vp) at one location

Funding agencies: BMBF, DFG, Marsden, ECORD, IODP, NSF

Principal Investigators: Many people from many institutes, covering various sub-projects. Please contact Gareth Crutchley (GEOMAR) for more information about CLSI related to the Tuaheni Landslide. Email: gcrutchley@geomar.de 

3D post-stack seismic inversion (P-wave velocity, “Vp”), based on integration of P-Cable seismic data with multi-sensor core logger (MSCL) data from MeBo drill core. The result reveals a low-velocity unit (yellow double-headed arrow) within the intact sedimentary sequence adjacent to a sidewall scarp. This low velocity material was mobilised during the landslide, failing along the base (broken white line) of the low-velocity unit (Crutchley, Elger, et al. in prep).

3D post-stack seismic inversion (P-wave velocity, “Vp”), based on integration of P-Cable seismic data with multi-sensor core logger (MSCL) data from MeBo drill core. The result reveals a low-velocity unit (yellow double-headed arrow) within the intact sedimentary sequence adjacent to a sidewall scarp. This low velocity material was mobilised during the landslide, failing along the base (broken white line) of the low-velocity unit (Crutchley, Elger, et al. in prep).

West Antarctic ice sheet dynamics from IODP Exp. 379

This project addresses the Late Miocene to Pliocene and Pleistocene glacial and bottom-current environment of the Amundsen Sea sector of West Antarctica by mapping seismic characteristics for quantifying the change of sediment erosion, transport and deposition processes across the continental shelf and rise. Temporal and spatial variations from occasional to full glacial conditions are mapped using the seismic network linked and correlated to the IODP Expedition 379 drill records via core-log seismic integration and seismic attribute analysis.

Existing data types:

  • 2D seismic reflection lines
  • Parasound profiles
  • IODP Exp. 379 drill cores and core-log data

Funding agencies: AWI, DFG, IODP

Principal Investigators: Karsten Gohl, Gabriele Uenzelmann-Neben (both AWI). Contact: karsten.gohl@awi.de

IODP Exp. 379 Site U1532 on the upper western flank of a large sediment drift on the Amundsen Sea continental rise of West Antarctica. Seismic horizons at the bases of the Pleisto­cene and Pliocene were preliminarily identified from the core records. Deeper horizons were identified from long-distance and jump correlation (Uenzelmann-Neben & Gohl, 2014, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2014.06.004). Figure is from Gohl et al., 2019, http://publications.iodp.org/preliminary_report/379/.

The Opening of the Fram Strait

The Opening of the Fram Strait and its influence on sediment transport, climate and ocean circulation between the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic

The Neogene opening and subsequent widening of the only deep-water connection between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans had fundamental influence on global ocean circulation, paleoclimate evolution, and on sedimentation processes in adjacent ocean basins and continental margins. To unravel the evolution of the Fram Strait on tectonic time scales the project combines seismic mapping and with sedimentological and stratigraphic information from DSDP/ODP drill cores. In a first step we derived a higher resolution seismic stratigraphy that is based on a revised chronology for ODP Leg151 Site 909 (Molloy Basin), an improved core-log-seismic integration, and a reprocessed set of seismic reflection profiles.

Existing data types:

  • 2D seismic reflection lines
  • ODP Leg 151 drill cores, well-log and core-log data

Funding agencies: DFG, IODP

Principal Investigators: Wolfram Geissler, Jens Grützner, Jens Matthiessen, Catalina Gebhardt (all AWI). Contact: Wolfram.Geissler@awi.de, Jens.Gruetzner@awi.de

Preliminary seismic stratigraphy at ODP Site 909 located on a sill terrace in the Molloy Basin (central Fram Strait). The density profile is a compilation of core- and downhole logging data.  Color code for seismic reflectors: Black  basement, Orange Miocene, Green Pliocene, Yellow ≙ Pleistocene).

Taiwan gas hydrate systems, South China Sea

The northern part of the South China Sea is characterized by a wide spread gas hydrate system that covers both the active and passive margin off SW Taiwan (C.-S. Liu et al., 2006; Wang et al., 2016). Numerous expeditions in cooperation with Taiwan collected comprehensive datasets to study the distribution of gas hydrate and to understand the formation processes.

Existing data types:

  • High-resolution 3D seismic data (P-Cable system)
  • High-resolution 2D seismic data (various systems)
  • Electromagnetic data
  • Drilling data and core:
    • MeBo drill core
    • Multi-sensor core logger (MSCL) data from MeBo core
    • Down hole logging data (gamma ray, resistivity and Vp)

Funding agencies: BMBF and the Taiwanese Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST)

Principal Investigators: Numerous, including Christian Berndt (GEOMAR), Gerhard Bohrmann (MARUM), Wu-Cheng Chi (Academia Sinica, Taiwan) and others. Please contact Christian Berndt for more information: cberndt@geomar.de

Volcanic landslide processes, Montserrat, Lesser Antilles

The island of Montserrat in the Lesser Antilles is an ideal natural laboratory to study volcanic island landslide processes. Because of the destructive eruption in 1995 Montserrat is one of the best studied island volcanoes and an enormous amount of a priori information is available. Seismic data document the location of more than ten large landslide deposits around the island. The combination of seismic and drilling data provides a better understanding of the interplay between the different parameters (volume, source location, transport distance) and emplacement processes (timing, kinematics and dynamics), which is key to a better tsunami risk assessment.  

Existing data types:

  • High-resolution 2D seismic data (RV James Cook + RV Meteor)
  • High-resolution 3D seismic data (P-Cable)
  • Drilling data and core:
    • Mebo drill core
    • Multi-sensor core logger (MSCL) data from MeBo core
    • Down hole logging data (Vp, magnetic susceptibility, gamma ray)

Funding agencies: DFG, Helmholtz Association’s core strategic program OCEANS

Principal Investigators: Christian Berndt (GEOMAR, Seismic data), Katrin Huhn (MARUM, Bremen, MeBo drilling and core data). Please contact Christian Berndt or Katrin Huhn for more information: cberndt@geomar.de or khuhn@marum.de

Preliminary seismic data showing the run-up of Montserrat Deposit 2 on the Kahouanne Seamount and MeBo drill site GeoB237030 on the seamount’s flank.

Scandinavian Caledonides and the spatial distribution of mafic rocks

Areas where continents collide have a long history of big earthquakes. However, the processes that caused them are difficult to study because of the great depth at which they occur. Former collision zones that are closer to the surface these days allow to investigate these processes much better, for example at the COSC-1 borehole in the centre of the Scandinavian Caledonides that was drilled in 2014 (Lorenz et al., 2015b). This study combines data from the COSC-1 borehole with different geophysical measurements to better understand the lithology and structure of the Seve Nappe complex.

Existing data types:

  • 3D seismic data (University of Uppsala)
  • 2D seismic data (University of Uppsala)
  • Borehole seismic (GFZ)
  • Drilling data and core:
    • ICDP drill core at one location
    • Multi-sensor core logger (MSCL) data
    • Downhole logging data

Funding agencies: DFG

Principal Investigators: Simona Pierdominici and Christian Berndt
Contact emails: pierdo@gfz-potsdam.de or cberndt@geomar.de

3D model with the parts of the 2D and 3D seismic data that cross the COSC-1 drill site (after Elger, et al. in prep).