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Main Authors: Kopf, Achim J, Kasten, Sabine, Blees, Jan
Format: Dataset Open Access
Language:en
Published: PANGAEA 2009
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.743381
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author Kopf, Achim J
Kasten, Sabine
Blees, Jan
author_facet Kopf, Achim J
Kasten, Sabine
Blees, Jan
collection Datos científicos de ciencias marinas y ambientales
contents In October 1979, a period of heavy rainfall along the French Riviera was followed by the collapse of the Ligurian continental slope adjacent to the airport of Nice, France. A body of slope sediments, which was shortly beforehand affected by construction work south of the airport, was mobilized and traveled hundreds of kilometers downslope into the Var submarine canyon and, eventually, into the deep Ligurian basin. As a direct consequence, the construction was destroyed, seafloor cables were torn, and a small tsunami hit Antibes shortly after the failure. Hypotheses regarding the trigger mechanism include (i) vertical loading by construction of an embankment south of the airport, (ii) failure of a layer of sensitive clay within the slope sequence, and (iii) excess pore fluid pressures from charged aquifers in the underground. Over the previous decades, both the sensitive clay layers and the permeable sand and gravel layers were sampled to detect freshened waters. In 2007, the landslide scar and adjacent slopes were revisited for high-resolution seafloor mapping and systematic sampling. Results from half a dozen gravity and push cores in the shallow slope area reveal a limited zone of freshening (i.e. groundwater influence). A 100-250 m wide zone of the margin shows pore water salinities of 5-50% SW concentration and depletion in Cl, SO4, but Cr enrichment, while cores east or west of the landslide scar show regular SW profiles. Most interestingly, the three cores inside the landslide scar hint towards a complex hydrological system with at least two sources for groundwater. The aquifer system also showed strong freshening after a period of several months without significant precipitation. This freshening implies that charged coarse-grained layers represent a permanent threat to the slope's stability, not just after periods of major rainfall such as in October 1979.
format Dataset Open Access
id pangaea_https___doi_org_10_1594_PANGAEA_743381
institution PANGAEA
language en
publishDate 2009
publisher PANGAEA
record_format pangaea
spellingShingle Pore water concentrations and solid phase concentrations of sediment cores from the Ligurian continental slope
Kopf, Achim J
Kasten, Sabine
Blees, Jan
Center for Marine Environmental Sciences; GC; GeoB12003; GeoB12019; GeoB12042; Gravity corer; Ligurian Margin; M73/1; M73/1_653-1; M73/1_691-1; M73/1_754-1; MARUM; Meteor (1986)
In October 1979, a period of heavy rainfall along the French Riviera was followed by the collapse of the Ligurian continental slope adjacent to the airport of Nice, France. A body of slope sediments, which was shortly beforehand affected by construction work south of the airport, was mobilized and traveled hundreds of kilometers downslope into the Var submarine canyon and, eventually, into the deep Ligurian basin. As a direct consequence, the construction was destroyed, seafloor cables were torn, and a small tsunami hit Antibes shortly after the failure. Hypotheses regarding the trigger mechanism include (i) vertical loading by construction of an embankment south of the airport, (ii) failure of a layer of sensitive clay within the slope sequence, and (iii) excess pore fluid pressures from charged aquifers in the underground. Over the previous decades, both the sensitive clay layers and the permeable sand and gravel layers were sampled to detect freshened waters. In 2007, the landslide scar and adjacent slopes were revisited for high-resolution seafloor mapping and systematic sampling. Results from half a dozen gravity and push cores in the shallow slope area reveal a limited zone of freshening (i.e. groundwater influence). A 100-250 m wide zone of the margin shows pore water salinities of 5-50% SW concentration and depletion in Cl, SO4, but Cr enrichment, while cores east or west of the landslide scar show regular SW profiles. Most interestingly, the three cores inside the landslide scar hint towards a complex hydrological system with at least two sources for groundwater. The aquifer system also showed strong freshening after a period of several months without significant precipitation. This freshening implies that charged coarse-grained layers represent a permanent threat to the slope's stability, not just after periods of major rainfall such as in October 1979.
title Pore water concentrations and solid phase concentrations of sediment cores from the Ligurian continental slope
topic Center for Marine Environmental Sciences; GC; GeoB12003; GeoB12019; GeoB12042; Gravity corer; Ligurian Margin; M73/1; M73/1_653-1; M73/1_691-1; M73/1_754-1; MARUM; Meteor (1986)
url https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.743381