Mass transport deposits form a significant portion of the rock record in both modern and ancient basins. Their geometry, composition, distribution and genesis are poorly understood, making it difficult to predict anything about these deposits in assessing subsurface basin stratigraphy or modern seafloor hazards. A tremendous effort has been made in the last few years to characterize and better understand seafloor failures in numerous margins of the world. These mass failures have triggered the interests of geologists, particularly in the oil and gas industry, as they can form prominent seals and reservoirs. To increase our knowledge base of mass transport complexes (MTCs), the characteristics of 259 siliciclastic deposits worldwide, were analyzed in terms of their volume, area, length, thickness, lithology, and tectonic settings. In some instances, MTCs were geo-referenced and digitized into ArcGIS and their dimensions were calculated. These data reveal several interesting points and suggest a number of statistically significant predictive relationships. Sand-rich mass transport deposits show a propensity to be short and thick. Muddy MTCs show a propensity to be longer and thinner. The highest number and largest volume of clastic mass transport deposits occur along passive margins. These mega-MTCs are typically muddy with lengths up to 800 km and volumes up to 5000 km3. Sandy and gravelly Quaternary-age MTCs show maximum lengths of less than 300 km and with volumes less than 2000 km3. Pre-Quaternary MTCs are systematically under-documented in literature, but known occurrences are found in passive, active and convergent margins. The largest (30,000 to 40,000 sq km) occur along the older Tertiary margin of West Africa. To date, 41 separate mass transport deposits composed dominantly of carbonate material have been identified in literature. The most extensive and voluminous (7000 km3) carbonate mass transport complexes occur in the Citronens Fjord, Offshore Greenland. They are 200m thick, Silurian-age mega-breccias that were deposited in a convergent margin setting. On comparison carbonate MTCs tend to show longer flows with coarser grain sizes, while clastics show coarser grained deposits to be of more limited length. The Mad Dog area, Gulf of Mexico is a region of active salt tectonics and mass transport processes. Consequently, it was selected to form a focus study area to test the relationships developed during this project. MTCs in this region were grouped into four main types based on their size, geomorphology and internal structure. Their geometries indicate they are comparable to MTCs found offshore Oregon and New Jersey and are most likely muddy in nature. / text

<p> Speleothems are calcium carbonate deposits, such as stalagmites, stalactites and flowstones, formed in a cave environment by loss of carbon dioxide from saturated groundwaters. Variations in the 18o/16o ratio of calcite are related to changes in depositional temperature provided that the speleothem formed in isotopic equilibrium with its seepage water (conditions characterised by slow coloss and no evaporation of seepage water). Variations in 18o/16o of the seepage water will also be reproduced in the calcite but allowance for this effect can be made if 18o/16o ratio of the source (ocean water) can be estimated (from deep sea sediment cores) and if the influence of temperature on 18o/16o ratio of precipitation at the site can be determined. Because cave temperatures closely approximate mean annual surface temperature, the axial 18o/16o record of a speleothem is therefore an indication of paleoclimate and of temperature change over the period of its growth. </p> <p> The frequency distribution of age measurements for several speleothems from an area may also be used as a paleoclimatic indicator because cold or glacial conditions above the cave will inhibit speleothem growth by freezing water at the surface and removing vegetation and soil cover, the main source of CO2 for the limestone dissolution-reprecipitation process. </p> <p> Pure, non-porous calcite speleothems from several limestone regions have been dated in this study by the 230Th/234U method, and in cases of uranium-rich speleothems, by the 231Pa/230Th method also. For ten such cases, examined, good agreement of ages determined by both dating methods was found. </p> <p> Relatively few deposits however, have shown deposition under isotopic equilibriwn conditions, due probably to the well-ventilated nature of the caves studied. </p> <p> The age distribution for speleothem from Cascade Cave on Vancouver Island, B.C., indicates growth during the mid-Wisconsin interstadial dated as 65 -30,000 yrs. B.P. Stable isotope profiles for two speleothems which grew over this period both show values of 18o/16o ratios of calcite which are significantly lower than calcite growing in the cave today. This is the first clearly-defined record of such an occurence (in previous work, 18o/16o of fossil speleothem was generally greater than modern). Using estimates of the change in 18o/16o of ocean water from a Pacific deep sea core, and the value determined by Dansgaard (1964) for the temperature dependence of 18o/16o of precipitation for oceanic sites, a realistic paleotemperature record is derived. The results indicate that temperatures at the Cascade Cave site were about 4.0°C , 64,000 yrs. ago· and gradually declined to 0°c by 35,000 yrs. ago. These data are consistent with the findings of Canadian workers from 14c and palynological studies of fossil organic matter in the area, and do not support the proposal by some American workers of a major glaciation occurring between 35 - 40,000 yrs. B.P. </p> <p> The age distribution for 140 analyses of 82 speleothems collected from caves in north-west England show abundant deposition during the periods 130 -90,000 yrs. B.P. and 13,000 yrs. B.P. to present, with limited growth over the periods > 350 -170,000 yrs. B.P. and 70 -35,000 yrs. B.P. No ages were found to lie within the periods 170 -140,000 yrs. B.P. and 35-15,000 yrs. B.P. These intervals are correlated to the Wolstonian and Devensian glaciations respectively. </p> <p> Only four speleothems were found to have grown in isotopic equilibrium with their seepage waters, and one of these showed periods of non-equilibrium deposition. In contrast to the Vancouver Island results, 18o/16o all ratios were found to be greater than or equal to modern, indicating that the apparent oceanic location of this site is not expressed in the on the value for temperature dependence of 18o/16o precipitation. </p> <p> An oxygen isotope profile for a flowstone dated between 126,000 and 109, 000 yrs. B.P. shows 18o/16o ratios commencing at values slightly lower than for modern calcite and shifting to still lower values at about 112, 000 yrs. B.P. This shift may indicate a cooling event perhaps carrelative with the isotope stage 5e-5d transition seen in the deep sea core record. A profile for a flowstone over the period 290 -190,000 yrs. B.P. shows excellent correlation to interglacial stages 9e and 7c seen in the deep sea core record, and a pronounced growth hiatus dated at about 250 210,000 yrs. B.P. correlates with glacial stage 8. These are the first speleothem results to show a climatic record beyond 200,000 yrs. B.P. </p> <p> The differences in 18o/16o behaviour for speleothems from the two locations (N .E. Pacific and ..E. Atlantic) are interpreted in terms of their relative proximity to the ocean, potential for exchange of water vapour and 'rainout' by airmasses moving towards the cave sites, and possibility of change in meteorological conditions (principally storm track) over the periods studied. </p> <p> In a subsidiary study, evidence for major sea level lowering during the Illinoian glaciation is recognised by age determinations on the calcite core of speleothems collected at 45m below present sea level from a 'blue hole' near Andros Island in the Bahamas. </p> <p> The possibility of applying the 234U/238U dating method to speleothem is also investigated in this work, by the analysis of modern calci tes and their seepage waters, using a new method for uranium extraction from groundwater. However the variations in 234U/238U ratios observed over short distances in the same cave demonstrate that estimation of initial fossil 234U/238U in the speleothem cannot simply be made by averaging modern ratios for the cave. </p> <p> Consideration is also given to the temperature dependent distribution of trace elements in calcite, particularly magnesium and strontium. Analyses of modern calcites and waters show that Mg incorporation is strongly temperature dependent whereas Sr is not. The possibility of using Mg variations in fossil speleothem as indication of temperature change is briefly examined but the results for one sample are found to be inconclusive. </p> / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

La sédimentation marine récente dans les fosses de subduction est caractérisée par l'interstratification de sédiments hémipélagiques et de turbidites localement intercalées avec les coulées de débris, qui peuvent résulter de la destabilisation des pentes continentales par de tremblements de terre. La marge d’Equateur est constituée par une forte érosion tectonique qui contribue à la formation d'une fosse profonde remplie d'une suite complexe de faciès sédimentaires. La sédimentation par écoulements gravitaires est omniprésente le long de la marge et les faciès vont de dépôts de transport de masse d'épaisseur métriques latéralement continus à des turbidites d'épaisseur centimétriques isolées intercalées avec des couches d'hémipélagites, de volcanoclastiques et de téphras. Nous présentons l'interprétation de la bathymétrie, des profils sismiques à haute résolution et des données pétrophysiques des carottes sédimentaires. L'objectif de cette étude est de décrire la complexité morphologique à la frontière équatorienne de la plaque de Nazca où un ensemble d'aspérités marines profondes ont subducté à différentes échelles, et ses conséquences sur la distribution latérale des sédiments dans les différents sous-bassins. La marge équatorienne comprend trois segments géomorphologiques: Le segment nord, situé au nord de la crête Carnegie, est caractérisé par une large (5-10 km) et profonde fosse (3800-4000 m), une pente continentale ravinée et une plate-forme (10-40 km de large) avec subsidence active. Le segment central en face de la crête de Carnégie montre une fosse étroite (0-5 km de large) et peu profonde (3100-3700 m), la pente escarpée et ravinée, sans canyons, et plateau continental étroit de 15 à 40 km de large caractérisé par des zones d'affaissement et de soulèvement actifs. Enfin, le segment sud, situé au sud de la crête Carnegie, présente une large (5-10 km) et profonde fosse (4000-4700 m), une pente continentale pauvre en sédiments avec des systèmes de canyons bien définis et une large plate-forme de subsidence (20-50 km). La dynamique sédimentaire le long de la marge est évaluée par l'analyse de 15 carottes sédimentaires dont la description visuelle, les photographies à haute résolution, l'imagerie par rayons X, les données XRF et les propriétés pétrophysiques conduisent à l'identification de 11 faciès sédimentaires caractérisant 7 processus sédimentaires: dépôts de turbidite, hémipélagites, téphras, dépôts de coulées de débris, homogénites, des slumps et des dépôts de carbonate de ooze. Les âges des dépôts sont définis par la datation au radiocarbone des sédiments hémipélagites. Les âges vont de 500 à 48000 ans BP. Les profils sismiques à haute résolution permettent de définir 3 echo-faciès: transparent, stratifiés et chaotiques. Le facies transparent est principalement associé aux dépôts d'homogénites, le facies stratifié est associé aux dépôts interstratifiés turbiditique-hémipélagique et le facies chaotique est associé à des dépôts gravitaires grossiers. Le remplissage de la fosse représente un enregistrement lacunaire mais important de l'histoire de la marge de subduction. De grandes coulées de débris se déplaçant vers l'est dans les deux séquences inférieures du remplissage de la fosse sont initiées le long de la paroi extérieure de la fosse, le long de grandes failles normales dues à la flexion de la plaque océanique subductante. Les sédiments de la séquence supérieure du remplissage qui nappent la fosse sont plus largement fournis par la paroi interne de la fosse mais avec un fort contrôle de la ride de Carnegie. En conséquence, la profondeur, la fréquence, l'épaisseur, la composition et la disposition latérale des dépôts sédimentaires varient grandement entre le nord et le sud. Les grands méga-lits simples, les slumps, les coulées de débris et les homogénites sont situés dans les segments nord et sud. Ils sont déclenchés par de grands escarpements de failles régionales, dans le Nord / Recent deep marine sedimentation in subduction trenches is characterized by the inter-stratification of hemipelagic and turbidite sediments locally interbedded with debris flow, which can result from continental slope shaking triggered by earthquakes. The active margin of Ecuador comprises tectonic erosion that contributes to the formation of a deep trench filled by a complex suite of sedimentary facies. Gravity flow sedimentation is ubiquitous along the margin and facies range from laterally continuous m-thick mass transport deposits to isolated cm-thick turbidites intercalated with hemipelagite, volcanoclastics and tephra. In this study we show interpretation of swath bathymetry, high-resolution seismic profiles and petrophysical data from cores. The objective is to describe the morphologic complexity on the Ecuadorian border of the Nazca plate where a set of deep marine asperities is subducting at different scales, and their consequences on the distribution of sediments in the different sub-basins. Ecuadorian margin comprises three geomorphological segments: The northern segment, northward of the Carnegie Ridge, is characterized by a wide (5-10 km) and deep trench (3800 – 4000 m), a gentler gullied continental slope and a shelf (10-40 km wide) with active subsidence. The central segment facing the Carnegie Ridge, is strongly influenced by the subduction of the Carnegie ridge which induces a narrow (0–5 km wide) and shallow trench (3100 – 3700 m depth), a steep and gullied slope with no canyons and a 15–40 km wide shelf characterized by areas with active subsidence and uplift. Finally, the southern segment, southward of the Carnegie Ridge, presents a wide (5–10 km) and deep (4000–4700 m) trench, a starved continental slope with well-defined canyon systems and a wide subsiding shelf (20–50 km). The sedimentary dynamics along the margin is evaluated by the analysis of 15 cores. Visual description, high-resolution photographs, X-Ray imagery, XRF data and petrophysical properties led to the identification of 11 sedimentary facies that characterize seven sedimentary processes: turbidites, hemipelagites, tephras, debris flows, homogenites, slumps, and ooze carbonate deposits. Age of the deposits is defined by radiocarbon age dating of hemipelagic sediments. Ages range from 500 to 48,000 years BP. High-resolution seismic profiles allow definition of three echo-facies: transparent, layered and chaotic. Transparent echo-facies is mainly associated to homogenite deposits, layered echo-facies is associated to the turbiditic-hemipelagic interbedded deposits and chaotic echo-facies is associated to reworked gravity flow deposits. The trench fill represents a lacunar but important record of the subduction margin history. Large eastward debris flows in the lower two sequences of the trench fill are provided by the trench outer wall as a results of slope failures along normal faults due to the downward bending of the oceanic plate. The sediment of the upper sequence of the trench fill draping the trench floor, are largely provided by the inner trench wall strongly controlled by the Carnegie Ridge. As a result, depth, frequency, thickness, composition and lateral disposition of the deposits vary greatly from those at north and south. The large, simple mega-beds like slump, debris flows and homogenites are located at the northern and southern segments. They were triggered by large regional faults in the North and enhanced by the activity of sets of splay faults in the South overhanging the seafloor at the slope toe. Small-size, fluid rich events were triggered by subduction of isolated seamounts at the edges of the Carnegie Ridge due to frequent but small destabilizations of an inner trench wall preconditioned by the impacts of successive seamounts. Sets of partly volcanoclastic turbidites in central segment might have been triggered by the complex interaction of slope and continental shelf deformation by seamount subduction