A volcaniclastic deep-sea fan off La Réunion Island (Indian Ocean); gradualism versus catastrophism

A new geophysical data set off La Reunion Island (western Indian Ocean) reveals a large volcaniclastic submarine fan developing in an open-ocean setting. The fan is connected to a torrential river that floods during tropical cyclones. Sediment storage at the coast is limited, suggesting that the sed...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geology (Boulder) 2011-03, Vol.39 (3), p.271-274
Main Authors: Saint-Ange, Francky, Savoye, Bruno, Michon, Laurent, Bachèlery, Patrick, Deplus, Christine, de Voogd, Béatrice, Dyment, Jérôme, Le Drezen, Eliane, Voisset, Michel, Le Friant, Anne, Boudon, Georges
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
acoustical methods
alluvial fans
applied (geophysical surveys & methods)
Avalanches
Cenozoic
Cilaos Fan
cores
Cyclones
Earth Sciences
echo sounding
fluvial sedimentation
Geology
geophysical methods
geophysical surveys
Geophysics
hyperpycnal flow
Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean Islands
Information
lithofacies
marine sediments
Mascarene Islands
mechanism
Oceanography
provenance
Quaternary
Reunion
River basins
Rivers
Sciences of the Universe
sedimentation
Sediments
stream sediments
submarine fans
surveys
turbidite
volcaniclastics
volcanoes
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Summary:A new geophysical data set off La Reunion Island (western Indian Ocean) reveals a large volcaniclastic submarine fan developing in an open-ocean setting. The fan is connected to a torrential river that floods during tropical cyclones. Sediment storage at the coast is limited, suggesting that the sediments are carried directly to the basin. The fan morphology and turbidites in cores lead us to classify it as a sand-rich system mainly fed by hyperpycnal flows. In the ancient geological record, there are many examples of thick volcaniclastic successions, but studies of modern analogues have emphasized mechanisms such as debris avalanches or direct pyroclastic flow into the sea. Because the Cilaos deep-sea fan is isolated from any continental source, it provides information on architecture and noncatastrophic processes in a volcaniclastic deep-sea fan.
ISSN:0091-7613
1943-2682
DOI:10.1130/G31478.1