NERC-NSTC: Erosion in the deep ocean - the impact of the Kuroshio Current on the continental shelf and slope of Taiwan

Lead Research Organisation: Heriot-Watt University
Department Name: Sch of Energy, Geosci, Infrast & Society

Abstract

The global 'conveyor belt' of ocean currents are an important part of Earth's climate system, transporting heat and nutrients around the global oceans. They also transport large volumes of sediments and re-deposit these in large drifts in the deep oceans. These sediments then provide an important archive of the current systems that produced them, as well as changing temperatures and environmental conditions. In recent years, we have increasingly recognized that the large-scale eddies in the Earth's large surface currents, such as the Gulf Stream, also play an important role in the deep ocean. These eddies, which are equivalent to cyclones in the atmosphere, are concentrated at ocean fronts, and can cause deep erosion of the seabed - many hundreds of metres deep in some cases.

The Kuroshio Current is one of these important surface current systems (associated with a front), that is a fundamental part of the ocean circulation system of the Pacific. Our recent work to the south of Taiwan, and offshore Japan, shows that this is a highly dynamic system which interacts with the complex seabed at an active margin (where two tectonic plates are colliding), deeply eroding and re-distributing sediment.

In this project, we aim to understand the effect of the Kuroshio Current offshore Taiwan. We will use seismic reflection data, multibeam bathymetry data (proving high-resolution seabed maps) and core samples, to understand the impact of the current in a number of areas. We will specifically test how the current interacts with elevated tectonic ridges and whether it is capable of eroding deep channels across the continental shelf and slope. We will then investigate hazards associated with this deep erosion, including whether the removal of sediment from the plate boundary changes the stress state in the area, potentially with implications for earthquake magnitude and frequency - something that has never previously been tested - and whether the current destabilizes the continental slope, leading to underwater landslides and tsunamis.

This project will also allow us to develop a new, long-term partnerships between our institutions in the UK, Germany and Taiwan, to expand this work in the future. The Kuroshio Current is relatively understudied but it is the ideal natural laboratory to understand the impact of ocean currents on continental margins, and address fundamental new questions about the links between the oceans and deep earth processes that have a major impact on human populations.

Publications

10 25 50
 
Description Our analysis includes ocean reanalysis that reveals the dynamic nature of the Kuroshio Current, and observations from seismic data and multibeam (sea bottom images) that reveal the impact of this current on the seabed offshore Taiwan. This is currently being written up as a scientific paper (Duarte et al., in prep).

This project also led to a follow-up project funded by the Royal Society, looking at the impact of the Kuroshio Current offshore Japan, and has also led to a new funding proposal with our partners at National Central University, Taiwan (outcome pending).

More widely, this collaboration led to a Memorandum of Understanding being signed between Heriot-Watt and National Central University focused on Geoenergy, which was signed in 2025 at a workshop in Taiwan.
Exploitation Route The data generated here will be published soon, and will be available for use by other scientists, as well as people working in industry (e.g. offshore wind sector).
Sectors Energy

URL https://www.hw.ac.uk/news/2025/university-partners-with-national-central-university-to-tackle-global-energy-challenges
 
Description Sedimentary and oceanographic controls on hazards in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean
Amount £11,910 (GBP)
Funding ID IEC\R3\233095 
Organisation The Royal Society 
Sector Charity/Non Profit
Country United Kingdom
Start 03/2024 
End 03/2026
 
Description New MoU between Heriot-Watt University and National Central University, Taiwan, for collaboration on Geoenergy 
Organisation National Central University Taiwan
Country Taiwan, Province of China 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution I initiated this new partnership, directly through this Seedcorn fund. We held a workshop in Taiwan in early 2024 on hazards, but also had a day to discuss other mutual collaboration in Geoenergy. I then set up a Geoenergy workshop here in Edinburgh with my main contact at NCU in June 2024, and started discussions about an MoU. The MoU was signed at a Geoenergy workshop in Taiwan in January 2025, attended by 9 Heriot-Watt employees (paid for by NCU) and ~200 researchers, goverment and industry representatives from Taiwan.
Collaborator Contribution NCU have been very supportive of an MoU, both logistically and financially. They organised the geoenergy workshop in 2025, and ran a field trip there. They paid >£15k to fly 9 HWU employees to Taiwan for this workshop. They continue to help developing new research proposals on this theme.
Impact We are currently developing multiple research partnerships with industry and NCU.
Start Year 2022