Field testing novel sensor systems for time-lapse monitoring of seafloor geohazards at globel test sites.
Lead Research Organisation:
Durham University
Department Name: Earth Sciences
Abstract
This project will show how novel sensor systems and autonomous platforms can produce a step change in understanding of sea-bed hugging flows called turbidity currents, which are the volumetrically most important sediment transport process on our planet. Turbidity currents can travel at up to 20 m/s for hundreds of kilometres, and they pose a major hazard to seafloor pipelines, and telecommunication cable networks that carry > 95% of global data traffic (including internet and financial markets). A single turbidity current can sometimes carry ten times the annual sediment flux from all the World's rivers combined. Turbidity currents also form the largest sediment accumulations on Earth, which contain major oil and gas reservoirs. They also transfer and sequester globally significant amounts of organic carbon, and supply nutrients that control deep-sea ecosystem functioning and diversity.
People |
ORCID iD |
| Peter Talling (Primary Supervisor) | |
| Natasha Chapplow (Student) |
Studentship Projects
| Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NE/R012253/1 | 01/10/2017 | 30/09/2022 | |||
| 1905108 | Studentship | NE/R012253/1 | 01/10/2017 | 28/02/2022 | Natasha Chapplow |
| Description | The key findings of this work, originate from the analysis of data collected during a fieldwork experiment conducted in Monterey Canyon, offshore California, called the Coordinated Canyon Experiment (CCE). Temperature, velocity, and sediment concentration data were analysed to improve our understanding of avalanches of sand and seawater known as turbidity current, that travel along the seafloor. The CCE data reveals that turbidity currents can vertically transport heat within the ocean on rapid timescales of minutes, with warmer seawater transported from depths of ~200m to depths of up to 2km. Additionally, by analysing sediment concentration data demonstrated that clouds of sediment can linger above the seafloor for up to 2 days after the end of a turbidity current event, an observation that has not previously been made. This project also compares for the first time, how a mathematical equation based upon laboratory-generated turbidity currents compares to full-scale turbidity currents found in the ocean. More specifically, we test how accurately a well-established mathematical equation can predict the total volume of a turbidity current measured during the CCE. The result of this work represents a significant advance in our understanding of turbidity currents, because, by quantifying how much seawater and sediment they carry we can start to better predict these events. |
| Exploitation Route | These flows transport globally significant volumes of sediment, organic carbon, and nutrient. Additionally, these flows travel at significant speeds of up to 8m/s, and as such they can be powerful, destroying oil pipelines and seafloor cables that carry the internet and the financial markets. Findings from this project will, therefore, better inform oil and gas, and telecommunications companies on the risks of turbidity currents. Moreover, these findings are of educational and environmental benefit, particularly in Earth Science related subjects, as these results provide new insight into how turbidity flows work. |
| Sectors | Education,Energy,Environment |
| Description | Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute |
| Organisation | Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Natasha Chapplow is a PhD student who will be working on data collected during the Coordinated Canyon Experiment (CCE). In particular she will work on calculating a discharge budget for Monterey Canyon, and also analyse how underwater sediment flows can reverse in density ('loft') during a research collaboration visit (from Jan 2018 to May 2018). |
| Collaborator Contribution | The partner (MBARI) provided their extensive expertise on aspects of my field that are not represented within the research team in the UK. MBARI also provided AUV mapping data and access to CCE (Coordinated Canyon Experiment) data archives. |
| Impact | Outputs from this collaboration will include the publication of scientific papers, of which currently one is ready for submission (about lofting of underwater sediment flows in Monterey Canyon) and another is in the draft stages (about how underwater sediment flows in exchange sediment and seawater with their surroundings, Monterey Canyon). |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | American Geophysical Union Poster Presentation 2017 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Approximately 50 people attended my poster presentation. The research findings I presented were novel, as a result, there were lots of questions and a discussion about my research. As a result of my presentation in 2017 I was invited to meet with a research group from the University of California, Davis, where there was increased interest in the related subjects that I had talked about. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017,2019 |
| Description | American Geophysical Union Poster Presentation 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A poster presentation, where approximately 60 people attended. As a result of my presentation in 2019, I was asked to give an invited talk at the University of Nottingham, where the audience was wide-ranging from scientists, professors, postgraduates, and undergraduates all with a range of academic backgrounds. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm19/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/540789 |