Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Large bedrock slope failures in a British Columbia, Canada fjord: first documented submarine sackungen

  • Original
  • Published:
Geo-Marine Letters Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Very large (>60×106 m3) sackungen or deep-seated gravitational slope deformations occur below sea level along a steep fjord wall in central Douglas Channel, British Columbia. The massive bedrock blocks were mobile between 13 and 11.5 thousand radiocarbon years BP (15,800 and 13,400 BP) immediately following deglaciation. Deformation of fjord sediments is apparent in sedimentary units overlying and adjacent to the blocks. Faults bound the edges of each block, cutting the glacial section but not the Holocene sediments. Retrogressive slides, small inset landslides as well as incipient and older slides are found on and around the large failure blocks. Lineations, fractures and faults parallel the coastline of Douglas Channel along the shoreline of the study area. Topographic data onshore indicate that faults and joints demarcate discrete rhomboid-shaped blocks which controlled the form, size and location of the sackungen. The described submarine sackungen share characteristic geomorphic features with many montane occurrences, such as uphill-facing scarps, foliated bedrock composition, largely vertical dislocation and a deglacial timing of development.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
Fig. 12

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Agliardi F, Crosta GB, Zanchi A (2001) Structural constraints on deep-seated slope deformation kinematics. Eng Geol 59(1-2):83–102. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0013-7952(00)00066-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ambrosi C, Crosta GB (2005) Large sackung along major tectonic features in the central Italian alps. Eng Geol 83:183–200

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bianchi Fasani G, Di Luzio E, Esposito C, Evans SG, Scarascia Mugnozza G (2014) Quaternary catastrophic rock avalanches in the central Apennines (Italy): relationships with inherited tectonic features, gravity-driven deformations and the geodynamic frame. Geomorphology 211:22–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2013.12.027

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blais-Stevens A, Claque JJ, Mathewes RW, Hebda RJ, Bornhold BD (2003) Record of large, late Pleistocene outburst floods preserved in Saanich inlet sediments, Vancouver Island, Canada. Quat Sci Rev 22(21-22):2327–2334. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0277-3791(03)00212-9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bornhold BD (1983) Sedimentation in Douglas Channel and Kitimat arm. Canadian Hydrography and Ocean Sciences Technical Reports 18:1–218

    Google Scholar 

  • Bornhold BD, Thomson RE (2012) Tsunami hazard assessment related to slope failures in coastal waters. In: Clague JJ, Stead D (eds) Landslides – types, mechanisms and modeling, Cambridge University press, Cambridge, chapter, vol 10, pp 108–120. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511740367.011

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Bornhold BD, Harper JR, McLaren D, Thomson RE (2007) Destruction of the first nations village of Kwalate by a rock avalanche-generated tsunami. Atmosphere-Ocean 45(2):123–128. https://doi.org/10.3137/ao.450205

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boyles JM, Scott AJ, Rine JM (1986) A logging form for graphic descriptions of core and outcrop. J Sediment Petrol 56(4):567–568. https://doi.org/10.1306/212F89DB-2B24-11D7-8648000102C1865D

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brückl EP (2001) Cause-effect models of large landslides. Nat Hazards 23(2/3):291–314. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011160810423

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clague JJ (1984) Quaternary geology and geomorphology of the Smithers-terrace-Prince Rupert area, British Columbia. Geological survey of Canada Memoir 413, 82 pp

  • Clague JJ (1985) Deglaciation of the Prince Rupert - Kitimat area, British Columbia. Can J Earth Sci 22(2):256–265. https://doi.org/10.1139/e85-022

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Conway KW, Barrie JV (2015) Large submarine slope failures and associated Quaternary faults in Douglas Channel, British Columbia. Geological Survey of Canada, Current Research 2015-9, 12 pp. doi:https://doi.org/10.4095/297316

  • Conway KW, Barrie JV, Hebda RJ (2001) Evidence for a late quaternary outburst flood event in the Georgia Basin, British Columbia. Geological Survey of Canada, Current Research 2001-A13, 6 pp

  • Conway KW, Barrie JV, Thomson RE (2012) Submarine slope failures and tsunami hazard in coastal British Columbia: Douglas Channel and Kitimat Arm. Geological Survey of Canada, Current Research 2012-2010, 13 pp. doi:https://doi.org/10.4095/291732

  • Conway KW, Kung RB, Barrie JV, Hill PR, Lintern DG (2013) A preliminary assessment of the occurrence of submarine slope failures in Coastal British Columbia by analysis of swath multibeam bathymetric data collected 2001b-2011. Geol Surv Canada, Open File 7348. https://doi.org/10.4095/292370

  • Crosta C, Frattini P, Agliardi F (2013) Deep seated gravitational slope deformations in the European Alps. Tectonophysics 605:13–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2013.04.028

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duffell S, Souther JG (1964) Geology of the terrace map area, British Columbia (103 1E). Geol Surv Canada Memoir 329, 117 pp

  • Fairbanks RG, Mortlock RA, Chiu T, Cao L, Kaplan A, Guilderson TP, Fairbanks TW, Bloom AL (2005) Marine radiocarbon calibration curve spanning 0 to 50,000 years B.P. based on paired 230Th/234U/238U and 14C dates on pristine corals. Quat Sci Rev 24(16-17):1781–1796. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2005.04.007

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Forcella F (1984) The Sackung between mount Padrio and mount Varadega, central alps, Italy: a remarkable example of slope gravitational tectonics. Méditerranée, Troisième série 51(1-2):81–92. https://doi.org/10.3406/medit.1984.2237

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gutiérrez F, Acosta E, Ríos S, Guerrero J, Lucha P (2005) Geomorphology and geochronology of sackung features (uphill-facing scarps) in the central Spanish Pyrenees. Geomorphology 69(1-4):298–314. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2005.01.012

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Helm A (1932) Bergsturz und Menschenleben. Fretz und Wassermuth, Zürich, Switzerland, 218 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Hetherington R, Barrie JV, Reid RGB, MacLeod R, Smith DJ (2004) Paleogeography, glacially induced crustal displacement, and late quaternary coastlines on the continental shelf of British Columbia Canada. Quat Sci Rev 23(3-4):295–318. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2003.04.001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hewitt K, Clague JJ, Orwin JF (2008) Legacies of catastrophic rock slope failures in mountain landscapes. Earth Sci Rev 87(1-2):1–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2007.10.002

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hippolyte JC, Bourlès D, Léanni L, Braucher R, Chauvet F, Lebatard AE (2012) 10Be ages reveal >12 ka of gravitational movement in a major sackung of the Western Alps (France). Geomorphology 171-172:139–153. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2012.05.013

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holland S (1976) Landforms of British Columbia – a physiographic outline. British Columbia Department of Mines and Petroleum Resources, Bulletin 48, 138 pp

  • Hutchinson JN (1988) General report: morphological and geotechnical parameters of landslides in relation to geology and hydrogeology. In: Bonnard C (ed) Proc 5th Intl Symp landslides, Lausanne, Switzerland. Balkema, Rotterdam, pp 3–35

  • Johannessen SJ, Wright CA, Spear DJ (2015) Seasonality and physical control of water properties and sinking and suspended particles in Douglas Channel, British Columbia. Canadian hydrography and ocean sciences, technical reports 308, 26 pp

  • Li Z, Bruhn RL, Pavlis TL, Vorkink M, Zeng Z (2012) Origin of sackung uphill-facing scarps in the Saint Elias orogen, Alaska: LIDAR data visualization and stress modeling. GSA Bull 122(9-10):1585–1599. https://doi.org/10.1130/B30019.1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Macdonald RW, Bornhold BD, Webster I (1983) The Kitimat fjord system: an introduction. Canadian Hydrography and Ocean Sciences, Technical Reports 18:2–13

  • Mazzotti S, Hyndman RD, Flück P, Smith AJ, Schmidt M (2003) Distribution of the Pacific/North America motion in the Queen Charlotte Islands - S. Alaska plate boundary zone. Geophys Res Lett 30(14):1762. https://doi.org/10.1029/2003GL017586

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mazzotti S, Leonard LJ, Cassidy JF, Rogers GC, Halchuk S (2011) Seismic hazard in western Canada from GPS strain rates versus earthquake catalog. J Geophys Res 116(B12):B12310. https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JB008213

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCalpin JP, Hart EW (2002) Ridge top spreading features and relationship to earthquakes, San Gabriel Mountains, Southern California. Part B: Paleoseismic investigations of ridge-top depressions. U.S. Geological Survey, National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program, Final Technical Report 99HQGR0042

  • Mosher DM (2009) Submarine landslides and consequent tsunamis in Canada. Geosci Can 36(4):179–219

    Google Scholar 

  • Nelson JL, Diakow LJ, Mahoney JB, van Staal J, Pecha M, Angens JJ, Gehrels G, Lau T (2011) North coast project: tectonics and metallogeny of the Alexander terrane and cretaceous sinistral shearing of the western Coast Belt. BC Ministry of Energy and Mines, Geological Fieldwork Paper 2011. http://www.empr.gov.bc.ca

  • Pánek T, Mentlík P, Ditchburn B, Zondervan A, Norton K, Hradecký J (2015) Are sackungen diagnostic features of (de)glaciated mountains? Geomorphology 248:396–410. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2015.07.022

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Poisel R, Preh A (2004) Rock slope initial failure mechanisms and their mechanical models. Felsbau 22:40–45

    Google Scholar 

  • Poisel R, Preh A (2008) Landslide detachment mechanisms: an overview of their mechanical models. In: Ho K, Li V (eds) Proc 2007 Intl Forum Landslide Disaster Management, 10–12 December 2007, Hong Kong, pp 1043–1058

  • Roddick JA (1970) Douglas Channel-Hecate Strait map area, British Columbia (103 H). Geological Survey of Canada, Paper 70-41, 56 pp

  • Sanchez G, Rolland Y, Corsini M, Braucher R, Bourlès D, Arnold M, Aumaître G (2010) Relationships between tectonics, slope instability and climate change: cosmic ray exposure dating of active faults, landslides and glacial surfaces in the SW alps. Geomorphology 117(1-2):1–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2009.10.019

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwab JW, Kirk M (2002) Sackungen on a forested slope, Kitnayakwa River, Prince Rupert Forest region. British Columbia Forest Service, extension note #47

  • Shaw J, Stacey CD, Wu Y, Lintern DG (2017) Anatomy of the Kitimat fiord system, British Columbia. Geomorphology 293:108–129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2017.04.043

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Soldati M (2013) Deep-seated gravitational slope deformation. In: Bobrowsky PT (ed) Encyclopedia of natural hazards. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 151–154. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4399-4_86

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • St. Onge G, Mulder T, Piper DJW, Hillaire-Marcel M (2004) Earthquake and flood induced turbidites in the Saguenay Fjord (Quebec): a Holocene paleoseismicity record. Sci Rev 23(3-4):283–294. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2003.03.001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson SC, Clague JJ, Evans SG (1997) Holocene activity of the Mt. Currie scarp, Coast Mountains, British Columbia, and implications for its origin. Eng Geosci III(3):329–348. https://doi.org/10.2113/gseegeosci.III.3.329

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomson RE, Fine I, Krassovski M, Cherniawsky J, Conway KW, Wills P (2012) Numerical simulation of tsunamis generated by submarine slope failures in Douglas Channel, British Columbia. Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Canadian science advisory research document 2012/115, 38 pp

  • Weiss R, Fritz JM, Wünnemann K (2009) Hybrid modeling of the mega-tsunami runup in Lituya Bay after half a century. Geophys Res Lett 36(9):L09602. https://doi.org/10.1029/2009GL037814

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wentworth CK (1923) A scale of grade and class terms for clastic sediments. J Geol 30:377–392

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wheeler JO, Brookfield AJ, Gabrielse H, Monger JWH, Woodsworth GJ (1991) Terrane map of the Canadian Cordillera. Geological Survey of Canada, Map 1713A, scale 1:2 000 000

  • Zischinsky U (1966) On the deformation of high slopes. In: ISRM Proc 1st Conf International Society for Rock Mechanics, 25 Sept.–1 Oct. 1966, Lisbon, Section 2, pp 179–185

Download references

Acknowledgements

Gwyn Lintern provided vital support as project leader, and at sea support by Greg Middleton and Peter Neelands is gratefully acknowledged. John Shaw provided insightful discussions. Thanks to Burg Fleming for a very helpful review that improved the paper.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geological Survey of Canada, Natural Resources Canada, 9860 West Saanich Road, Sidney, BC, V8L 4B2, Canada

    Kim W. Conway & J. Vaughn Barrie

Authors
  1. Kim W. Conway
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. J. Vaughn Barrie
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kim W. Conway.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest with third parties.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Conway, K.W., Vaughn Barrie, J. Large bedrock slope failures in a British Columbia, Canada fjord: first documented submarine sackungen. Geo-Mar Lett 38, 195–209 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00367-018-0533-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00367-018-0533-y

Search

Navigation