Abstract
The understanding of the morphology and the shallow geo-hazards of the seafloor is a major focus for both academic and private industry research. On November and December 2009 a geophysical pipeline survey was carried out by Fugro Oceansismica S.p.A. (FOSPA) and FUGRO France (FFSA) for DORIS Engineering on behalf of GRTgaz (Engineering centre, Transmission Pipe Department; www.grtgaz.com) which are currently investigating the possibility of laying a pipeline between Sardinia and Corsica as a spur line from the planned GALSI Project. The Project, “Alimentation de la Corse en gaz naturel”, consists of a corridor 100 km long and 1.0 km wide along the Corsica-Sardinia shelf. The integration of the multibeam, sidescan sonar and sparker data provided a high resolution seafloor mapping for geo-hazard assessment. In this article the data acquired along a break of slope section (approximately 20 km × 1.5 km), in the eastern sector of the Strait of Bonifacio are described. The area was abandoned during the survey, because of its unsuitability. Indeed, in this area the continental shelf, approximately 100 m deep and deepening gently eastward, is characterized by an uneven morphology, with different seabed features such as Beach-rocks mainly NNW-SSE oriented. Also, the continuity of the continental margin, identified around −110/−115 m, is interrupted by four canyon heads which incise the slope and are associated with glide deposits.
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Acknowledgments
We would like to thank GRTgaz and DORIS Engineering that kindly granted the permission to use the data acquired along the abandoned segment of the route of the route (eastern sector of the Bonifacio Straits) for this article. We would also like to thank all FUGRO personnel involved in the project, both offshore and in office. In particular, we want to thank Sophie Minard for her contribution in the seismic interpretation; Marta Marchetti, Marco Ciccarini and Mauro Mucci for the Multibeam processing and all the Cartography Department for the chart production: Claudio Mancini, Claudia Currado and in particular Bruno Migani for his devotion and accuracy during all the phases of the map production. The authors also appreciated the useful comments and suggestions provided by the reviewers. The Client kindly granted permission to use the data acquired along the abandoned segment of the route (eastern sector of the Bonifacio Straits) for this article.
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Cecchini, S., Taliana, D., Giacomini, L. et al. Submarine geo-hazards on the eastern Sardinia-Corsica continental margin based on preliminary pipeline route investigation. Mar Geophys Res 32, 71–81 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11001-011-9126-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11001-011-9126-0