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Distribution and Tsunamigenic Potential of Submarine Landslides in the Gulf of Mexico

  • Chapter
Submarine Mass Movements and Their Consequences

Part of the book series: Advances in Natural and Technological Hazards Research ((NTHR,volume 28))

Abstract

The Gulf of Mexico (GOM) is a geologically diverse ocean basin that includes three distinct geologic provinces: a carbonate province, a salt province, and canyon to deep-sea fan province, all of which contain evidence of submarine mass movements. The threat of submarine landslides in the GOM as a generator of near-field damaging tsunamis has not been widely addressed. Submarine landslides in the GOM are considered a potential tsunami hazard because: (1) some dated landslides in the GOM have post-glacial ages and (2) recent seismicity recorded within the GOM. We present a brief review of the distribution and style of submarine landslides that have occurred in the GOM during the Quaternary, followed by preliminary hydrodynamic modeling results of tsunami generation from the East Breaks landslide off Corpus Christie, TX.

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Acknowledgments

This work was funded by U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission grant N6480, Physical study of tsunami sources. These findings express the views of the authors and are not necessarily those of the U.S. NRC. This manuscript benefited from reviews by Debbie Hutchinson, Kathy Scanlon, and Matt Hornbach.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, 02543, USA

    J. D. Chaytor

  2. U.S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole, MA, 02543, USA

    D. C. Twichell

  3. Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA

    P. Lynett

  4. U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA, 94025, USA

    E. L. Geist

Authors
  1. J. D. Chaytor
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  2. D. C. Twichell
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  3. P. Lynett
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  4. E. L. Geist
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to J. D. Chaytor .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Natural Resources Canada, Dartmouth, NS, Canada

    David C. Mosher

  2. Shell International, Exploration and Production Inc., Houston, TX, USA

    R. Craig Shipp

  3. University of Texas, Austin, TX, USA

    Lorena Moscardelli

  4. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, USA

    Jason D. Chaytor

  5. University of Rhode Island, Narragansett, RI, USA

    Christopher D. P. Baxter

  6. United States Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA, USA

    Homa J. Lee

  7. Institute of Marine Sciences, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Spain

    Roger Urgeles (Facultat de Geologia) (Facultat de Geologia)

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Chaytor, J.D., Twichell, D.C., Lynett, P., Geist, E.L. (2010). Distribution and Tsunamigenic Potential of Submarine Landslides in the Gulf of Mexico. In: Mosher, D.C., et al. Submarine Mass Movements and Their Consequences. Advances in Natural and Technological Hazards Research, vol 28. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3071-9_60

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