Sedimentary processes in the Stromboli Canyon and Marsili Basin, SE Tyrrhenian Sea: results from side-scan sonar surveys

Abstract

 Sedimentary processes in the Stromboli Canyon and in the Marsili Basin are studied on the basis of side-scan sonographs. The basin margins are characterized by slump scars, gullies, channels, and large debrites on the Calabrian slope and by straight chutes of fast downslope sediment transport and blocky–hummocky avalanche deposits on the flanks of the Stromboli volcano. In the Stromboli Canyon and in minor deep-sea channels, sediment transport by turbidity currents generates sediment waves. Between the basin margins and the abyssal plain, the outcropping volcanic basement traps part of the sediment coming from the marginal areas. The abyssal plain is characterized by low relief lobes and ponded sediments.