Fluid flow and pore pressure development throughout the evolution of a trough mouth fan, western Barents Sea

• Published in: Basin Research
• Main Authors: Llopart, J., Urgeles, R., Forsberg, Carl Fredrik, Camerlenghi, A., Vanneste, Maarten, Rebesco, M., Lucchi, Renata Giulia, Rüther, Denise Christina, Lantzsch, H.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2019
• Subjects: VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Geofag: 450::Kvartærgeologi; glasiologi: 465; Svalbard; Barents Sea; Storfjorden
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11250/2585416; https://doi.org/10.1111/bre.12331

Author accepted manuscript (post-print). This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Llopart, J., Urgeles, R., Forsberg, C. F., Camerlenghi, A., Vanneste, M., Rebesco, M., . . . Lantzsch, H. (2018). Fluid flow and pore pressure development throughout the evolution of a trough mouth fan, western Barents Sea. Basin Research, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/bre.12331. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions. Available from: 2019-12-16. Using a combination of geophysical and geotechnical data from Storfjorden Trough Mouth Fan off southern Svalbard, we investigate the hydrogeology of the continental margin and how this is affected by Quaternary glacial advances and retreats over the continental shelf. The geotechnical results show that plumites, deposited during the deglaciation, have high porosities, permeabilities and compressibilities with respect to glacigenic debris flows and tills. These results together with margin stratigraphic models obtained from seismic reflection data were used as input for numerical finite element models to understand focusing of interstitial fluids on glaciated continental margins. The modeled evolution of the Storfjorden TMF shows that tills formed on the shelf following the onset of glacial sedimentation (~1.5 Ma) acted as aquitards and played therefore a significant role in decreasing the vertical fluid flow towards the sea floor and diverting it towards the slope. The model shows that high overpressure ratios (up to λ~0.6) developed below the shelf edge and on the middle slope. A more detailed model for the last 220 kyrs accounting for ice loading during Glacial Maxima shows that the formation of these aquitards on the shelf focused fluid flow towards the most permeable plumite sediments on the slope. The less permeable glacigenic debris flows that were deposited during glacial maxima on the slope hinder fluid evacuation from plumites ...