Submarine Landslides Induce Massive Waves in Subsea Brine Pools
Subsea hypersaline anoxic brine pools are among the most extreme habitable environments on Earth that offer clues to life on other planets. Brine is toxic to macrofauna as remotely operated vehicles commonly observe dead and preserved remains in brine pools. While brine pools are often assumed to be...
| Published in: | Scientific Reports |
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
| Language: | unknown |
| Published: |
2023
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1614218 https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1614218 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-36781-7 |
| Summary: | Subsea hypersaline anoxic brine pools are among the most extreme habitable environments on Earth that offer clues to life on other planets. Brine is toxic to macrofauna as remotely operated vehicles commonly observe dead and preserved remains in brine pools. While brine pools are often assumed to be stable stratifed systems, we show that underwater landslides can cause signifcant disturbances. Moreover, landslides create large-amplitude waves upon impact with the brine pool, similar to tsunami waves. We focus on the Orca Basin brine pool in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, which contains numerous landslide deposits and blocks that originated from scarps several hundred meters above the brine pool. The impact of massive fast-moving landslides generated waves with amplitude on the order of 100s of meters, which rival the largest known ocean waves. Brine waves can negatively affect biological communities and potentially overspill to spread hypersaline brine into surrounding basins. |
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