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Marine researchers from Bremen discover giant canyon off the coast of northwest Africa

May 22, 2003

Scientists from the DFG Research Center Ocean Margins in Bremen made a sensational discovery during their latest expedition on board RV "Meteor" which ended only a few days ago. Off the coast of Mauritania they came across an enormous underwater canyon in a phantastic shape. It meanders a distance of more than 200 kilometres from the shallow coast until way out towards the Atlantic deep-sea. The scientists could still follow the deep gorge in the sea floor in water depths of more than 3000 meters. The leader of the expedition, Prof. Horst Schulz, judges that "the canyon certainly plays a central roll in the transport of sediment from the continental slope into the deep-sea".

The "Cape Timiris Canyon" newly named after a nearby coastal projection, was discovered right at the beginning of the expedition at about 19 degrees latitude north. It was a big surprise: "Even on new maps, only large areas of level seafloor were recorded where we came across the canyon," Prof. Schulz reported. The Bremer geoscientist therefore changed the research program in order to cartographically record the gorge system on the seafloor. A good week later, the picture was almost complete.

"In many respects the 'Cape Timiris Canyon' is reminiscent of the Rhine" says Horst Schulz. At the foot of the continental slope, where the African continent descends at a water depth of 3000 meters into the deep-sea, it is two to three kilometres wide and cuts about 300 meters deep into its environment. Similar to the Rhine or the Mosel, the canyon features many meanders (see the attached figure). These 'loops in the river' are part of the history of the origin of such canyons, which up to now has not really been understood in many fundamental details.

Seismic investigations of the deep subsurface show that the canyon - like the Rhein - has been stationary for at least the last ten million years. From the images of the seafloor the scientists from the Bremer Research Center could recognize amazing details: in addition to the meanders there were also old cut off arms, diverse branching points, the change from steeper to flatter areas of the canyon, and also levees on the border of the canyon. Also, the entire length can be compared with the Rhine, since in addition to the over 200 kilometres which were investigated at least another 500 to 600 unknown kilometres (linear distance) amount on the way to the deep-sea.

The investigations which were carried out on board the "Meteor" suggest that deposits on the seafloor in the region of the continental slope were mobilized and transported in large quantities into the deep-sea. The 'Cape Timiris Canyon' apparently played a key role in these transport processes. Sediment cores of about ten meters in length, which were cut out of the seafloor using a large hollow cylinder with a diameter of 12 cm, support this assumption. They show that time and again so-called turbidity currents - a mixture of water and sediment - flowed in the direction of the deep-sea. On one of the cores the scientists could recognize that in only nine meters of the canyon floor 33 of these turbidity currents laden with sediments are documented. In time cycles each of only a few years, the currents rolled through the canyon down the continental slope.

"Actually it is hard to believe, that such large up to now unknown objects can still be found on our planet" resumes Prof. Horst Schulz. "We are already excited to see the results of the further analysis of the material brought back from the expedition".

Research Center Ocean Margins (University of Bremen)

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