Morphology of Submarine Canyon System and Geotechnical Properties of Surficial Sediments Across the Peru-Chile Forearc

Douglas D. Bergersen, William T. Coulbourn, Ralph Moberly

During August 1987, a SeaMARC II side-scan and sampling survey was conducted across the Peru-Chile forearc from 17°30^primeS to 19°30^primeS. Side-scan images reveal a complex submarine canyon system. Incised canyons meander across the Arequipa basin; their sinuosity results from erosion and cutbank slumping of the basin sediments. Lenticular packets of strata visible in reprocessed digital single-channel seismic profiles are interpreted to be buried channels. Tributary canyons coalesce into a single canyon at the structural high that deviates from its north-south course to a northeast-southwest course as a result of stream piracy. A dendritic drainage basin forming on the midslope may be the rejuvenation of an abandoned channel.

Sediment properties were measured on 42 free-fall cores and 7 piston cores recovered both in and around the submarine canyon. Olive-gray (5Y 3/2) hemipelagic mud is the predominant sediment across the forearc. Most cores exhibit a small degree of bioturbation and thin laminae of sand; the number of sand laminae increases as the distance away from the canyon decreases. Shear strengths, averaged over a 1-m core length, decrease slightly with water depth. Carbonate content in all samples from this area is negligible with the exception of one piston core recovered from the upper reaches of the canyon, the bottom of which is composed of gravel- and sand-size shell fragments. Bulk mineralogy, determined from semiquantitative analysis of x-ray diffraction patterns, shows a decrease in relati e feldspar percent and an increase in total clay content with increasing water depth. Preliminary analysis of core tops shows a mean grain size in the medium to very fine silt class, with increasing grain size toward the canyon. Smear slide counts generally show a surprisingly low abundance of volcanic glass and biogenic material, particularly diatoms.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91022©1989 AAPG Annual Convention, April 23-26, 1989, San Antonio, Texas.