Outcrop of Submarine Landslide Deposits

Outcrop of Submarine Landslide Deposits

A submarine landslide expert, showed an image at a recent conference that is a spectacular example of a mass transport deposit (MTD), or more simply, a submarine landslide deposit.

Landslides occur on land, causing plenty of infrastructure damage and other problems.  While they are difficult to view and visualize, landslides also occur on the seafloor, causing massive reorganization of the seafloor that can generate tsunamis. 

In fact, the Storegga slide that occurred offshore Norway about 6000 B.C. likely killed many Europeans. Due to their volume and size, submarine landslides are usually characterized best with seismic reflection data.