Ocean and Earth Science, National Oceanography Centre Southampton

Research project: Frequency and emplacement dynamics of huge submarine landslides in the Norwegian and Greenland Basins: Implications for landslide-tsunami hazard

Currently Active:: Yes

The UK faces few, if any other natural hazards that could cause damage on the scale of a repeat Storegga Slide tsunami. However, the Storegga Slide is not the only large submarine landslide in the Norwegian Sea, as there have been at least six mega-slides in the last 20 thousand years.

Project Overview

Given the potential impacts of a slide generated tsunami to the UK, there is a need for a better understanding of the frequency, timing and triggers, and emplacement dynamics of these submarine mega-slides.

Location and extent of the huge Storegga Slide offshore Norway that occurred about 8,200 years ago — Figure 1

Data

˜50 sediment cores collected from around the Norwegian, Greenland and Svalbard margins
Sub-bottom profiler data, that images in the upper 5-30m of sediment, in these regions

Key Objectives

To produce a robust chronology of mega-landslides around the Norwegian and Greenland basins
To analyse individual turbidite layers to determine whether (and how) they provide insight into the emplacement dynamics of these submarine landslides
To understand if any link exists between sea level rise, ocean warming and landslide frequency and magnitude on the margins of the Polar North Atlantic

Perspective view of sea-surface elevation 2h after the release of the Storegga Slide — Figure 2

Key Contacts

Ed Pope

Dr Peter Talling

Dr Russell Wynn

Dr Esther Sumner

Dr James Hunt

PhDs and Other Opportunities

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Staff

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