Abstract
The Gaoping River-Gaoping Submarine Canyon (GPC) is one of the dispersal river systems in the world. Tens of tons of terrestrial sediments discharge per year at the mouth of the river, where gravity-driven flow can damage the telecommunication cable along the 260-km-long GPC; to the east of the GPC, the continental shelf has been eroded. To understand this geological phenomenon, high-resolution sparker seismic data around the continental shelf as well as parallel and across the GPC were collected. Deep-towed sub-bottom profiler (SBP) data and data from shipboard acoustic Doppler current profiler were also collected. Three major system tracts off southwest Taiwan were identified, based on which the coastline of the last glacial maximum was identified at approximately 138 m below the current sea level. Analysis of the deep-towed SBP profiles suggested sandy sediment overflows through breakages on the east bank of the GPC. A convergence of bottom currents with a speed of up to 1.5 m/s flowing southeastward has eroded the continental shelf intensively, forming the Xiaoliuchiu channel. Although a mud diapir is active to the east of the GPC and forms the Xiaoliuchiu islet, it has been eroded at the Xiaoliuchiu channel. The average erosion rate on the east bank of the GPC was estimated to be approximately 609 cm/ka in the past 8.2 ka; between the GPC and the Xiaoliuchiu islet, the continental shelf is wasted due to severe seabed slumping.
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Acknowledgments
We are grateful for the crew of R/V Ocean Research I (ORI-1179 and ORI-1180 cruises) and R/V Ocean Research III (ORIII-2019 cruise) for helping us to collect precious geophysical data. Special thanks belong to Mr. Shye-Dong Chiu and Mr. Hsin-Sung Hsieh for helpful discussions on deployment techniques during high-resolution marine geophysical surveys. Mr. Jay Li from the Department of Oceanography, National Sun-yat sen University, provided thoughtful comments on the dynamics of ocean currents. The constructive comments from Joonas Virtasalo and an anonymous reviewers helped to revise this paper that is appreciated very much.
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To better understand how the surface KC affects the seafloor and its seasonal variation in the study area, the ship board ADCP current field was plotted for cross sections at two depths: 20 m below sea level and 36 m below sea level (Figs. S1 and S2). In Fig. S1, the KC flows trending in the NW–SE direction on the west bank of the GPC, with the current splitting into two branches and surrounding the Xiaoliuchiu islet. The northern branch rotates clockwise and accelerates up to 1.5 m/s close to the seafloor. The cross section at 36 m depth also exhibits a similar pattern. However, this clockwise rotation can affect the seafloor (Fig. 1b). This probably explains how the Xiaoliuchiu channel was formed, and why erosion is more focused on this channel. It is worth mentioning that the near- bottom current speed is still high in the Xiaoliuchiu channel during summer (Fig. S3). This indicates that continuous erosion by Kuroshio looping occurs in the Xiaoliuchiu channel.
Fig. S1
Ship board ADCP derived current field at 20 m water depth in the study area between October 16 and October 22, 2017. Note that NW–SE trending Kuroshio current loop bypasses Xiaoliuchiu islet and accelerates up to 1.5 m/s along the Xiaoliuchiu channel. Blue dashed line: Gaoping Canyon Thalweg (JPG 10280 kb)
Fig. S2
Ship board ADCP derived current field at 36 m water depth in the study area between October 16 and October 22, 2017. Note that NW–SE trending Kuroshio current loop bypasses Xiaoliuchiu islet and accelerates up to 1.5 m/s along the Xiaoliuchiu channel. Blue dashed line: Gaoping Canyon Thalweg (JPG 9701 kb)
Fig. S3
Ship board ADCP derived current field at 43 m water depth (close to the bottom) in the study area between July 23 and July 27, 2018. Note that near bottom current speed in the north of the Xiaoliuchiu islet is still high during summer time. Blue dashed line: Gaoping Canyon Thalweg (JPG 8813 kb)
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Yeh, YC., Tsai, CL., Hsu, SK. et al. Continental shelf morphology controlled by bottom currents, mud diapirism, and submarine slumping to the east of the Gaoping Canyon, off SW Taiwan. Geo-Mar Lett 41, 8 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00367-020-00673-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00367-020-00673-5