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turbidity current |
Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Wikipedia, Hutchinson | 0.12 sec. |
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turbidity current: see ocean ocean, interconnected mass of saltwater covering 70.78% of the surface of the earth, often called the world ocean. It is subdivided into four (or five) major units that are separated from each other in most cases by the continental masses. See also oceanography . ..... Click the link for more information. . turbidity currentUnderwater current of abrasive sediments. Such currents appear to be relatively short-lived, transient phenomena that occur at great depths. They are thought to be caused by the slumping of sediment that has piled up at the top of the continental slope, particularly at the heads of submarine canyons. Slumping of large masses of sediment creates a dense slurry, which then flows down the canyon to spread out over the ocean floor and deposit a layer of sand in deep water. Repeated deposition forms submarine fans, analogous to the alluvial fans found at the mouths of river canyons. |
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It seems interesting that undersea flows have at least one characteristic different from rivers: "While river floods on land can create natural levees a few meters tall, the levees formed by [undersea] turbidity currents can grow up to 100 m[eters] high" ("Hidden Canyons" SN: 1/1/05, p. But underwater turbidity currents may have played a role in carving the canyon's deepest chasms. Remarkably, a sediment-laden turbidity current had surged over the instrument less than 5 hours after it had been deployed, says Paull. |
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turbidity current
