Sebastian Krastel - Böcker

Submarine mass movements are a hidden geohazard with large destructive potential for submarine installations and coastal areas. This hazard and associated risk is growing in proportion with increasing population of coastal urban agglomerations, industrial infrastructure, and coastal tourism. Also, the intensified use of the seafloor for natural resource production, and deep sea cables constitutes an increasing risk. Submarine slides may alter the coastline and bear a high tsunamogenic potential. There is a potential link of submarine mass wasting with climate change, as submarine landslides can uncover and release large amounts greenhouse gases, mainly methane, that are now stored in marine sediments.  The factors that govern the stability of submarine slopes against failure, the processes that lead to slope collapses and the collapse processes by themselves need to be better understood in order to foresee and prepare society for potentially hazardous events. This book volume consists of a collection of cutting edge scientific research by international experts in the field, covering geological, geophysical, engineering and environmental aspects of submarine slope failures. The focus is on understanding the full spectrum of challenges presented by this major coastal and offshore geohazard.

This book is a comprehensive collection of state-of-the-art studies of seafloor slope instability and their societal implications. The volume captures the most recent and exciting scientific progress made in this research field.As the world’s climate and energy needs change, the conditions under which slope instability occurs and needs to be considered, are also changing. The science and engineering of submarine – or more widely subaqueous – mass movements is greatly benefiting from advances in seafloor and sub-seafloor surveying technologies. Ultra-high-resolution seafloor mapping and 3D seismic reflection cubes are becoming commonly available datasets that are dramatically increasing our knowledge of the mechanisms and controls of subaqueous slope failure. Monitoring of slope deformation, repeat surveying and deep drilling, on the other hand, are emerging as important new techniques for understanding the temporal scales of slope instability. In essence, rapid advances in technology are being readily incorporated into scientific research and as a result, our understanding of submarine mass movements is increasing at a very fast rate. The volume also marks the beginning of the third IGCP project for the submarine mass movement research community, IGCP-640 S4SLIDE (Significance of Modern and Ancient Submarine Slope LandSLIDEs). The Submarine Mass Movements and Their Consequences symposium is the biannual meeting under the IGCP umbrella.

This book is a comprehensive collection of state-of-the-art studies of seafloor slope instability and their societal implications. The volume also marks the beginning of the third IGCP project for the submarine mass movement research community, IGCP-640 S4SLIDE (Significance of Modern and Ancient Submarine Slope LandSLIDEs).

This book on the current state of knowledge of submarine geomorphology aims to achieve the goals of the Submarine Geomorphology working group, set up in 2013, by establishing submarine geomorphology as a field of research, disseminating its concepts and techniques among earth scientists and professionals, and encouraging students to develop their skills and knowledge in this field.Editors have invited 30 experts from around the world to contribute chapters to this book, which is divided into 4 sections – (i) Introduction & history, (ii) Data & methods, (ii) Submarine landforms & processes and (iv) Conclusions & future directions. Each chapter provides a review of a topic, establishes the state-of-the-art, identifies the key research questions that need to be addressed, and delineates a strategy on how to achieve this.Submarine geomorphology is a priority for many research institutions, government authorities and industries globally. The book is useful for undergraduate and graduate students, and professionals with limited training in this field.