As the definition of contourites has widened to embrace a large spectrum of sediments in so-called mixed systems, the distinction between contourites and turbidites has become at times vague. The case history of sediment Drift 7 off the Antarctic Peninsula is analysed in this paper in the light of newly acquired swath bathymetry data. The co-existence of various sedimentary processes is reflected in a complex morphology: erosional gullies produced by debris flows on the upper part of the continental slope; deeply incised channels at the slope base; main trunk-type inter-drift turbidity channels separating the drifts; slide scars; undulating depositional bedforms interpreted as bottom-current sediment waves; fluid escape structures perhaps associated with deep-water coral bioherms. The data suggest that Drift 7 is a genuine sediment drift in which bottom currents pirate the sediment of the turbidity currents. Finally, we propose that the control on location and elongation of the drift is inherited from an older margin structure. The relationships between bottom current and deposition are investigated through a comparison with the SE Greenland continental margin, an analogous counterpart in the northern hemisphere.

West: -80.0000 East: -74.0000 North: -66.0000 South: -68.0000

Expedition: 178

Site: 178-1095

Provider: SEDIS Publication Catalogue

Data set link: http://sedis.iodp.org/pub-catalogue/index.php?id=2008-039594 (c.f. for more detailed metadata)

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