Field et al. (1999) and Spinelli and Field (2001) proposed a hybrid model of an initial erosional gravity flow that erodes and excavates gullies during periods of low, or falling sea-level to explain the northern Californian slope gullies. During higher sea-levels, when nepheloid deposition dominates, Glycoprotein B (485-492) is draped over the gullies, preserving the gully morphology and resulting in gradual aggradation upwards through time.
Previously published studies describing the detailed geometry of u-shaped slope gullies are limited to seabed and very shallowly buried examples, developed over relatively small areas. Here we provide descriptions of a wider range of u-shaped gullies, with varying architectures and developed over a large slope area. The Gabonese gullies also show more a complex plan-view organisation than that observed in other areas, with the gully spacing and density increasing down slope. Additionally our examples include much older gully systems found at depths of up to ~ 800 m beneath the modern seabed. In contrast to previous studies we also describe, and attempt to explain, an intriguing relationship between the seabed gullies and coeval sediment waves.
View User's Journal
Fig Response of BDNF protein to
 |
