Morphosedimentary and hydrographic features of the northern Argentine margin: The interplay between erosive, depositional and gravitational processes and its conceptual implications

Deep Western Boundary Current transport variability in the South Atlantic: preliminary results from a pilot array at 34.5° S

“…1) was designed based on previous hydrographic and IES observations to capture the DWBC flow and allows for offshore meanders/shifts as far as 44.5 • W. Overlaying the neutral density surfaces, calculated following Jackett and McDougall (1997), can help identify water masses being carried meridionally across the array. Based on an analysis of deep water masses in the northwest Argentine Basin, Preu et al (2012) -Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW): potential temperature less than 0 • C.…”

Control of sedimentation by active tectonics, glaciation and contourite-depositing currents in Endurance Basin, South Georgia

“…However, the steep slope (20° -30°) encountered 3.5 km to the west of the drift (Figure 10) trends north to south: apparently perpendicular to the direction of current flow inferred from the drift termination. As features eroded by bottom currents tend to form parallel to the direction of flow (Marani et al, 1993;Howe et al, 2006;Elliott et al, 2010;Preu et al, 2013), we suggest that the N-S trending steep slope is not a product of current erosion.…”

“…As such, consideration was given to whether the apparent thinning and onlap of unit IV is caused by sedimentation rate changes and/or later erosion due to bottom currents. Interpreted contourite deposits (section 5.2.1) provide evidence of significant bottom current activity in Endurance Basin and the lack of seismic penetration on the glaciogenic fan and west of Block A (Figures 8 and 13.A) could indicate winnowing of fine material, as observed in other locations with vigorous bottom currents (McCave et al, 1995;Øvrebø et al, 2006;Preu et al, 2013). In this alternative interpretation, the transparent seismic unit IV could then represent a muddy contourite deposit, accumulating due to reduced current velocity and thinning on highs that experience increased flow rates .…”

IODP workshop: developing scientific drilling proposals for the Argentina Passive Volcanic Continental Margin (APVCM) – basin evolution, deep biosphere, hydrates, sediment dynamics and ocean evolution

“…Climate deterioration continued into the late Miocene, leading to the initiation and growth of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (Shevenell et al, 2004). Climatic deterioration has continued into the Pleistocene although the major current systems that were established between the end of the Miocene and the late Pliocene appear to have continued to the present day (Hernández-Molina et al, 2009;Preu et al, 2012Preu et al, , 2013. However, factors other than ocean currents have also been important to the development of the margin, including sea level change, climate variability and glaciation and uplift in the Andes Grützner et al, 2011 and.…”

“…However, a number of papers published since 2009 reported new high-resolution and/or multichannel seismic surveys (Fig. 4), often combined with multi-beam bathymetric data, which show the common occurrence of layered sediments and prominent sediment drifts on the Argentine and adjacent Uruguayan margins (e.g., Hernández-Molina et al, 2009Violante et al, 2010, Krastel et al, 2011Lastras et al, 2011;Muñoz et al, 2012;Grützner et al, 2011Grützner et al, , 2012Grützner et al, , 2016Preu et al, 2012Preu et al, , 2013Voigt et al, 2013;Uenzelmann-Neben et al, 2016; see also Hinz et al, 1999). There has also been significant progress studying the climatic records in surficial and near-surface sediments recovered in sediment cores from the Argentine margin (e.g., Chiessi et al, 2007;Bozzano et al, 2011;Govin et al, 2012;Bender et al, 2013;Razik et al, 2013;Razik, 2014;García Chapori et al, 2014, demonstrating that this margin also contains important modern sedimentary deposits.…”