Observations of turbidity currents in a small, slope-confined submarine canyon in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea

Jaijel, Roy; Biton, Eli; Weinstein, Yishai; Ozer, Tal; Katz, Timor

doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2023.118008

Cited by 9 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…However, this abundance decrease was not linearly related to depth but also to the bottom terrain and certain sites showed statistically similar abundances although sampled at different depths. This hypothesized terrain effect in the Haifa transect was based on the bottom steepness in the continental slope (Figure 1 ), the fluidic, semi‐liquid mud visually observed in slope samples, emphasizing HS394, but also in HS771, the downslope currents that were speculated to flow in this canyon‐rich region (Kanari et al., 2020 ) and the intermittent downslope turbidity currents that were observed there (Jaijel et al., 2023 ). These combined factors may cause sediment vertical mixing and downward sediment transport.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deep‐sea meiofaunal communities in the south‐eastern Levantine basin and their shaping factors – Morphological‐taxonomy‐free metabarcoding approach

Harbuzov,

Farberova,

Tom

et al. 2024

Ecology and Evolution

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The <3% dissimilar Amplicon Sequence Variant (ASV) clusters of the 18S‐V4 barcode were used as species‐proxies for the evaluation of ASV composition and ASV diversity indices characterizing the hitherto poorly investigated meiofaunal communities of the south‐eastern part of the Levantine basin. Accompanied by abundance measurements, the relationships of these characteristics with sedimentary and bottom terrain parameters were interpreted. The construction of community composition profiles, namely ASVs' list and their estimated abundances, was done using our previously established procedure (Harbuzov et al., 2022, Marine Genomics 65, 100980), combining metabarcoding with sample reads normalization by the abundance of hard‐bodied meiofaunal taxa. The study province included the 54–1418 m depth range, across vertical sub‐bottom horizons ranging 0–17 cm. Oxygen, hydrogen sulfide and methane concentrations in the pore water, as well as sediment grain size spectra and sedimentary protein and carbohydrate levels, were measured, followed by an evaluation of their involvement in the shaping of the meiofaunal communities' characteristics. Community composition was generally site‐and‐horizon dependent and its abundance decreased with increasing bottom depth and across sub‐bottom horizons, typical to benthic habitats which are nourished by organic carbon from the euphotic zone. The relatively sharply inclined continental slope bottom located in the northern part of the Israeli coast was an exception. Its meiofaunal community characteristics were speculated to be affected by intensive sediment mixing and lateral transport of food from the shelf, in addition to the effect of the euphotic zone‐originated food sources.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deep‐sea meiofaunal communities in the south‐eastern Levantine basin and their shaping factors – Morphological‐taxonomy‐free metabarcoding approach

Harbuzov,

Farberova,

Tom

et al. 2024

Ecology and Evolution

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“…Recently, Jaijel et al. (2023) documented turbidity currents that transport material >830 m through a canyon crossing the continental slope, 30 km east‐southeast of DeepLev. While the coarse‐grained material carried by these currents evidently deposited inside the canyon, the currents and follow‐up processes (wash and turbulence) could launch the finer material to the deep basin along isopycnal surfaces, where the DeepLev mooring is located (Jaijel et al., 2023).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(2023) documented turbidity currents that transport material >830 m through a canyon crossing the continental slope, 30 km east‐southeast of DeepLev. While the coarse‐grained material carried by these currents evidently deposited inside the canyon, the currents and follow‐up processes (wash and turbulence) could launch the finer material to the deep basin along isopycnal surfaces, where the DeepLev mooring is located (Jaijel et al., 2023). Similar observations, of INL associated with canyons have been described elsewhere (e.g., Gardner, 1989; Hickey et al., 1986; McPhee‐Shaw et al., 2021; Puig & Palanques, 1998), thus warranting a more detailed investigation of the relationships between slope processes and INLs in the deep LB.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the spatial and temporal patterns and the actual factors that control this lateral transport and the resulting export in the deep basin remains un‐characterized. The relation of this cross‐shore transport to the turbidity currents described in small submarine canyons east of the study area (Jaijel et al., 2023) should also be considered.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Temporal Pattern and Profile of a Coastal‐Deep Sea Conveyor at a Marginal Deep Oligotrophic Sea

Alkalay,

Weinstein,

Herut

et al. 2024

JGR Oceans

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Sediment trap data set and 234Th profiles (deep water excesses and deficits) reveal that particulate organic carbon (POC) export at the highly oligotrophic Levantine Sea is dominated by lateral transport from the nearby margin. These intermediate nepheloid layers (INL) operate at multi‐depth, with the silt‐to‐clay size particulate matter (PM) fraction transported at water depths of about 100–500 m, while finer fraction arrives also at deeper depths. The shallow NIL is triggered by winter storms, manipulated by coastal flash floods and shelf resuspension and assisted by cross‐shore currents, which allow the arrival of PM at a distance of 50 km within about 10 days. The deeper INL could be related to sediments initially driven to depth by density currents. Our data show that inter‐annual differences in sediment trap fluxes were related to changes in both the intensity of coastal floods and current velocity. The frequent observation of deep‐water 234Th excesses during a (relatively) low export winter (2018) is related to lessened cleansing of the water column, that is, reduced removal of fine‐grained PM by sinking coarser‐grained material. These observations highlight the importance of winter storm intensity in the POC budget of marginal seas like the Levantine Basin (LB) even in areas with limited river discharge. This further suggests that the anticipated increase in extreme weather events due to the on‐going climate change should have an impact on this coastal‐deep sea conveyor and on POC export in the LB.

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“…In the case of inorganic materials, high turbidity can indicate high amounts of suspended sediments such as clay or silt, which is caused by erosion [ 3 , 4 ]. Besides human interference, the environment’s turbidity level can be influenced by nutrient runoff or soil erosion from farming [ 5 ] but also by geological disturbances that can cause turbidity currents [ 6 , 7 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of a Frugal, In Situ Sensor Implementing a Ratiometric Method for Continuous Monitoring of Turbidity in Natural Waters

Sánchez

Groc

Vuillemin

et al. 2023

Sensors

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Turbidity is a commonly used indicator of water quality in continental and marine waters and is mostly caused by suspended and colloidal particles such as organic and inorganic particles. Many methods are available for the measurement of turbidity, ranging from the Secchi disk to infrared light-based benchtop or in situ turbidimeters as well as acoustic methods. The operational methodologies of the large majority of turbidity instruments involve the physics of light scattering and absorption by suspended particles when light is passed through a sample. As such, in the case of in situ monitoring in water bodies, the measurement of turbidity is highly influenced by external light and biofouling. Our motivation for this project is to propose an open-source, low-cost in situ turbidity sensor with a suitable sensitivity and operating range to operate in low-to-medium-turbidity natural waters. This prototype device combines two angular photodetectors and two infrared light sources with different positions, resulting in two different types of light detection, namely nephelometric (i.e., scattering) and attenuation light, according to the ISO 7027 method. The mechanical design involves 3D-printed parts by stereolithography, which are compatible with commercially available waterproof enclosures, thus ensuring easy integration for future users. An effort was made to rely on mostly off-the-shelf electronic components to encourage replication of the system, with the use of a highly integrated photometric front-end commonly used in portable photoplethysmography systems. The sensor was tested in laboratory conditions against a commercial benchtop turbidimeter with Formazin standards. The monitoring results were analyzed, obtaining a linear trendline from 0 to 50 Nephelometric Turbidity Unit (NTU) and an accuracy of +/−0.4 NTU in the 0 to 10 NTU range with a response time of less than 100 ms.

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Observations of turbidity currents in a small, slope-confined submarine canyon in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea

Cited by 9 publications

References 47 publications

Deep‐sea meiofaunal communities in the south‐eastern Levantine basin and their shaping factors – Morphological‐taxonomy‐free metabarcoding approach

Deep‐sea meiofaunal communities in the south‐eastern Levantine basin and their shaping factors – Morphological‐taxonomy‐free metabarcoding approach

Temporal Pattern and Profile of a Coastal‐Deep Sea Conveyor at a Marginal Deep Oligotrophic Sea

Development of a Frugal, In Situ Sensor Implementing a Ratiometric Method for Continuous Monitoring of Turbidity in Natural Waters

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