On the architecture of intra-formational Mass-Transport Deposits: Insights from the carbonate slopes of Great Bahama Bank and the Apulian Carbonate Platform

Large-scale margin collapses along a partly drowned, isolated carbonate platform (Lansdowne Bank, SW Pacific Ocean)

“…Brittle carbonate margin collapse and slope failure resulting in outsized blocks emplacement has been reported on modern carbonate platforms, notably along Bahamian slopes, such as the northern slope of Little Bahama Bank (Tournadour et al, 2015) or the southwestern (Jo et al, 2015;Schnyder et al 2016) and northwestern slopes of Great Bahama Bank (GBB, Mulder et al, 2012a;Principaud et al, 2015;Le Goff et al, 2020). In the case of northwestern GBB, the main headscarps of MTCs are located on the uncemented fine-grained slope and the run-out distances of blocks are greater than in our case study.…”

“…Although diverse processes contribute to remobilising sediments in such environments, from density cascading (Wilson and Roberts, 1995;Counts et al, 2019), episodic downslope gravity flows (Eberli, 1991;Andresen et al, 2003;Droxler and Schlager, 1985;Glaser and Droxler, 1993;Jorry et al, 2008Jorry et al, , 2010Mullins et al, 1984;Schlager et al, 1994;Webster et al, 2012) to more sustained contour currents (Betzler et al, 2014(Betzler et al, , 2016bLüdmann et al, 2013Lüdmann et al, , 2018, it has been widely documented both in ancient and modern settings that carbonate slopes are characterized by large-scale gravitational collapses (e.g. Mullins and Hine, 1989;Boselinni et al, 1993;Borgomano, 2000;Janson et al, 2010;Correa et al, 2011;Jo et al, 2015;Tournadour et al, 2015;Principaud et al 2015;Puga-Bernabéu et al, 2017;Counts et al, 2018;Le Goff et al, 2020). These mass wasting processes play a key role in shaping the platform J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f edge and slope, in the stratigraphic evolution of the margin as well as in the export of margin and slopederived sediments into deep-water environments.…”

Marine carbonate factories: Review and update

“…Similar processes were also observed at the platform margins of Tahiti (Séard et al ., 2011). These slopes commonly become over‐steepened resulting in large‐scale destabilization processes, with margin collapse and slope failures (Jo et al ., 2015; Principaud et al ., 2015; Schnyder et al ., 2016; Le Goff et al ., 2020). Other processes seen are the infill of primary cavities of a T‐factory system by an M‐factory system, microbialites in this case, resulting in a very stable combination of coralgal communities and two types of microbial systems (Séard et al ., 2011); the so‐called ‘reefal microbialites’ that formed with a slight time delay within the coralgal communities in shallow‐water environments, and the ‘slope microbialites’ that developed in deeper waters at a later time (Séard et al ., 2011).…”

Physical properties of Cretaceous to Eocene platform-to-basin carbonates from Albania

“…Depositional fabrics are mostly preserved despite early diagenetic processes affecting the sediments as inferred from the presence of 50-150 μm dolomite rhombs (Le Goff et al, 2015b). Three separate intervals occur in the uppermost part of section (1200-1400 m; Le Goff et al, 2019a) with mass-transport deposits (MTDs) (Le Goff et al, 2019bGoff et al, , 2020 displaying syn-sedimentary deformations (faults, ductile layer deformations, fluid escape structures).…”

“…The Ionian Basin section (ca. 500 m; Late Cretaceous -Palaeocene) comprises autochthonous hemipelagites (0-60 m), and allochthonous resedimented beds representing turbidites (0-180 m) and deformed MTDs (180-500 m; Le Goff et al, 2019aGoff et al, , 2020. Sediment sources include pelagic input (i.e., coccoliths, planktonic foraminifera, radiolarians) as well as density flows transporting platform and slope-derived material that originated from the AP and the KP shallow-water domains (i.e., rudists, inoceramids, echinoderms) (Rubert et al, 2012;Le Goff et al, 2015a, 2019a.…”