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Lookup NU author(s): Bridget Tiller, Dr Christine BatchelorORCiD, Professor Neil RossORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
Submarine landslides can generate tsunamis and pose risks to underwater infrastructure, but a lack of direct observations of such slides hinders our understanding of their development and hazard potential. Studying the morphology of past slides can offer insights into their preconditioning and failure. Here, new high-quality 2D and 3D seismic data were used to determine, for the first time, the extent and morphology of the Stad Slide (~0.4 Ma) on the northeast Atlantic margin. With a volume of ~4300 km3 and a maximum thickness of ~360 m, we reveal that this slide is the largest by volume on the proximal North Sea Fan and amongst the largest known megaslides globally. Its large volume was likely facilitated by retrogressive development along layers of glacimarine and contouritic sediment. The broad timing of the Stad Slide aligns with enhanced glacial sedimentation in this region, which is likely to have preconditioned failure by increasing overpressure in underlying sediments. The slide headwalls are infilled by an ~200 m-thick contourite drift that may have formed the weak layer for subsequent sliding on the North Sea Fan.
Author(s): Tiller BK, Batchelor CL, Bellwald B, Manton B, Winter K, Ross N, Planke S
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Journal of Quaternary Science
Year: 2025
Volume: 40
Issue: 8
Pages: 1392-1406
Print publication date: 01/11/2025
Online publication date: 16/10/2025
Acceptance date: 30/09/2025
Date deposited: 21/10/2025
ISSN (print): 0267-8179
ISSN (electronic): 1099-1417
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Ltd
URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.70022
DOI: 10.1002/jqs.70022
Data Access Statement: The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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