MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute) | High-tech “smart boulders” give the first look from the inside of an underwater landslide @MBARIvideo | Uploaded April 2022 | Updated October 2024, 18 hours ago.
The sediment that pours out of coastal rivers accumulates at the head of Monterey Canyon. Periodically, it collapses and forms a sediment gravity flow that surges through the submarine canyon like an underwater landslide.
Because these flows move quickly and powerfully along the seafloor, they are challenging for scientists to study. Motion-sensing “smart boulders” developed by MBARI engineers have provided the first detailed look inside sediment gravity flows.
MBARI researchers have learned that sediment gravity flows mobilize the top three meters (10 feet) of the seafloor, a finding with major implications for underwater infrastructure like cables carrying data and power to coastal communities.
Learn more: mbari.org/news/high-tech-smart-boulders-give-the-first-look-from-inside-an-underwater-landslide
Publication:
Gwiazda, R., C.K. Paull, B. Kieft, D. Klimov, R. Herlien, E. Lundsten, M. McCann, M. Cartigny, A. Hamilton, J. Xu, K.L. Maier, D.R. Parsons, and P.J. Talling (2022). Near-bed structure of sediment gravity flows measured by motion-sensing ‘boulder-like’ Benthic Event Detectors (BEDs) in Monterey Canyon. JGR Earth Surface, 127: e2021JF006437. doi.org/10.1029/2021JF006437
Editor: Megan Bassett
Writer: Raúl Nava
Production team: Nancy Jacobsen Stout, Raúl Nava, Kyra Schlining, Susan von Thun
Music: Finding Answers by Oliver Garcia (Motion Array)
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The sediment that pours out of coastal rivers accumulates at the head of Monterey Canyon. Periodically, it collapses and forms a sediment gravity flow that surges through the submarine canyon like an underwater landslide.
Because these flows move quickly and powerfully along the seafloor, they are challenging for scientists to study. Motion-sensing “smart boulders” developed by MBARI engineers have provided the first detailed look inside sediment gravity flows.
MBARI researchers have learned that sediment gravity flows mobilize the top three meters (10 feet) of the seafloor, a finding with major implications for underwater infrastructure like cables carrying data and power to coastal communities.
Learn more: mbari.org/news/high-tech-smart-boulders-give-the-first-look-from-inside-an-underwater-landslide
Publication:
Gwiazda, R., C.K. Paull, B. Kieft, D. Klimov, R. Herlien, E. Lundsten, M. McCann, M. Cartigny, A. Hamilton, J. Xu, K.L. Maier, D.R. Parsons, and P.J. Talling (2022). Near-bed structure of sediment gravity flows measured by motion-sensing ‘boulder-like’ Benthic Event Detectors (BEDs) in Monterey Canyon. JGR Earth Surface, 127: e2021JF006437. doi.org/10.1029/2021JF006437
Editor: Megan Bassett
Writer: Raúl Nava
Production team: Nancy Jacobsen Stout, Raúl Nava, Kyra Schlining, Susan von Thun
Music: Finding Answers by Oliver Garcia (Motion Array)
Subscribe to MBARI’s newsletter here: mbari.co/newsletter
Follow MBARI on social media:
Facebook: facebook.com/MBARInews/
Twitter: twitter.com/MBARI_News
Instagram: instagram.com/mbari_news
Tumblr: mbari-blog.tumblr.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/monterey-bay-aquarium-research-institute-mbari-
And now, TikTok: tiktok.com/@mbari_news
