Factors controlling asymmetry in submarine channels and submarine canyons: Insights from global morphological analysis
Abstract
The formation of asymmetric submarine channels and levees is the result of multiple processes, including bottom currents, Coriolis forcing, and centrifugal forces, acting on turbidity flows. Despite increasing studies of asymmetric submarine channels and recognition of the influence of bottom currents on turbidity flows, the relative contributions of these factors remain poorly constrained, often resulting in contradictory interpretations. In this study, we investigate whether morphometric characteristics of submarine channels – specifically levee and width asymmetries, and cross-sectional slope angles – can indicate the most likely processes responsible for their asymmetry, such as Coriolis effect versus bottom currents. We systematically analysed 24 asymmetric channels from diverse settings, integrating their morphometric data with environmental parameters including latitude, water depth, slope angle, and bottom current intensity and direction.Our results reveal substantial variability in channel asymmetry along their lengths: the positions of the higher margin, thalweg, steeper margin, and the degree of asymmetry often change within a system, so that a single channel cannot be consistently described with one asymmetry value. Depth-dependent variations in slope, water-mass structure, turbidity current dynamics, and bottom-current intensity, combined with temporal variability in both turbidity-current characteristics and bottom-current velocities, create locally coherent, but non-predictive asymmetry. Thus, our observations suggest that morphological characteristics alone are insufficient to identify the main forces controlling channel asymmetry. We propose a classification scheme to aid interpretation of channel asymmetry and potential bottom current interactions, emphasizing the complexity of submarine channel formation.
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BibTeX
@article{lagunova2026factors,
title = {{Factors controlling asymmetry in submarine channels and submarine canyons: Insights from global morphological analysis}},
author = {Nadezhda Lagunova and Tilmann Schwenk and Michael A. Clare and Ricardo Silva Jacinto and Dierk Hebbeln and Volkhard Spieß and Gerhard Bohrmann and Pelle H. Adema and Joris T. Eggenhuisen and Elda Miramontes},
journal = {Geomorphology},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.1016/j.geomorph.2026.110445},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05854078v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Factors controlling asymmetry in submarine channels and submarine canyons: Insights from global morphological analysis
AU - Nadezhda Lagunova
AU - Tilmann Schwenk
AU - Michael A. Clare
AU - Ricardo Silva Jacinto
AU - Dierk Hebbeln
AU - Volkhard Spieß
AU - Gerhard Bohrmann
AU - Pelle H. Adema
AU - Joris T. Eggenhuisen
AU - Elda Miramontes
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/05
JO - Geomorphology
DO - 10.1016/j.geomorph.2026.110445
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05854078v1
AB - The formation of asymmetric submarine channels and levees is the result of multiple processes, including bottom currents, Coriolis forcing, and centrifugal forces, acting on turbidity flows. Despite increasing studies of asymmetric submarine channels and recognition of the influence of bottom currents on turbidity flows, the relative contributions of these factors remain poorly constrained, often resulting in contradictory interpretations. In this study, we investigate whether morphometric characteristics of submarine channels – specifically levee and width asymmetries, and cross-sectional slope angles – can indicate the most likely processes responsible for their asymmetry, such as Coriolis effect versus bottom currents. We systematically analysed 24 asymmetric channels from diverse settings, integrating their morphometric data with environmental parameters including latitude, water depth, slope angle, and bottom current intensity and direction.Our results reveal substantial variability in channel asymmetry along their lengths: the positions of the higher margin, thalweg, steeper margin, and the degree of asymmetry often change within a system, so that a single channel cannot be consistently described with one asymmetry value. Depth-dependent variations in slope, water-mass structure, turbidity current dynamics, and bottom-current intensity, combined with temporal variability in both turbidity-current characteristics and bottom-current velocities, create locally coherent, but non-predictive asymmetry. Thus, our observations suggest that morphological characteristics alone are insufficient to identify the main forces controlling channel asymmetry. We propose a classification scheme to aid interpretation of channel asymmetry and potential bottom current interactions, emphasizing the complexity of submarine channel formation.
SN - 0169-555X
SN - 0169-555X
ER -