Akintoye E Akinnigbagbe* and Rasheed O Jimoh
Over the last decade considerable attention has been given to the occurrence and distribution of mass transport deposits in the world oceans especially turbidites. Deep sea turbidites are sedimentary deposits that form on the ocean floor as a result of underwater landslides, also known as turbidity currents. These currents are triggered by a variety of mechanisms; including earthquakes, submarine volcanic activity, and the destabilization of underwater slopes due to various factors. The study of deep sea turbidites has implications for our understanding of landslides, particularly those that occur in marine environments. By analyzing the sedimentary deposits left behind by these turbidity currents. Lithological and sedimentological data of sediment core DY26III-Nig-S71-GC8 from the abyssal basin of the eastern Equatorial Atlantic (EEA) revealed a 30 cm thick turbidite layer at a depth of 90 cmbsf. The turbidite deposit consists of feldspar and quartz with fining upward sequence. They are characterized by poor sorting, rounded to subrounded coarse grain sizes. The source area of the turbidite is inferred to be located at the shelf–edge on the Nigerian continental margin, approximately 340 km east to the sampling site. It is suggested that great earthquakes likely struck the Nigerian continental margin during ca.35 and 40.9 ka ago that triggered the turbidite events leading to the deposition of terrigenous sediment into the deep sea and/or slope failure due to reduced hydrostatic pressure caused by the lowering of sea level. Overall, the study of deep sea turbidites has important implications for our understanding of both the past and present natural hazards, as well as for our broader understanding of earth’s history and geology.
