What can submarine canyons teach scientists about the Earth’s oceans? This is what a recent study published in Marine Geology hopes to address as a team of scientists conducted the most extensive investigation into Antarctic submarine canyons with the goal of building on previous studies while attempting to discover new canyons. This study has the potential to help scientists better understand how submarine canyons impact ocean circulation and climate change, along with finding life in new and exciting locations.
For the study, the researchers used database maps to create the most comprehensive catalog of submarine canyons while greatly building on previous studies. To accomplish this, the team divided Antarctica into ten geographic zones with the goal of mapping submarine canyons and gullies that exist on the Southern Ocean floor. In the end, the researchers successfully identified five times the number of submarine canyons than previous studies, including a total of 322 canyon networks comprised of 3,291 streams.
“Some of the submarine canyons we analyzed reach depths of over 4,000 meters [13,000 feet],” said Dr. David Amblàs, who is an associate professor and geologist at the University of Barcelona and co-author on the study. “The most spectacular of these are in East Antarctica, which is characterized by complex, branching canyon systems. The systems often begin with multiple canyon heads near the edge of the continental shelf and converge into a single main channel that descends into the deep ocean, crossing the sharp, steep gradients of the continental slope.”
The researchers note that better understanding of submarine canyons could help improve climate change models, as the former regulates ocean circulation, thus helping produce more accurate climate predictions.
What new discoveries about submarine canyons will researchers make in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science!
As always, keep doing science & keep looking up!
Sources: Marine Geology, EurekAlert!
Featured Image Credit: MARC CERDÀ – UNIVERSITY OF BARCELONA