Effect On Ocean Floor
Large and fast-moving turbidity currents can incise and erode continental margins and cause damage to artificial structures such as telecommunication cables on the seafloor. Understanding where turbidity currents flow on the ocean floor can help to decrease the amount of damage to telecommunication cables by avoiding these areas or reinforcing the cables in vulnerable areas.
When turbidity currents interact with other currents, such as contour currents, they can change their direction. This ultimately shifts submarine canyons and sediment deposition locations. One example of this is located in the western part of the Gulf of Cadiz, where the Mediterranean outflow water (MOW) current strongly influences turbidity currents, ultimately causing shifting of valleys and canyons in the direction of the MOW flow. This changes the erosion and depositional zones, ultimately changing the ocean floor topography.
Read more about this topic: Turbidity Current
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