Deep Sea Sedimentation

Abstract

This article offers an overview of the main sedimentary systems defining the geomorphology of deep sea environments from low to high latitudes. Mass-transport deposits, turbidite systems, contourites, volcaniclastic aprons, glacial trough mouth systems, carbonate mounds and other bathyal systems, such as pelagites, hemipelagites, mid-ocean channels and polymetallic mineral deposits, are presented with special attention to their morphology, sediments, processes and controlling factors. The integration of the main systems on the continental margins and adjacent abyssal plains in the North Atlantic and westernmost Mediterranean allows to characterize different sedimentation models