What are submarine canyons and how are they formed?
A submarine canyon is a canyon that cuts into the continental shelf and continental slope often ending on the deep seafloor in a fan-shaped wedge of sediment. Submarine canyons usually travel at right angles or perpendicular to coastlines and are located on continental margins. As similar to canyons on land, submarine canyons are created by erosion. The mass movement of sediment on the ocean floor is called turbidity current. Turbidity currents occur when turbulence mixes sediment into water above a sloping bottom (that is, on continental shelves or slopes). The steeper the slope, the faster the denser turbidity current will flow, sometimes reaching speeds of 17 miles per hour. Over long periods of time, these abrasive turbidity currents can carve canyons into the continental shelf.
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A) natural gas B) coal C) oil D) wood E) nuclear
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