EUROSTRATAFORM Special Issue of Marine Geology

The papers in this Special Issue derive from projects funded by the European Commission (contract number EVK-CT-2002-00079) and the U.S. Office of Naval Research, that were called EUROSTRATAFORM and EuroSTRATAFORM, respectively. Both projects ran concurrently from 2002 to 2005 with a large amount of interaction. The overall goal of these projects was to develop a quantitative understanding of sediment transport routes and mechanisms from river mouth to continental margin and to improve understanding of the resultant stratigraphy. This data will aid prediction of the response of the marine sedimentary system to perturbations, such as climatic and tectonic variability, relative sea-level change, and land-use practices. Given the increasing importance of marine exploitation improved knowledge of the past and better forecasting for the future are essential to manage, and safely exploit the marine environment. The papers in this issue relate to the northwestern Mediterranean, especially the Gulf of Lion and the western Adriatic Sea. The Gulf of Lion, located south of France and east of NE Spain, is a temperate, deltaic margin dissected by numerous canyons. The Gulf of Lion has sedimentary systems ranging from a large season-dominated sedimentary system (Rhône River and its prodelta, at the eastern end of the gulf) to a small event-dominated system (Têt River and its prodelta, near the western end). In the western Adriatic the primary fluvial dispersal system is the Po River (with additional contributions from many smaller Apennine Rivers). Sediment is deposited on the Po delta with some redistribution towards the south along the shelf. The Bari Canyon intercepts this transport pathway and part of the sediment is transferred directly to the deep Adriatic Basin. The first paper by Amblas et al. shows the main seafloor components of the northeast Iberian margin and examines the factors controlling the seascape. These involve a combination of tectonics, long-term fluvial sediment flux to the margin, sediment grain size, basin depth and slope gradient. Papers by Heussner et al. and Palanques et al. examine suspended sediment transport and the flux of particles across the Gulf of Lion. Heussner et al. show that total mass fluxes increase along slope from east to west, indicating an increased shelf export of particulate matter in the western part of the system. In the southwestern part of the Gulf of Lion this is predominantly resuspended sediment with a high seasonal variability. Cold water cascading is the primary mechanism for exchange of particulate matter between the shelf and the slope. Palanques et al. show increases in downcanyon current speeds and sediment transport associated with strong downwelling induced by E–SE storms and to cascading of dense shelf water induced by N and NE winds. A late February storm and cascading event in the Cap de Creus canyon, at the western end of the gulf, was responsible for most of the observed shelf-canyon transfer. Modern sedimentation in more localised areas of the Bourcart canyon and on the Têt inner shelf is examined in papers by Gaudin et al. and Guillen et al, respectively. Gaudin et al. show that dense water cascading is again the main process causing reworking, transport and accumulation of sand within the Bourcart canyon head. They call these deposits “cascadites” and show how they can be distinguished from other deposits such as turbidites and contourites. Guillen et al. present results relating to two storm events on the inner shelf near the Têt river. The effects of the storms were similar offshore but one was associated with a much higher sediment input from the Têt river. During both storms the seabed was eroded to several cm depth and sediment was advected towards the southeast