Assessment of Submarine Landslide Volume

Abstract

Abstract Submarine landslides pose major geohazards as they can destroy seafloor infrastructure such as communication cables and cause tsunamis. The volume of material displaced with the landslide is one factor that determines its hazard and is typically estimated using bathymetric and/or seismic datasets. Here, we review methods to determine the initial failed volume based on a well-constrained case study, the Ana Slide, a small slope failure in the Eivissa Channel off the eastern Iberian Peninsula. We find that not only the availability and quality of datasets but also the emplacement mechanism determines the quality of the volume estimation. In general, the volume estimation based on comparison of modern and reconstructed pre-failure seafloor topographies yields conservative, yet robust volumes for the amount of material that was mobilized. In contrast, volume estimated from seismic data may be prone to overestimation if no detailed constraints on the nature of the chaotic, transparent, or disrupted seismic facies commonly used to identify landslide material are available.