Cyclic steps

A profile view of cyclic steps in Monterey Canyon

Cyclic steps are rhythmic bedforms associated with Froude super-critical flow instability.[1][2] They are a type of sediment wave,[3] and are created when supercritical sediment-laden water (turbidity currents) travels downslope through sediment beds.[4] Each ‘step’ has a steep drop, and together they tend to migrate upstream.[5] On the ocean floor, this phenomenon was first shown to be possible in 2006, although it was observed in open-channel flows over a decade earlier.[6][2][1] Geological features appearing to be submarine cyclic steps have been detected in the northern lowlands of Mars in the Aeolis Mensae region, providing evidence of an ancient Martian ocean.[7]

  1. ^ a b "Coherent Flow Structures in Open Channels | Wiley". Wiley.com. Retrieved 2021-06-20.
  2. ^ a b Kostic, Svetlana (2011-04-01). "Modeling of submarine cyclic steps: Controls on their formation, migration, and architecture". Geosphere. 7 (2): 294–304. Bibcode:2011Geosp...7..294K. doi:10.1130/GES00601.1. ISSN 1553-040X.
  3. ^ Urgeles, Roger; Cattaneo, Antonio; Puig, Pere; Liquete, Camino; De Mol, Ben; Amblàs, David; Sultan, Nabil; Trincardi, Fabio (2011-03-01). "A review of undulated sediment features on Mediterranean prodeltas: distinguishing sediment transport structures from sediment deformation". Marine Geophysical Research. 32 (1): 49–69. Bibcode:2011MarGR..32...49U. doi:10.1007/s11001-011-9125-1. hdl:2445/124788. ISSN 1573-0581. S2CID 45489203.
  4. ^ Shao, Da-Li; Fan, Guo-Zhang; Wang, Hai-Qiang; Ma, Hong-Xia; Zuo, Guo-Ping; Ding, Liang-Bo; Cai, Zheng; Li, Wei-Qiang (2021-02-01). "3D anatomy and flow dynamics of net-depositional cyclic steps on the world's largest submarine fan: a joint 3D seismic and numerical approach". Petroleum Science. 18 (1): 10–28. Bibcode:2021PetSc..18...10S. doi:10.1007/s12182-020-00512-3. ISSN 1995-8226.
  5. ^ Cartigny, Matthieu J.B.; Postma, George; Van Den Berg, Jan H.; Mastbergen, Dick R. (2011-02-15). "A comparative study of sediment waves and cyclic steps based on geometries, internal structures and numerical modeling". Marine Geology. 280 (1–4): 40–56. Bibcode:2011MGeol.280...40C. doi:10.1016/j.margeo.2010.11.006. ISSN 0025-3227.
  6. ^ Kostic, Svetlana; Parker, Gary (2006-09-01). "The response of turbidity currents to a canyon–fan transition: internal hydraulic jumps and depositional signatures". Journal of Hydraulic Research. 44 (5): 631–653. Bibcode:2006JHydR..44..631K. doi:10.1080/00221686.2006.9521713. ISSN 0022-1686. S2CID 53700725.
  7. ^ Kostic, Svetlana; Smith, Isaac B. (2018-11-15). "Water on Mars: Do submarine cyclic steps exist on the red planet?". Progress in Earth and Planetary Science. 5 (1): 76. Bibcode:2018PEPS....5...76K. doi:10.1186/s40645-018-0225-2. ISSN 2197-4284.