Deep-water circulation is a critical part of the global conveyor belt that regulates Earth's climate.
The bottom (contour) current component of this circulation is hugely significant in shaping the deep seafloor, through erosion,
transport and deposition of sediment (drifts).
Yet the nature of these deep-water processes and the contourite sediments thereby deposited are still poorly understood in detail.
Their ultimate decoding will undoubtedly yield results of fundamental importance to earth and ocean science.
The Baiona Congress, therefore will focus specifically on processes and deposits related to bottom-water circulation.
These include the dominant currents related to geostrophic and thermohaline circulation, as well as internal tides and waves, canyon currents,
and up/downwelling slope currents.
We identify Five major goals and a number of related topics are defined:
- Characterization of the depositional and erosional elements associated with individual contourite drifts, hiatuses, and with more complex Contourite Depositional Systems (CDSs).
- Detailed understanding of deep-water-mass circulation, including the flow of bottom currents around submarine obstacles, their behaviour and variability in response to tides and benthic storms, and their role in the construction of drifts and bedforms.
- Comparisons between bottom current and gravity flow processes and products, including hemipelagic/pelagic sedimentation.
- Careful review of existing facies models (on outcropping ancient deposits and present marine basins), including their association with other deep-water sediment facies, their occurrence and recognition in both modern and ancient series, and their understanding in terms of bottom current process and variability, for both local and global circulation.
- Economic relevance of contourite deposits in the future, especially for oil/gas exploration.
Main Topics of the Congress:
- Geostrophic/thermohaline circulation and bottom currents
- Modern contourite deposits
- Ancient contourite examples
- Internal-waves and internal-tide deposits
- Palaeoceanographic significance
- Slope stability significance
- Relationship between deep-water circulation, gravity flows and submarine slope stability
- Deep-bottom current measurements and sediment traps: current state-of-the-art.
- Numerical and physical modelling of processes
- Environmental, tectonic and other controlling factors on process and deposits
- Innovation and new technologies and methods
- Driver of deep-water ecosystems
- Benthic communities associated with hard grounds and cold-water coral ecosystems
- Geological risk on submarine cables, pipelines, etc.
- Economic importance: fishing, mineral (Fe-Mn nodules, crusts) and energy (oil, gas, shallow gas, hydrates, etc) resources
