The shape of the seafloor preserves a wealth of information reflecting the time-integrated effects of tectonic, sedimentary and volcanic processes. Many such processes are hazards to coastal populations and offshore installations and thus key objectives of national research programmes and of the IODP expeditions. High quality bathymetry, especially when combined with sub-seafloor and/or seabed measurements, provides an exciting opportunity to combine the approaches of geomorphology and geophysics and to extend quantitative geomorphology offshore.



This interdisciplinary session aims to examine the causes and consequences of the underwater landscape including submarine erosion and depositional processes, sediment transfer, sediment deformation, volcanic activity, fluid migration and other processes acting at the seafloor with special emphasis on their links with active tectonics. The goal is to bring together researchers who characterize the shapes of seafloor features, seek to understand the sub-surface and surface processes at work and their impacts, or use bathymetry as a model input. Contributions to this session can include work from any depth or physiographic region, e.g. oceanic plateaus, abyssal hills, mid-ocean ridges, accretionary wedges, and continental margins from abyss to shelf seas. Datasets of any scale from satellite-predicted depth to ultra high-resolution swath are anticipated.