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A giant three-stage submarine slide off Norway

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Abstract

One of the largest submarine slides known, The Storegga Slide, is located on the Norwegian continental margin. The slide is up to 450 m thick and has a total volume of about 5,600 km3. The headwall of the slide scar is 290 km long and the total run-out distance is about 800 km. The slide involved sediments of Quaternary to Early Tertiary age and occurred in three stages. Earthquakes combined with decomposition of gas hydrates are believed to be the main triggering agents for the slides. The first slide event is tentatively dated to be about 30,000 to 50,000 years B.P. and the two last major events are dated to be at 6,000 to 8,000 years B.P.

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Bugge, T., Befring, S., Belderson, R.H. et al. A giant three-stage submarine slide off Norway. Geo-Marine Letters 7, 191–198 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02242771

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02242771

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