Late Quaternary turbidity current pathways to the Madeira Abyssal Plain and some constraints on turbidity current mechanisms

Abstract Turbidites deposited in the Madeira Abyssal Plain during the last 200 000 yr originated mainly from the flanks of the Canary Islands and from the Northwest African continental margin north of the Canaries. Derivation of these turbidites from sources to the east of the abyssal plain apparently contradicts flow direction indicators derived from the sediments on the plain, which indicate derivation from the north‐east. However, two systems of shallow channels, mapped using side‐scan sonar and 3.5‐kHz data, link the easterly sediment sources to the north‐eastern edge of the abyssal plain, reconciling the apparently contradictory flow direction data. A northern system originates in the area between Madeira and the Canary Islands and follows a westerly and then north‐westerly path, in part cutting obliquely across regional bathymetric trends. It carries sediment from the African continental margin north of the Canary Islands, and from the eastern Canaries, to the north‐eastern abyssal plain. The southern channel system carries material from the western Canary Islands more directly westward to the central part of the plain. The pathways of individual turbidites can be reconstructed in some detail, by combining channel mapping with published information on turbidite provenance and flow directions on the Madeira Abyssal Plain. Interaction between turbidity currents and channel morphology controls turbidite depositional patterns. Small turbidites are completely contained within channels 20 m deep and 2 km wide. It is proposed that these are relatively high‐density flows which have evolved in crossing the almost flat floor of a basin south‐east of Madeira before entering the channel system. Larger turbidites show evidence of flow stripping where they interact with channels, with the result that their coarse and fine fractions follow different paths to and across the abyssal plain.