Several fields of sediment waves have been recently observed over the Gulf of Valencia (NW Mediterranean) continental margin. Based on their morphology and internal structure, two different sets of sediment waves can be distinguished. Large sediment waves with 500 to 1000m wavelengths and 2 to 50m wave height are developed on the foreset region of the prograding margin clinoform, being found from 250 to 850m water depth. Additionally, over the outer shelf region, a second group of sediment waves also develops; displaying wavelengths in between 400 m and 800m and heights of 2 to 4m. Eustatic cycles control the development of the sediment waves on the outer continental shelf, which show several erosional truncations and growing stages. However, the sediment waves over the continental slope region seem to continuously evolve through time, at least since the Early/Lower Pliocene, without being affected by sea level changes

This research was supported by the projects COSTEM (CMT2009-07806) and FORMED (CGL2012-33989). M. Ribó is supported by a FPI grant (BES-2010-029949) from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness

2nd Deep-Water Circulation Congress: The Contourite Log-book, 10-12 September 2014, Ghent, Belgium.-- 2 pages, 2 figures

Peer Reviewed