ABSTRACT
During the past 4 years a large collection of deep-sea cores from the North Atlantic has been brought together at the Lamont Geological Observatory. These cores show that during Pleistocene and Recent time large quantities of sediment of shallow-water origin have been deposited in the deep basins of the North Atlantic. It is inferred that turbidity currents are responsible for the transportation of this material. The effect of such a depression-filling process upon the regional topography is discussed. The effectiveness of turbidity currents as agents of erosion is considered, and it is concluded that erosion by turbidity currents is sufficient to explain the origin of the Hudson Submarine Canyon. In support of the discussion the paper is followed by a list of some of the most important cores, with short lithologic descriptions.
