Cut-offs at an abyssal meander south of Iceland

Reynisdjup Channel is a conduit across the insular rise for turbidity currents from southern Iceland. It has a large meander, at depths of 2,000 to 2,200 m, that was examined with a deep-tow vehicle. Erosive turbidity currents are creating cut-off channels by spilling across several parts of the meander: (1) a crevasse at the outside of the bend may cause channel avulsion; (2) chute cut-off has isolated a scroll bar; and (3) the 8-km-wide meander neck has been dissected by narrow spillways and by “mega-flutes” as much as 1 km wide and 30 m deep.