Jannis Kuhlmann

PhD project:

To which extend do sediment physical parameters control (I) slope failure and (II) transport mechanisms? – the Twin Slides offshore southern Sicily serving as a unique case study area

The phenomena of submarine landslides and their inherent consequences occur at all margins worldwide. Many studies have mapped and monitored slides and investigated trigger mechanisms and sediment failure processes. Still, great uncertainty persists as to why a given slope fails whereas another adjacent remains stable. In this context, augmented focus is put on events of smaller scale such as the Twin Slide complex offshore southern Sicily in the highly vulnerable oceanic basin of the Mediterranean Sea.
Main objective of the PhD project is the development and evaluation of conceptional models for the evolution of the Twin Slide complex. Analysis of both geophysical data and long MeBo and shorter gravity cores acquired during research cruise MSM15/3, aligned with numerical modelling experiments, encompass the investigative framework to address the following questions:
(A) Which conceptional model fits best to the evolution of the Twin Slide complex?
(B) Do highly porous ash layers serve as potential failure and glide planes of submarine mass movements? Can specific stratigraphic surfaces be identified that act as glide planes (e.g. clay-rich and/or porous ash layers with high liquefaction potential)?
(C) Do and how do sediment-physical parameters of source material control transport mechanisms?

Research Area: B " Coastal Zone Processes"