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  • Evolution of deep ocean currents in the Rockall Basin (NE Atlantic Ocean) since the Late Paleogene

Evolution of deep ocean currents in the Rockall Basin (NE Atlantic Ocean) since the Late Paleogene

The NW European Atlantic margin, particularly the Rockall basin, is characterized by the development various contouritic features since the Late Paleogene, which are caused by the impact of bottom currents. Although the main contouritic features, such as moats and contourite drifts, seem to be clearly formed by the main core of bottom currents related to the average circulation, the origin of other contouritic features such as contourite terraces, plastered drifts and sediment waves is still much less clear. Using the combined disciplinary approaches of marine geophysics, physical oceanography and sedimentology, the purpose of this project is to understand how different oceanographic processes shape the seafloor and control sedimentation in deep-marine environments. This work will promote the recognition of the evolution of contourite depositional systems in the NW European Atlantic Ocean, which improves palaeoceanographic reconstructions in the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans.