Contourites / Контуриты

Contourites are sediments deposited or substantially reworked by bottom currents. The study of contourites is nowadays crucial for several fields of fundamental and applied research:
1. palaeoclimatology and palaeoceanography, since these fairly continuous and relatively high-resolution sediments hold the key for priceless information on the variability in ocean circulation patterns, current velocities, oceanographic history and basin interconnectivity;
2. hydrocarbon exploration, since accumulation of source rocks may be favoured by weak bottom currents, whereas ‘‘clean’’ deep-sea sands may be formed by robust flows;
3. slope stability, since fine-grained, low-permeability, high pore-water content contourites facilitate the formation of overpressurized gliding planes when rapidly loaded, or when their rigid biosiliceous microfabric collapses due to diagenetic alteration.
Despite its significance, this group of sediments is poorly known by the majority of non-specialists. Notwithstanding the growing interest and the now intensive research in contourites, a textbook that serves as a reference book on contourites was missing until now <...>