Landside hazard on the Norwegian continental margin

Abstract

Numerous landslides are located on the passive margin of Norway. According to the landslides number and the extent of their detachment zones, the margin can be divided into three segments (from south to north) — Scandinavian, Barents Sea and Svalbard. The fourth segment (Arctic) is the transition area located north of the Spitsbergen archipelago. In the Scandinavian segment, about forty large submarine landslide bodies have been identified on the continental slope and deeper. The Barents Sea segment is dominated by deep-sea fan deposits and relatively small landslides. No large landslides were found in the Svalbard segment. Analysis of published and original geological and geophysical data indicates that the formation of new landslides may occur in the Svalbard segment, as well as on the Vestnesa Ridge.

Keywords

• norwegian continental margin
• scandinavia
• svalbard
• landslides
• seismicity
• gas hydrates