Eel Canyon Slump Scar and Associated Fluid Venting

Autonomous underwater vehicles have been used to characterize Eel Slump, a slide scar located south of Eel Canyon, California. The presence of a well developed dendritic network on the headwall with gullies tens of meters deep, thick sediment drape cover on the slide scar sole, and the absence of fresh surfaces on the scarp suggest that the mass failure(s) that produced this feature did not take place in the recent past. Thermogenic oil and gas emanating from a large mound in the sole of the slide scar were sampled with a remotely operated vehicle. Other distinctive morphologies observed from the seafloor of the slide scar indicate fluid seep has occurred at multiple sites within the slide scar sole.