Development of submarine canyons on the continental slope of the Okinawa Trough with potential origin related to methane seepage

•The submarine canyons mainly began to develop during the last glacial maximum (LGM), and some might initiate earlier in the early Pleistocene (<1.8 Ma) and further evolved after the LGM.•The slope failure (mass transport) induced by gas hydrate dissociation and associated methane seepage during the glacial epoch (mainly the LGM) is proposed as the main controlling factor for canyon initiation.•A coupled model was established to illustrate the four evolutional stages of the submarine canyons responsing to gas hydrate system.