The PIs will study the enechelon cracks along the outer shelf of Virginia and North Carolina in detail during a two-week geological/geophysical survey cruise with a deep-towed high-resolution vertical-incidence sonar system. Accurate mapping of these features and their subsurface geometry will help evaluate the hypothesis that the crack system indicates nascent slope failure along the shelf edge. This data, as well as data released by NOAA on gridded bathymetry, will provide evidence of past catastrophic failure and will lead to a better understanding of the role of these cracks in mass wasting and subsequent canyon evolution.
