Large sediment drifts on the upper continental rise west of the Antarctic Peninsula

Large sediment mounds on the continental rise around Antarctica have been interpreted as sediment drifts formed through interaction of downslope transport of mainly glacially derived sediments with alongslope bottom currents (Rebesco et al. 1996). Large sinuous channels between drifts represent turbidity current pathways that are probably most active during glacial periods. Drift sediments are mainly silt and clay, interpreted as fine-grained components of turbidity currents, entrained and redistributed by ambient bottom currents (Barker et al. 1999). ‘Drift 5’, west of the Antarctic Peninsula, is described here as an example of a large sediment drift (Fig. 1a).

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