Numerous rounded cobbles and pebbles were present on the seafloor near the bend of Big Bend Canyon explored during Dive 02 of the Seascape Alaska 3 expedition. These rounded rock fragments, or clasts, suggest transport in turbulent conditions with grain-grain contact at some point in the past. Clast types observed during the dive ranged from hard, igneous clasts to softer mudstone like the one pictured here. It’s possible these were transported to the shelf-edge during the last glacial maximum and later delivered to the slope.
Rounded Cobble
Image courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration, Seascape Alaska. Download larger version (jpg, 1.3 MB).

Numerous rounded cobbles and pebbles were present on the seafloor near the bend of Big Bend Canyon explored during Dive 02 of the Seascape Alaska 3 expedition. These rounded rock fragments, or clasts, suggest transport in turbulent conditions with grain-grain contact at some point in the past. Clast types observed during the dive ranged from hard, igneous clasts to softer mudstone like the one pictured here. It’s possible these were transported to the shelf-edge during the last glacial maximum and later delivered to the slope.

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