Seismometers reveal Earth's longest-runout undersea sediment flows in unprecedented detail

Turbidity currents are an important natural process that often goes unnoticed: these powerful currents beneath the ocean surface carve deep submarine canyons, create huge sediment deposits and can damage submarine cables and pipelines. Although the phenomenon has been known for about 100 years, its high-energy nature has made it almost impossible to measure directly—any instruments placed in its path would be destroyed by its immense force, much like avalanches on land.