Sedimentology of Modern Bahamian Carbonate Slopes: Summary and Update.

Slopes adjacent to the Bahamian carbonate platform revealed a large variety of depositional processes. In this study, we present a synthesis summarizing 109,000 km2 of bathymetric and reflectivity data with ∼7,900 km of seismic lines and 311 m of sediment cores that were obtained over the last 50 years. These data are used to develop a conceptual model of sedimentation patterns on Quaternary carbonate slope systems and their interaction with the adjacent shallow‐water carbonate platforms. Our data highlight that during the Quaternary, factors controlling large‐scale sedimentation on Bahamian slopes have numerous similarities as they have higher sedimentation rates during interglacials. At a small scale, every slope has its own characteristics that are contemporary controlled by two main characteristics: (a) facies on the adjacent shallow‐water platform, and (b) the impact of shallow‐ and deep‐water currents. Large‐scale tectonics influence sediment deposition as it determines the position of the islands and impacts platform facies distribution. Plain Language Summary: The factors that allow sediment to be exported from carbonate platforms to the deep‐sea need discussion. To gain a better understanding of the processes involved, the sedimentary archives of the slopes connected to these carbonate platforms are consulted. The sediments encountered vary and range from grains finer than 20 μm to coarse sandy sediments, a few millimeters in size. To understand the different processes that export those different types of sediment, we analyze various slopes of the Bahamas, a well‐known pure carbonate platform system. We used both numerical data (bathymetry, reflectivity, seismic) and sediment samples from this area and compared those records for the different Bahamian slopes. We highlighted that every slope displays a different sediment record; for every slope transect the adjacent platform facies together with deep‐sea processes (currents) determine the sediment distribution. The processes that export and transport the sediments are of equal importance. Key Points: Main factors controlling Bahamian slope sedimentation are revisedNumerous data types acquired offshore were synthesizedOur data suggest a strong influence of platform fine‐grained concentration and currents on slope sedimentation models [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]