The Agulhas Slide: Why is there a Mega-Slide on a low sedimentation margin?

• Applicants: Professorin Dr. Katrin Huhn-Frehers; Professor Dr. Sebastian Krastel, since 2/2026
• Subject Area: Geophysics ; Geology
• Term: since 2026
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 564746627

Submarine landslides are one of the most important agents for transferring sediment including waste/microplastic across continental margins and do represent a natural hazard due to their potential to destroy seafloor infrastructure and trigger devastating tsunamis. The Agulhas Slide off Southeast Africa is the largest known landslide in the world, yet surprisingly little information is available. The Agulhas Slide is very different from other continental margin mega-slides that have been studied. It is significantly larger than other mega-slides that have typically occurred in areas of high sedimentation/accretion and have failed in a radial fashion. In contrast, the Agulhas landslide occurred in a sheared, passive continental margin environment characterized by low sedimentation rates. The lack of understanding of the preconditioning, triggering and emplacement of the Agulhas slide makes it difficult to constrain the risk associated with the occurrence of a similar event. The proposed cruise and subsequent work will investigate the Agulhas Slide in unprecedented detail to (i) reconstruct the evolution of the slide and the interaction of the slide deposits with the complex current regime; (ii) assess the hazards associated with the Agulhas Slide; and (iii) investigate fluid escape features and the establishment of seep communities in the vicinity of the slide headwall. To achieve these objectives, we will map large parts of the Agulhas Slide with hydroacoustic systems, acquire a network of high-resolution seismic reflection data, take cores for sedimentological and geotechnical investigations, and deploy a small ROV to carry out detailed surveys targeting areas of topographic or hydrogeological interest from previous bathymetric and sub-bottom profiler data. We will also train a group of South African students in the acquisition, processing and interpretation of marine geophysical data.

• DFG Programme: Infrastructure Priority Programmes
• Subproject of: SPP 2520: Infrastructure area - Research Vessels
• International Connection: South Africa, USA
• Cooperation Partners: Professor Dr. Andrew Green; Professor Aaron Micallef, Ph.D.
• Ehemalige Antragstellerin: Dr. Rachel Barrett, until 2/2026