Sedimentation in the Zakynthos Channel — A conduit link to the Hellenic Trench, eastern Mediterranean

Sedimentological, oceanographic and geophysical data sets are used to examine contemporary and past transport processes in a tectonically active submarine valley/canyon, which acts as a “feeder” area to a trench system, around 4000 m in depth. Provinces are identified, together with the major redistribution processes active over the area. The conclusions are that (1) the Zakynthos Channel is a major proximal source for a transport system which has its distal end in the North Matapan Trench/Basin; (2) tectonically induced movement is the major mechanism triggering down-slope mass gravity flow; (3) the Holocene/Late Pleistocene facies associated with the upper reaches of the valley/canyon system are dominated by local terrigenous sources; and (4) sedimentation rates vary from being moderately high in the shallow-water continental shelf “feeder provinces”, low along the conduit axis, high in the perched basin, and extremely high at the distal end.