Extreme erosion and bulking in a giant submarine gravity flow

Sediment gravity flows are ubiquitous agents of transport, erosion, and deposition across Earth’s surface, including terrestrial debris flows, snow avalanches, and submarine turbidity currents. Sediment gravity flows typically erode material along their path (bulking), which can dramatically increase their size, speed, and run-out distance. Hence, flow bulking is a first-order control on flow evolution and underpins predictive modeling approaches and geohazard assessments. Quantifying bulking in submarine systems is problematic because of their large-scale and inaccessible nature, complex stratigraphy, and poorly understood source areas. Here, we map the deposits and erosive destruction of a giant submarine gravity flow from source to sink. The small initial failure (~1.5 cubic kilometers) entrained over 100 times its starting volume, catastrophically evolving into a giant flow with a total volume of ~162 cubic kilometers and a run-out distance of ~2000 kilometers. Entrainment of mud was the critical fuel, which promoted run-away flow growth and extreme levels of erosion.