Caspian Sea Bottom Scouring by Hummocky Ice Floes

摘要

Forms of ice gouging were documented for the first time at 3 to 12 m depth in the North Caspian Sea. Gouges and systems of scouring gouges formed by drifting hummocky bodies frozen in ice floes have been discovered as a result of simultaneous hydroloca-tion survey and echosounding. The length of the largest and most well-defined gouges exceeds a few kilometers; the width of individual gouges is up to 5 m, and the width of gouge systems is up to 200 m. Apart from linear forms, local pits remaining from stamukhas sitting at the bottom have been discovered.