THE LYDONIA CANYON EXPERIMENT: 

 CIRCULATION, HYDROGRAPHY, AND SEDIMENT TRANSPORT 



Dr. Bradford Butman 



U.S. Geological Survey 



Branch of Atlantic Marine Geology 



Woods Hole. MA 



A field program (Butman 1988) was conducted to study the circulation and 

 sediment dynamics in Lydonia Canyon, located on the southern flank of Georges 

 Bank, and on the adjacent continental shelf and slope (Figure 2). 



Its objectives were: 



■ to describe currents in Lydonia Canyon and the adjacent shelf and 

 slope, primarily in depths shallower than 1,500 m, 



■ to explore the role of canyons in transporting sediments onto or off 

 the shelf, 



■ to see whether canyons are sinks for fine grain sediments, and 



■ to compare Lydonia Canyon and Oceanographer Canyon. 



The program included (1) in-situ measurements by an array of moored 

 current meters, bottom tripods, and sediment traps maintained between November 

 1980 and 1982; (2) synoptic observations of the hydrography and suspended 

 sediments; (3) sidescan-sonar and high-resolution seismic 

 reflection surveys; (4) samples of the surficial sediments; and (5) direct 

 observations of the sea floor from the submersible Alvin. 



