1 Marine Geology Achimer August 2016, Volume 378, Pages 56-73 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2016.01.003 http://archimer.ifremer.fr http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00308/41957/ © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved Description of a contourite depositional system on the Demerara Plateau: Results from geophysical data and sediment cores Tallobre Cédric 1, 2, *, Loncke Lies 1, 2, Bassetti Maria-Angela 1, 2, Giresse Pierre 1, 2, Bayon Germain 3, Buscail Roselyne 1, 2, Durrieu De Madron Xavier 1, 2, Bourrin François 1, 2, Vanhaesebroucke Marc 1, 2, Sotin Christine 1, 2, Iguanes Scientific Party 1 Univ. Perpignan Via Domitia, Centre de Formation et de Recherche sur les Environnements Méditerranéens (CEFREM), UMR 5110, 52 Avenue Paul Alduy, 66860 Perpignan, France 2 CNRS, Centre de Formation et de Recherche sur les Environnements Méditerranéens (CEFREM), UMR 5110, 52 Avenue Paul Alduy, 66860 Perpignan, France 3 IFREMER, Unité de Recherche Géosciences Marines, 29280 Plouzané, France * Corresponding author : Cédric Tallobre, email address :
[email protected] Abstract : The Demerara Plateau, belonging to the passive transform margin of French Guiana, was investigated during the IGUANES cruise in 2013. The objectives of the cruise were to explore the poorly-known surficial sedimentary column overlying thick mass transport deposits as well as to understand the factors controlling recent sedimentation. The presence of numerous bedforms at the seafloor was observed thanks to newly acquired IGUANES bathymetric, high resolution seismic and chirp data, while sediment cores allowed the characterization of the deposits covering the mass transport deposits. Modern oceanographic conditions were determined in situ, using mooring monitoring over a 10-month period.