MORPHOLOGY AND POSSIBLE ORIGIN OF THE KAOPING SUBMARINE CANYON HEAD OFF SOUTHWEST TAIWAN

This report presents a current summary of what is known about the Kaoping submarine canyon. Bathymetric data, echo-sounding tracks, high frequency (3.5 KHz) echograms and multichannel seismic profiles of the continental margin off southwest Taiwan are utilized to study the nature and development of the head of the Kaoping canyon. Echo-sounding profiles indicate that configurations of the head of the Kaoping canyon are characterized by high and steep walls. Canyon relief exceeds 600 meters. The cross-sectional morphology of the canyon varies from V-shaped to broadly U-shaped. Bathymetry, paleogeography and seismic data suggest that the Kaoping canyon could be the seaward continuation of the onland Kaoping Hsi River system which crossed the shelf during low stands of sealevel in the Late Pleistocene approximately 15,000 years before the present. The irregular and blocky echoes (3.5 KHz) reflected from canyon walls suggest that submarine mass movements appear to be responsible for the development of the Kaoping canyon. The triggering mechanism for the mass wasting processes is perhaps typhoons around southwest Taiwan.