A coupled system of gravity tectonics and mass wasting processes in the Amazon Deep-sea Fan

Gravitational deformation affects the entire marine sequences of the Foz do Amazonas basin, including the Amazon Deep-sea Fan. During different stages of the margin’s evolution, the sedimentary loading and bathymetric slope induced the formation of a linked extensional-compressional system, with remarkable foldand- thrust belts running along the margin down to about 2100 m water depths, gliding on decollement surfaces. Gravity-related sea-floor relief can trigger slope failures along fold-and-thrust belts, leading to tectonically-induced mass movement deposits in the upper/middle Amazon fan, evidencing a sequential and long-lasting linking between gravitational collapse modes of deformation and mass movement.