Late Quaternary mud‐dominated, basin‐floor sedimentation of the Gulf of Corinth, Greece: Implications for deep‐water depositional processes and controls on syn‐rift sedimentation

Syn-rift deep-water muds and mudstones preserve a relatively complete stratigraphic record of tectonic climatic events. This paper investigates mud-dominated deposits stratigraphy using core from International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 381 sites M0078 M0079 in the Gulf Corinth, Greece. Millimetre-scale logging defined several bed types: homogeneous laminated mud beds, bioturbated variety graded rare matrix-supported conglomerates slumps. Homogeneous light grey to black deposition distal, waning low density turbidity currents terminal mud-rich quasi-laminar or laminar plug flows. Graded interpreted as turbidites, range beds millimetre few centimetres with silt fine sand bases, metre-scale coarser pebble bases. Conglomerate slumped cohesive debris flows, transitional flows slope failure. Three stratal package types are distinguished: bioturbated, bedded laminated, recording distinct hydrological conditions. Bioturbated packages interglacial marine conditions well oxygenated waters. Bedded hemipelagic processes energy underflows mainly dysoxic, stratified, lacustrine setting (glacial phases). In packages, white mm-scale laminae calcite aragonite varved, sediments demonstrating seasonal variability dysoxic non-marine setting. Rift is linked eustatically controlled connections global ocean across rift segment boundaries. The ~780 330 ka succession dominated by thin slumps, suggesting high sills, making brief prolonged. ~330 present shows developed separated transitions well-developed due lower sills. Results indicate that structurally boundaries exert first-order control on syn-rift evolution, fault growth linkage driving intra-rift facies sequence variability.