About

Matan Elad is a PhD candidate in the Applied Marine Exploration Lab.

He graduated his B.Sc. in Geology and environmental sciences from the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in 2012. Matan joined the research group in 2014, for his master’s under the supervision of Dr. Makovsky and Dr. Bookman. Matan Elad’s master research ‘The timing and sedimentology of the Goliath slide: A new perspective on the evolution of a recent slide complex, offshore Israel’ investigated the stratigraphy and sedimentary structures of the Goliath slide complex, with special attention to climatic changes that may have preconditioned the slide events.

His research interests include deep-sea depositional systems, interaction of downslope and alongslope processes, geomorphology of continental margins and polygonal faults.

The impact of polygonal fault systems on deep-sea sedimentary processes: a case study from the western Demerara Rise margin, offshore Suriname

The study addresses the interaction of polygonal fault systems with deep-sea sedimentary processes and the role they play in the morphological evolution of continental margins. In particular it aims to identify the influence of polygonal fault systems on the formation of slope accommodation and preferential sedimentary pathways along the western Demerara Rise margin, offshore Suriname. The Demerara Rise is a prominent geomorphological feature with high relief that can either be the source of sediment gravity flows or can act as an obstacle for currents flowing along the slope direction.

The proposed hypothesis of this research is that polygonal fault systems exert a significant impact on along-slope processes by causing preferential erosion and deposition adjacent to individual faults.

This study uses a high-quality 3D seismic dataset covering an area of ~3320 km2, from the edge of the Rise to the base of slope region. A seismic stratigraphic and structural study, including multi-attribute analysis, seismic facies classification and quantitative characterization of polygonal fault systems.

Preliminary results show that the Cenozoic sedimentary succession is divided into three primary sediment packages that correspond to marked changes in depositional environments.