![submarine canyon submarine canyon](http://www.nwave.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/20000-leagyes-under-sea-nwave-film.png)
![submarine canyon submarine canyon](https://www.nespmarine.edu.au/sites/default/files/super%20canyons%201200px.jpg)
![submarine canyon submarine canyon](https://niwa.co.nz/sites/niwa.co.nz/files/styles/full_screen_feature/public/kaikoura-canyon-flushing.jpg)
The currents south of the Kaikōura Peninsula in particular form a complex flow structure, as warm water and cold water mix with the addition of inland water from the rivers. Mixing of these currents leads to the formation of offshore eddies, and some turbulence reaching to the depths of the Hikurangi Trench and Kaikōura Canyon. The boundary between these two ocean currents is known as a subtropical front. This ocean current, which is called the Southland Current in New Zealand, meets the subtropical East Cape Current, coming from the north, off Kaikōura. A subantarctic ocean current of surface water flows around the southern part of the South Island of New Zealand and moves northward to the east of the South Island to turn east into the open Pacific Ocean above the depths of the Hikurangi Trench. The upper 200 m (660 ft) of the ocean off the New Zealand coast typically consists of warm, saline and nutrient-poor subtropical surface water in the north, and cold, less saline but more nutrient-rich subantarctic surface water in the south. It is thought to be the sink for the coastal sediment transport system that carries large amounts of erosional debris northwards up the coast from the rivers draining the tectonically active mountains of the South Island. The Kaikōura Canyon is deeply incised into the narrow, tectonically active, continental margin and is the main sediment source of the 1,500 km (930 mi) long Hikurangi Channel, which supplies turbidites to the Hikurangi Trench, as well as to low parts of the oceanic Hikurangi Plateau, and to the edge of the southwest Pacific Basin. 5.2 Effects of the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake.5.1 Pre-2016 studies of landslide tsunami hazard.An estimated 850 million tonnes of sediment had flowed into deeper water, and a turbidity current travelled more than 600 km (370 mi) along the Hikurangi Channel. The abundant sealife in the canyon that had been identified in earlier studies had been severely affected by the landslide. Following the earthquake, it was found that a large submarine landslide had occurred. Prior to the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake, studies had indicated the likelihood of a submarine landslide in the canyon, potentially producing a hazardous tsunami for the nearby Kaikōura coastline. Studies of the Kaikōura Canyon have found that it is a highly productive ecosystem with 10 to 100 times the density of marine life found in other deep sea habitats.
![submarine canyon submarine canyon](https://www.bluehabitats.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Screen-Shot-2015-05-06-at-11.42.16.png)
Sperm whales can be seen close to the coast south of Goose Bay, because the deep water of the Kaikōura Canyon is only one kilometre (0.62 mi) off the shoreline in this area. At the head of the Kaikōura Canyon, the depth of water is around 30 metres (98 ft), but it drops rapidly to 600 metres (2,000 ft) and continues down to around 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) deep where it meets the Hikurangi Channel. The canyon descends into deep water and merges into an ocean channel system that can be traced for hundreds of kilometres across the deep ocean floor. It is 60 kilometres (37 mi) long, and is generally U-shaped. The Kaikōura Canyon is a geologically active submarine canyon located southwest of the Kaikōura Peninsula off the northeastern coast of the South Island of New Zealand.