Variable downcanyon morphology controlling the recent activity of shelf-incised submarine canyons (Alboran Sea, western Mediterranean) Cerrillo Escoriza, Javier Lobo, Francisco José Puga Bernabeu, Ángel Bárcenas, Patricia Mendes, Isabel Pérez Asensio, José Noel Durán, Ruth Andersen, T. J. Carrión-Torrente, Álvaro García, Marga López-Quirós, Adrián Luján, María Mena, Anxo Sánchez Guillamón, Olga Sánchez, María José Submarine canyon Sediment analysis Underwater imagery This research was executed in the framework of the following projects: Alboran Shelf-Slope cOupling processes and deep sediMent trAnsfeR: Source To Sink approaches and implications for biodiversity–ALSSOMAR S2S (CTM2017-88237-P), funded by “Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad”, Spanish government, and Sediment gravity flows and ANthropogenic Impacts in a MEDiterranean deltaic-and-canyon environment: Causal relationships and consequences–SANIMED (PID2021-125489OB-I00) funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/FEDER, UE. This study is also part of Cerrillo-Escoriza's PhD project, supported by Grant PRE2018-084812 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and FSE “Invierte en tu future”. The authors wish to thank the captain and crew of R/V Sarmiento de Gamboa for their dedication and constant support for the execution of activities onboard, and to the participants of the ALSSOMAR-S2S expedition for their help during data acquisition. I.M. acknowledges to Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia for Research Assistant contracts DL57/2016/CP1361/CT0009, CEECINST/00052/2021/CP2792/CT0012 and projects UID/0350/2020 CIMA, LA/P/0069/2020ARNET. A.L.Q. is grateful for funding provided by FJC2021-047046-I (MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100 011033 and NextGenerationEU/PRTR). Jean Sanders conducted an extensive review of the English style of the manuscript. We thank to the guest editor Zhongyuan Chen, to Michele Rebesco and to an anonymous reviewer for helpful and constructive comments and suggestions that greatly improved the quality of the manuscript. This research aims to distinguish genetic sedimentary processes building canyon geomorphological patterns and the factors driving different sedimentary activities in two nearby Mediterranean shelf-incised submarine canyons (Carchuna and Motril) that exhibit different degrees of incision on the narrow margin of the northern Alboran Sea. The straight Carchuna Canyon incises the shelf up to 200 m off the coastline and exhibit steep canyon walls featuring narrow terraces, muddy sands with high contents of organic matter along the thalweg, and transported shelf benthic foraminifera in distal settings. The Motril Canyon head is wider and incises the shelf edge, ca. 2 km off the coastline. It exhibits a sinuous morphology and less steep walls, wider terraces, and higher sedimentation rates with muddy sediments along the thalweg. In both canyons, cross-section relief, width, incision, and area decrease downslope, although these parameters increase locally. The downslope variations of geomorphological parameters are attributed to enhanced erosional/depositional processes promoted by tectonically controlled abrupt changes of the axial channel orientation. The degree of shelf incision, the location of the canyon heads in relation with the local sediment sources, and the seasonally variable hydrodynamic regimes determine the different degrees of recent canyon activity. The Motril Canyon is interpreted as a mature system that reflects episodic activity, collecting fine-grained sediments from the nearby Guadalfeo River. The Carchuna Canyon exhibits a youthful developmental stage whose activity is more continuous and involves sediment trapping of littoral cells and continuous downslope sand transport. 2026-01-15T12:03:11Z 2026-01-15T12:03:11Z 2024-03-07 journal article Cerrillo-Escoriza, J. [et. al.] (2025). Variable downcanyon morphology controlling the recent activity of shelf-incised submarine canyons (Alboran Sea, western Mediterranean). Geomorphology Volume 453, 15 May 2024, 109127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2024.109127 1872-695X 0169-555X https://hdl.handle.net/10481/109752 10.1016/j.geomorph.2024.109127 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ open access Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internacional Elsevier