Sediment gravity flows are major agents that deliver terrestrial sediments into the deep oceans. The erosion and deposition of sediment gravity flows shape the continental margins with canyons/gullies, channels and submarine fans, for examples. Understanding the flow processes and depositional successions of sediment gravity flows are vital for studying the deep-sea environments and for deep-water hydrocarbon exploration. In Taiwan, exposed passive-margin and deep-water turbidites are found in the South and SE part of the Central Range and in the Hengchun Peninsula, featuring turbidites deposited in the Middle to Late Miocene South China Sea continental slope and submarine fans. The Pliocene-Pleistocene coarse-grained turbidites in the Coastal Range, by contrast, were accumulated in the deformed and accreted forearc basin. The stratigraphic architecture and depositional processes for the exposed turbidites are not well understood, however. In the meantime, Taiwan government has been actively exploring gas hydrates offshore SW Taiwan, where deep-sea turbidites are major gas-hydrate reservoirs. The oil industry has recently begun to explore conventional hydrocarbons in the deep sea offshore SW Taiwan both in the accretionary wedge and in the rifted South China Sea continental margin.

Recent earthquakes and onshore floods in Taiwan also triggered various turbidity currents that brought about a few episodes of submarine cable breakages, leading to disruptions of global internet communications. An understanding of deep-water turbidites and flow processes for sediment gravity flows is therefore essential for academia, oil industry, and the government to explore the deep-water areas and to mitigate possible geo-hazards. A one-day workshop on Processes and Products of Deep-Sea Sediment Gravity Flows is scheduled with an aim to bring together geo-scientists and hydrocarbon explorers to exchange ideas on deep-water sedimentation and flow processes.