From swath bathymetry data and high-resolution acoustic profiles (TOPAS) several slides have been
imaged in the Alboran Ridge in the western Mediterranean. This submarine relief is the most prominent
morphological feature (> 130 km in length) in the Alboran Sea and its elongated SW-NE shape results is
enhanced from the recent convergence between the African and Eurasian plates. The identified gravitational
deposits show transparent and chaotic facies, and appear in depths ranging between 640 and 1810 m.
Occurrence of slides deposits along fault escarpments affecting the seafloor reveals that submarine instability
processes are mainly controlled by tectonics. Mass-transport deposits are generally composed by several
overhead lobes of sediments. These observations suggest collectively that instability processes are frequent
and may be related with faulting pulses. Instability processes represent therefore a geological risk in the
region that should be surveyed and analyzed in the future
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