Morphology of the Sea Floor within the EEZ off Visakhapatnam - Kakinada Coast, Bay of Bengal

The bathymetry contours show that the morphological features of shelf and slope off Visakhapatnam coast are mainly due to erosion and local deposition, while those of Godavari delta are due to high rate of deposition. Features such as terraces, pinnacles and ridges on the continental shelf at different depths are inferred to be vestiges of palaeostrand lines caused by sea level changes during the Pleistocene/Holocene period. The mass wasting near the shelf break off Godavari River could have led to the levelling up of the rise area with the slope giving rise to a smooth and cancave surface. The dissected topography of the northeastern part of the continental slope is inferred to be the effect of erosion and mass movement due to turbidity currents. The abyssal plain is influenced both by the peninsular rivers draining into the area as also by the Bengal Fan. The bathymetric surveys in abyssal plain delineated the boundary between western sedimentary basin influenced by peninsular river sediment and the eastern sedimentary basin having Bengal Fan sediment. The channels and valleys observed on the eastern side of this boundary are the continuation of Bengal Fan channels.