Seafloor instabilities and sediment deformation processes: The need for integrated, multi-disciplinary investigations

It is of critical importance to be able to identify the different processes which can lead to hazardous situations which include establishing recurrence intervals (timing and frequencies, through event recognition and age control) and magnitudes, so that proper mitigation measures can be developed. In this perspective, the smaller-scale instabilities deserve much attention, as there are many instances where such features had far-reaching consequences for society (e.g., Nice, Finneidfjord). In that perspective, human interferences (e.g., exploitation, drilling, blasting, loading) must be one of the factors that should be taken into consideration.