Gravity-driven sediment flows can be important mechanisms for transporting sediments and solutes rapidly across continental margins, and therefore may have important impacts on benthic ecosystems and geochemical cycling. Also, infrastructure damage can result from these events, as was the case when mudflow activity during Hurricane Ivan in fall 2004 caused pipeline damage (U.S. Minerals Management Service (MMS) press release on 8 October 2004; httpc//www.mms.gov/ooc/press/2004/press1008a.htm).