SEDIMENTARY ENVIRONMENTS/Contourites 519 Figure Sediment drift types and inferred bottom current paths Adapted from Rebesco M and Stow DAV (2001) Seismic expression of contourites and related deposits: A preface, In: Rebesco M and Stow DAV (eds.) Seismic expression of contourites and related deposits, Marine Geophysical Researches 22: 303 308, with kind permission of Kluwer Academic Publishers; and: Stow DAV, Fauge`res JC, Howe J, Pudsey CJ, and Viana A (2002) Bottom currents, contourites and deep sea sediment drifts: Current state of the art, in: Stow DAV, Fauge`res JC, Howe J, Pudsey CJ, and Viana A (eds.) Deep Water Contourite Systems: Modern Drifts and Ancient Series, Seismic and Sedimentary Characteristics, Geological Society, London, Memoir 22: 20, with permission b A ‘detached drift’ is removed (detached) from that part of the continental slope where it originally enucleated and has oppositely directed currents flowing along its two flanks It is generated by the interaction of the bottom current with a distinct current system or with a prominent change in the slope orientation, and as a consequence in plain view it generally has an arched shape produced by the dominant downslope progradation A ‘channel-related drifts’ is characterized by its relationships with narrow conduits (deep channels, gateways, trenches, moats, etc.) where bottom currents are constricted and drastically accelerated In addition to significant erosion/nondeposition, two quite distinct types of channel-related drift may develop: a A drift deposited within the conduits, either as axial mounds on the floor or as lateral sheets on the flanks of the channel, is known as a ‘patch drift’ (though this name may cause confusion with patch drifts unrelated to channels) and ‘subsidiary drift’, where it occurs within the moat, separating a giant elongated drift