SEDIMENTARY ENVIRONMENTS/Contourites 521 Figure Seismic profiles showing a separated drift close to the Marion Platform margin (A) and a mounded drift complex, with location of some ODP leg 194 sites Adapted from Shipboard Scientific Party (2002) Leg 194 summary, In: Isern AR, Anselmetti FS, Blum P, et al (eds.), Proc ODP, Initial Reports, Vol 194 Available from: http://www odp.tamu.edu/publications/194_IR/chap_01/ chap_01.htm margin of the toe of slumps developed beneath the path of a bottom current, and generally shows moderate relief and extent, variable shape, and downcurrent progradation A ‘fault-controlled drift’ is characterized by a certain influence in its development from faulting This recent addition lacks many well-documented examples and is too little known to allow any generalization regarding deposit geometry and bottom current nature However, it appears to develop either at the base or at the top of a fault-generated basement relief in response to perturbations in the bottom current flow pattern A supplementary characteristic may be (subsequently reactivated) syndepositional faulting that affects the relatively steeper side of such drifts ‘Mixed drift systems’ are characterized by the interactions of alongslope currents with other depositional processes The most effective interplay is between contourites and turbidites, but drift development may be variously affected by the association with debrite, hemipelagite, and glacigenic systems On the basis of a large variety of different types of interactions (interfingering, intercalation, imbrication, incorporation, winnowing, entrainment, etc.), a wide assortment of terms has been adopted, including: companion drift-fan, fandrift, levee-drift, composite slope-front fan, etc Seismic Characteristics Although much progress has been made in determining the combination of criteria that best represent contourite deposits, seismic data without additional supporting evidence should not be used to make a firm identification of contourites This is especially true when contourites are closely interbedded with other deep-water sediment facies (e.g., turbidites, hemipelagites, debrites, or glacigenic deposits) In addition, the vital information derived from detailed bathymetric images (either by multibeam or 3D