Geology Of Siliciclastic Shelf Seas

Enormous progress has been made in our understanding of the geology, geophysics and sedimentology of continental shelves, largely due to the development and application of new concepts such as sequence stratigraphy and of new and powerful investigation techniques. The papers in this volume illustrate this progress. They are organised around four major themes: stratigraphy and sedimentary geology of siliciclastic shelves; modern siliciclastic shelves: architecture, sea level, tectonics and sediment supply; nearshore and coastal environments; new techniques in continental shelf research.

This is a presentation of some of the recent research activities and developments in the field of continental shelf geology. The book is organized around four major themes: stratigraphy and sedimentary geology of siliciclastic shelves; modern siliciclastic shelves - architecture, sea level, tectonics and sediment supply; nearshore and coastal environments; and new techniques in continental shelf research.

Siliciclastic shallow-marine deposits record the interface between land and sea, and its response to a variety of forcing mechanisms: physical process regime, the internal dynamics of coastal and shelfal depositional systems, relative sea level, sediment flux, tectonic setting, and climate. These deposits have long been the subject of conceptual stratigraphic models that seek to explain the interplay between these various forcing mechanisms, and their preservation in the stratigraphic record. This volume arose from an SEPM research conference on shoreline-shelf stratigraphy that was held in Grand Junction, Colorado, on August 24-28, 2004. The aim of the resulting volume is to highlight the development over the last 15 years of the stratigraphic concepts and models that are used to interpret siliciclastic marginal-marine, shallow-marine, and shelf deposits.

The world's continental shelves are the sites of vast resources of food, energy and minerals, the exploitation of which is continuously increasing. Fluctuating global sea levels throughout the Quaternary period produced multiple transgressive and regressive cycles that profoundly affected and shaped these shelves. The complex interactions among climate, sea level, tectonics, oceanography and sediment input have formed distinctive sediment packages on each shelf and provide a guide to the interpretation of older shelf sequences throughout the geological record. This Memoir compiles studies on 23 selected shelves from all the continents, focusing on their evolution and examining the patterns of sedimentation during the past approximately 125 000 years. In addition to providing basic background information for each area, the chapters consider specific aspects of continental shelf research, from seismic stratigraphy to geomorphology, from palaeoceanography to palaeo sea-level reconstruction and from palaeontology to geochemistry.

A lavishly illustrated textbook on sequence stratigraphy, supported by numerous learning features and supplementary website.