Abstract
Continental margins mark the transition between the oceans and the continents, and are traditionally defined as the region between the upper limit of the tidal range and the base of the continental slope. They extend from the coastal zone (presented in Chapter 8, “Shallow-water environments”) to the abyssal plains and basins (presented in Chapter 6, “Abyssal plains and polar seas”), and they are roughly divided into three regions: continental shelf, continental slope, and continental rise (Figure 7.1). Continental margins are the region on Earth where most of the sediments are deposited (as much as 90% of the sediment generated by erosion on land) (McCave, 2002). It is important, however, to recognize the long-term processes that led to their formation: in the past 1 million years, sea level has only been as high as now for less than 5% of the time, and for the past 7,000 years only (e.g., Thomsen et al., 2002). For the most part, continental shelves were developed sub-aerially by fluvial processes at a lower sea level (as much as 130m lower than now), and their features were smoothed off by wave action during the next sea level rises. For much of the last million years, sediments were fed more directly into the ocean basins, and these variations explain the wide variety of facies observed around the world (see Richards et al, 1998 or McCave, 2002 for more complete descriptions).
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7.7 Further Reading
About continental margins in general
EEZ-SCAN 87 Scientific Staff (1991). Atlas of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone: Atlantic Continental Margin, Miscellaneous Investigations Series, Vol. 1-2054. U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA, 174 pp.
Mienert, J.; and P. Weaver (Eds.) (2003). European Margin Sediment Dynamics: Sidescan Sonar and Seismic Images. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 309 pp.
Wefer G.; D. Billett; D. Hebbeln; B.B. Jørgensen; M. Schlüter; and T.C.E. van Weering (Eds.), Ocean Margin Systems. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 495 pp.
About submarine slides
Hodgson, D.M.; and S.S. Flint (Eds.) (2005). Submarine Slope Systems: Processes and Products, Special Publication No. 244. Geological Society, London, 225 pp.
Saxov, S.; and J.K. Nieuwenhuis (1982). Marine Slides and Other Mass Movements. Plenum Press, New York.
About brine pools
MEDINAUT/MEDINETH Shipboard Scientific Parties (2000). Linking Mediterranean brine pools and mud volcanism. EOS Trans. AGU, 81(51), 625, 631, 632.
Westbrook, G.K.; and the MEDRIFF Consortium (1995). Three brine lakes discovered in the seafloor of the Eastern Mediterranean. EOS Trans. AGU, 76(33), 313–318.
About pockmarks and seepages
Hovland, M.; and A.G. Judd (1988). Seabed Pockmarks and Seepages: Impact on Geology, Biology and the Marine Environment. Graham & Trotman, London, 293 pp.
About the sonar observation of biological activity
Hovland, M. (2008). Deep-water Coral Reefs: Unique Biodiversity Hotspots. Springer/Praxis, Heidelberg, Germany/Chichester, U.K., 278 pp.
Rao, V.P.; M. Veerayya; R.R. Nair; P.A. Dupeuble; and M. Lamboy (1994). Late Quaternary Halimeda bioherms and aragonitic faecal pellet-dominated sediments on the carbonate platform of the western continental shelf of India. Marine Geology, 121, 293–315.
About mud volcanism
Dimitrov, L.I. (2002). Mud volcanoes the most important pathway for degassing deeply buried sediments. Earth Sei. Rev., 59, 49–76.
Ivanov, M.K.; A.F. Limonov; and T.C.E. van Weering (1996). Comparative characteristics of the Black Sea and Mediterranean Ridge mud volcanoes. Marine Geology, 132, 253–271.
Milkov, A.V. (2000). Worldwide distribution of submarine mud volcanoes and associated gas hydrates. Marine Geology, 167, 29–42.
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Blondel, P. (2009). Continental margins. In: The Handbook of Sidescan Sonar. Springer Praxis Books. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-49886-5_7
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