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Encyclopedia of Coastal Science pp 1–8Cite as

Offshore Sand Sheets

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Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series ((EESS))

Sands sheets are common features of modern-day, shallow seafloors. In addition, the ancient rock record contains numerous examples of sheet sandstones in both coastline and shallow marine open shelf associations (e.g., Goldring and Bridges 1973). The Cretaceous epicontinental interior seaway of North America, for example, contains extensive sand sheet deposits and has been the focus of intense research due to their petroleum-bearing nature (Brenner 1978; Walker 1983; Shurr 1984; Kreisa et al. 1986; Nummedal et al. 1989; Walker and Eyles 1990; Winn 1990). Modern sand sheets can also provide societal and economic benefits such as good quality beach nourishment sand, strategic minerals and ores, and productive marine habitat. On the other hand, the mobile sediments and bedforms associated with sand sheets can create navigation hazards and uncover buried cables and pipes. Despite their prevalence and importance, little is known about their geometry, bounding surfaces, dimensions, internal...

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  1. Environmental Studies Program, Randolph-Macon College, Ashland, VA, USA

    Michael S. Fenster

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  1. Michael S. Fenster
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Correspondence to Michael S. Fenster .

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  1. Coastal Education & Research Foundation, Fletcher, NC, USA

    Charles W. Finkl

  2. Coastal Education & Research Foundation , Coconut Creek, FL, USA

    Christopher Makowski

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Fenster, M.S. (2018). Offshore Sand Sheets. In: Finkl, C., Makowski, C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Coastal Science . Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48657-4_236-2

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