Abstract
Abstract Channels on continental shelves supply much of the large volume of sediments found in submarine fans. Modern and ancient examples are known, but few have been studied in detail. Shelf channels may form from retrogressive mass failures initiated on the continental slope or on the shelf itself, from erosion by semi-permanent or intermittent shelf currents, or from erosion initiated at sites of sediment spillover along the shelf break. Channel-filling sediments are generally coarser than laterally contiguous facies and commonly include mud-deficient permeable rocks which are capable of acting as reservoirs. Because the shelf channel-submarine canyon-submarine fan system taps a wide range of potential hydrocarbon source rocks—muds of the basin floor, slope, and distal shelf—the shelf channels are highly likely petroleum conduits and may form traps.
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