Continental terraces hold clues to the generation and preservation of the stratigraphic record

Abstract

Multiple frequency, overlapping geometry (or “nested”) seismic images offer an unprecedented opportunity to study how geological processes create and preserve shelf/slope stratigraphy. Multifrequency seismic coverage, including multibeam backscatter/swath bathymetry (Figure 1), has been collected at two continental margin “natural laboratories,” New Jersey and northern California, which are each characterized by distinctive suites of depositional processes.