Siliclastic margins record terrestrial and oceanographic conditions

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Sediments of the continental margin contain a geologic record of climate and sea level as well as variations in tectonics, sediment source/transport, and postdepositional environment. Increased attention is focusing on coastal environments as societal needs demand that scientists address such wide‐ranging problems as land and coastal erosion, and the flux and fate of anthropogenic inputs to coastal seas. Despite these efforts, however, our ability to understand and predict sedimentary processes in marginal seas and adjacent land masses remains inadequate. Given the future prospects of flat or declining funding for marine geoscience, we must define our knowledge and ignorance of coastal and nearshore environments if we are to address their scientific and societal challenges.