About this Research Topic

Background

The continental margin is a critical area connecting the deep-sea basin and the continent, and its sedimentation process is closely related to the input of terrestrial materials, seabed topography, inland climatic conditions, and marine environment. Therefore, sediments on the continental margin can effectively record the environmental evolution both in the terrestrial source area and in the marine depositional area. The continental margin is also the main location for the mineralization of organic matter, accompanied by a complex biogeochemical cycle process, which affects the global material and energy cycle. Therefore, the study of different types of continental marginal sediments is of great scientific significance for a better understanding of the earth's surface process and the evolution of the earth's environment in deep time.

Different types of continental margins have different sedimentary and diagenetic processes. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct comparative studies on specific types of continental margins, such as the broad shelf fed by the large East Asian rivers and the narrow shelf supplied by the mountainous rivers of East Africa. Because of the difference in research level, our understanding of different types of continental marginal sedimentation is not enough. We need to further integrate the research results of different geological backgrounds and different time scales to form a new understanding and improve the knowledge system of sedimentation on global continental margins.

The purpose of this topic is to comprehensively compare the deposition process and related biogeochemical processes on the continental margin at different times and spaces. This topic welcomes all manuscripts related to continental marginal deposition, including modern sedimentary dynamics and biogeochemical processes, geological records, and predictions of future sedimentation on continental margins. Especially welcome the in-depth study of representative sedimentation type on a certain continental margin to form a new research paradigm. Therefore, original, perspective and review papers are welcome. We welcome submissions in the following themes, but not limited to:

1) Sedimentation dynamics, source-sink processes, and numerical simulations of different types of continental margins，
2) Biogeochemical cycles in sediments on the continental margins (such as C-S-Fe);
3) The response modes of different types of continental marginal sedimentation to tectonic activities, paleoclimate and paleocean evolution，
4) The impact and assessment of human activities and global changes on continental marginal sedimentation，
5) New indicators and methods for the reconstruction of continental marginal sedimentary and diagenetic processes.

Keywords: continental margin, sedimentary process, paleoclimate, paleoceanography, human activities

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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