Offshore tidal deposits: sand sheet and sand bank facies

Abstract

Sand deposits are the most significant products of strong modern offshore tidal current activity. The high porosity of these modern sands implies that their fossil analogues could be economically significant as reservoir rocks. Around the British Isles the associated tidal current gravels are usually only a few centimetres thick but as yet have been little studied. The associated muds are up to about 30 m thick and are potentially much more extensive than sands or gravels because of the large areas of continental shelf with relatively weak tidal currents. However, as shown below, mud deposits are much less of an indicator of tidal current sedimentation than the sands and gravels, and will not be treated in detail.