Some special features of the shelf's edge

Abstract

Some special features of morphostructure and morphosculpture are discussed which are typical of the shelf's edge, that is of the transitional zone from the continental shelf to the continental slope. Morphometrical data on the shelf's edge depth are summarized from many regions of the ocean and used as a basis of the edges' classification, various edges distribution is assessed on shelves differing in morphostructure. Some features of the edge's mesorelief are discussed; they are considered to be morphosculptural characteristics of the ocean floor zone under consideration. The most distinct in morphostructure are edges of the so-called glacial shelves, while edges of oceanic shelves differ essentially from those of internal seas on the morphosculpture.