Shelf sand banks and linear sand ridges are found on numerous modern and ancient continental shelves where sufficient sand exists and currents are strong enough to transport sand-sized sediment (Off, 1963; Snedden and Dalrymple, 1999; Dyer and Huntley, 1999). Sand banks and linear sand ridges are defined as all elongate coastal to shelf sand bodies that form bathymetric highs on the seafloor and are characterized by a closed bathymetric contour (Figure O3). Other terms used to refer to these specific bathymetric features include linear shoals, shoreface ridges, shoreface-attached or detached ridges, shoreface-connected or disconnected ridges, tidal current ridges, and banner banks.
Example of shore-oblique shelf sand ridges, each characterized by a closed bathymetric contour. The Fort Pierce sand ridge field is located south of Cape Canaveral along the east coast of Florida, USA (from McBride and Moslow, 1991with permission from Coastal Science). Orientations of other...
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Cross-references
Coastal Currents
Continental Shelves
Estuaries
Offshore Sand Sheets
Sediment Transport (see Cross-Shore Sediment Transport and Longshore Sediment Transport)
Shelf Processes
Storm Surge
Tidal Inlets
Tides
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McBride, R.A. (2005). Offshore Sand Banks and Linear Sand Ridges. In: Schwartz, M.L. (eds) Encyclopedia of Coastal Science. Encyclopedia of Earth Science Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-3880-1_235
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