The shore-normal transport of fine-grained sediments by shelf turbidity currents has been the focus of intense debate over the last 20 years. Many have argued that turbidity currents are unlikely to be a major depositional agent on the shelf. However, sedimentological, architectural, stratigraphic and palaeogeographic data from the Campanian Aberdeen Member, Book Cliffs, eastern Utah suggests otherwise and clearly demonstrates that storm-generated and river flood-generated underflows can transport a significant volume of fine-grained sediments across the shelf. These across-shelf flowing turbidity currents cut large subaqueous channel complexes up to 7 m deep, tens of kilometres basinward of their time-equivalent shoreface. The shelf [...]
