Straits and seaways: controls, processes and implications in modern and ancient systems

Straits and seaways are connections between basins, key areas for exchange and transfer of water, heat, biota and sediments, and they can influence regional and global climate. A better understanding of strait/seaway dynamics, their evolution and preserved deposits is, therefore, fundamental to reconstructing the palaeoecology, palaeogeography and stratigraphy of interconnected basins. Straits and seaways are also important for understanding climate dynamics in Earth's past, and for safely exploiting energy resources (fossil and renewable). This volume aims at improving the knowledge on this topic, and at providing a comprehensive collection of state-of-the-art works bringing together complementary disciplines. Even though studies on modern and ancient straits and seaways exist, they are not necessarily conceived towards a better geological understanding of these features as depositional systems in their own right. In this introduction, we emphasize the geological importance of straits and seaways, summarizing the content and key findings of the contributions on this topic. The articles included in this volume explore four main research themes related to straits and seaways: (1) occurrence and classification; (2) morphological features, facies and stratigraphic variability, sedimentary processes and dynamics; (3) tectonic and climatic controls, their feedback with climate changes; and (4) palaeogeographical reconstructions and preservation of associated deposits.