The international scientific community has already identified the deep structure and the processes of rifting processes, sedimentation and fluid flow at ocean margins as high priority tragets that need to be addressed in the immediate future. Furthermore, the hydrocarbons industry regards deep-water rifted margins as one of the few remaining exploration frontiers for the production of oil and gas. During the past few years, there has been renewed interest by the scientific community in the processes that are occurring at ocean margins. The interactive nature and complexity of these processes has been recognised as has the need for interdisciplinary and multi-national collaborative studies to address them. Furthermore, societal interest in ocean margins has increased.
Some margins are the habitat for major reserves of oil and gas.
Others have been the site of earthquakes which in some cases have ruptured the entire crust and triggered large-scale failures on the continental shelf and slope. Since a large percentage of the world's population lives within a short distance of the coastal zone, ocean margins are prone to major natural hazards. This network was approved by the ESF Executive Council in June 1999 for a two-year period.