This chapter presents an overview of the large diversity of processes and principal factors that control hemipelagic advection and periplatform settling and determines the character and distribution of the resulting deep-sea sediments. River discharge, dust load, or sea ice and icebergs are the main sediment carriers, which supply sediment onto the shelves. There, complex processes of differential dispersal, bypassing, or resuspension and redeposition affect the sedimentary materials before they are finally transferred to the continental margins. Therefore, shelves may act as major filters as well as conduits for siliciclastic-sediment transfer into the deep sea. Off-shelf transport of carbonate-platform materials is mainly achieved by storms or wind- and tide-driven advection and can be temporarily forced by density cascading and geostrophic currents.