This volume has evolved from papers written in memory of Professor David Roberts. They summarize the key findings of recent research on passive margins, from tectonics, bathymetry, stratigraphy and sedimentation, structural evolution and magmatism. Papers include analyses of the central and southern Atlantic margins of South America and Africa, papers on magmatism and extension in the NE Brazilian margin and on the Cote de Ivoire margin, rift architectures of the NW Red Sea margin, tectonics of the eastern Mediterranean margin, salt tectonics of passive margins of the Gulf of Mexico and Brazil, and papers on the NW Shelf margin of Australia. The volume provides readers with new insights into the complexities of passive margin systems that are in reality, not so passive.

Understanding the structure and nature of movements within the Earth's crust has become increasingly important as we try to understand the history of the Earth and try to use this knowledge as a key to events in the future. This is especially relevant to those everincreasing communities populating the edges of the Pacific Ocean. This collection of papers deals with the tectonic modelling and evolution in some of the most seismically active regions in the world. Structural and stratigraphical analysis, together with geophysical, petrological and geochemical data give us some insight into tectonic events from the past and how they affected ancient landforms, and gives us a clearer understanding of earth movements and, therefore, allows us to predict catastrophic events such as earthquakes with greater accuracy.