Torsten Bickert Zentrum fu¨r Marine Umweltwissenschaften, Universita¨t Bremen, Germany
Steven N. Carey Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, Narragansett,
Rhode Island, USA Jean-Claude Fauge`res Universite´ de Bordeaux, UMR CNRS 5805 EPOC, Talence Cedex, France
Rudiger Henrich Department of Sedimentology and Paleoceanography, Faculty of Geosciences, University of Bremen, klagenfurter Straße, Bremen, and Fachbereich Geowissenschaften, Universita¨t Bremen, Germany
Reinhard Hesse Earth and Planetary Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

The Gres d'Annot (Annot Sandstone) Formation of SE France includes some of the world's best exposures of sandy turbidites and has been the source of highly influential models of turbidite system development. This formation is now considered as a model example of a tectonically-controlled confined turbiditic ramp, and the Gres d'Annot outcrops constitute a classic area for academic and industrial field courses on deep-water gravity flow deposits. From the early 1930s, the focus of research on these extensive exposures has moved progressively from lithostratigraphy and structural interpretation to sedimentology, seismic-scale architecture of turbidite bodies, evaluation of tectonic controls, and more recently to detailed characterization of the turbidite units as hydrocarbon reservoir analogues <...>

This volume is derived from the 13th meeting on Deformation Mechanisms, Rheology and Tectonics (DRT2003). The meeting was held in St Malo (Brittany, France) in April 2003, and organized by an informal group from Gdosciences Rennes (UMR 6118 CNRS, Rennes University), including Michel Ballbvre, St6phane Bonnet, Arlette Falaise, Olivier Galland, Fr6d6ric Gueydan, Charles Gumiaux, Benjamin Le Bayon, Alain-Herv6 Le Gall, Monique Le Moigne, Sylvie Schueller, and C61ine Tirel. It was sponsored by the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Rennes University, the ity of Rennes, the Conseil G6n6ral d'Ille et Vilaine, and the R6gion Bretagne. Forty-eight reviewers have worked hard to improve the papers. We thank these persons and institutions for their contributions.

Deltas, with their economic, political and scientific importance, have long fascinated and attracted Man's attention. The term 'delta' was coined by Herodotus in approximately 450 Bc for the triangular-shaped sedimentary body at the mouth of the River Nile. Today, the concept of a delta, its morphology and its controlling processes, are almost as numerous as the people who work on such systems.
This volume, of 23 papers on many aspects of modern and ancient deltaic sedimentary systems, will be useful to researchers as well as teachers and students alike. The well-balanced content of the book should prove particularly attractive.to those who seek a detailed state-of-the-science overview of this large and ever-expanding subject area. <...>