Geological characterization of the Galicia Bank Region (Atlantic Ocean, NW Iberia): The marine geology communityʹs response to the Prestige disaster

The geological characterization of the Galicia Bank Region, in the NW Iberian continental margin (Atlantic Ocean) was the marine geology communityʹs response to the environmental risk posed by the sinking and oil spill of the Prestige tanker. This special volume of Marine Geology is a collection of papers that address themes of general interest for marine geohazard determination and assessment. A variety of topics associated with morphology, stratigraphy, sedimentology, tectonism and seismicity were considered in order to define the geohazards at the location of the Prestige wreck, which still has oil in its tanks. These studies have also served to provide greater detail and high-resolution datasets on the geological evolution of the Galicia Bank Region in general, and particularly its SW flank.