This special publication Perspectives in Carbonate Geology is a collection of papers most of which were presented at a symposium to honor the 80th birthday of Bob Ginsburg at the meeting of Geological Society of America in Salt Lake City in 2005. The majority of the papers in this publication are connected with the study of modern carbonate sediments. Bob Ginsburg pioneered the concept of comparative sedimentology - that is using the modern to compare to and relate to and understand the ancient. These studies are concerned with Bob's areas of passion: coral reefs and sea-level;...