An introduction to the thin section description and interpretation of metamorphic rocks, their textures, and microstructures, for advanced undergraduate and graduate geology students. Sections cover some of the broader aspects of metamorphism and metamorphic rocks, the basics of description and interpretation of the textural/microstructural features from the simplest to the more complex, and advanced interpretations in polydeformed and polymetamorphosed rocks. Also available in paper (02414-2), $29.95. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

A text which aims to help undergraduate students in geology to recognize and interpret metamorphic textures and microstructures in thin-section. For lecturers and postgraduates in geology and petrology, the book provides reference for the interpretation of metamorphic rocks.

There has been a great advance in the understanding of processes of meta morphism and of metamorphic rocks since the last edition of this book appeared. Methods for determining temperatures and pressures have become almost routine, and there is a wide appreciation that there is not a single temperature and pressure of metamorphism, but that rocks may preserve, in their minerals, chemistry and textures, traces of their history of burial, heating, deformation and permeation by fluids. However, this excit ing new knowledge is still often difficult for non-specialists to understand, and this book, like the first edition, aims at enlightenment. I have concen trated on the interpretation of the plate tectonic settings of metamorphism, rather than following a geochemical approach. Although there is an impress ive degree of agreement between the two, I believe that attempting to discover the tectonic conditions accompanying rock recrystallization will more readily arouse the interest of the beginner. I have used a series of case histories, as in the first edition, drawing on my own direct experience as far as possible. This m~ns that some subjects are treated in more detail than others, and many important topics are barely mentioned at all. It also means that general concepts appear in a rather haphazard order in the text. To help my readers, I have provided a glossary of definitions of terms used in the book, which are indicated in bold type in the text.

A major international text for intermediate and advanced students of metamorphic petrology.

The first edition of this book was published in 1965 and its French translation in 1966. The revised second edition followed in 1967 and its Russian translation became available in 1969. Since then, many new petrographic observations and experimental data elucidat ing reactions in metamorphic rocks have made a new approach in the study of metamorphic transformation desirable and possible. It is felt that this new approach, attempted in this book, leads to a better unders tanding of rock metamorphism. The concept of metamorphic facies and subfacies considers asso ciations of mineral assemblages from diverse bulk compositions as characteristic of a certain pressure-temperature range. As new petrographic observations accumulated, it became increasingly difficult to accommodate this information within a manageable framework of metamorphic facies and subfacies. Instead, it turned out that mineral assemblages due to reactions in common rocks of a particular composi tion provide suitable indicators of metamorphic conditions. Metamorphic zones, defined on the basis of mineral reactions, very effectively display the evolution of metamorphic rocks. Thus the im portance ofreactions in metamorphic rocks is emphasized. Experimen tal calibration of mineral reactions makes it possible to distinguish reac tions which are of petrogenetic significance from those which are not. This distinction provides guidance in petrographic investigations un dertaken with the object of deducing the physical conditions of metamorphism.

The first edition of this book was published in 1965 and its French translation in 1966. The revised second edition followed in 1967 and its Russian translation became available in 1969. Since then, many new petrographic observations and experimental data elucidat ing reactions in metamorphic rocks have made a new approach in the study of metamorphic transformation desirable and possible. It is felt that this new approach, attempted in this book, leads to a better unders tanding of rock metamorphism. The concept of metamorphic facies and subfacies considers asso ciations of mineral assemblages from diverse bulk compositions as characteristic of a certain pressure-temperature range. As new petrographic observations accumulated, it became increasingly difficult to accommodate this information within a manageable framework of metamorphic facies and subfacies. Instead, it turned out that mineral assemblages due to reactions in common rocks of a particular composi tion provide suitable indicators of metamorphic conditions. Metamorphic zones, defined on the basis of mineral reactions, very effectively display the evolution of metamorphic rocks. Thus the im portance ofreactions in metamorphic rocks is emphasized. Experimen tal calibration of mineral reactions makes it possible to distinguish reac tions which are of petrogenetic significance from those which are not. This distinction provides guidance in petrographic investigations un dertaken with the object of deducing the physical conditions of metamorphism."

The first edition of this book was published in 1965 and its French translation in 1966. The revised second edition followed in 1967 and its Russian translation became available in 1969. Since then, many new petrographic observations and experimental data elucidat ing reactions in metamorphic rocks have made a new approach in the study of metamorphic transformation desirable and possible. It is felt that this new approach, attempted in this book, leads to a better unders tanding of rock metamorphism. The concept of metamorphic facies and subfacies considers asso ciations of mineral assemblages from diverse bulk compositions as characteristic of a certain pressure-temperature range. As new petrographic observations accumulated, it became increasingly difficult to accommodate this information within a manageable framework of metamorphic facies and subfacies. Instead, it turned out that mineral assemblages due to reactions in common rocks of a particular composi tion provide suitable indicators of metamorphic conditions. Metamorphic zones, defined on the basis of mineral reactions, very effectively display the evolution of metamorphic rocks. Thus the im portance of reactions in metamorphic rocks is emphasized. Experimen tal calibration of mineral reactions makes it possible to distinguish reac tions which are of petrogenetic significance from those which are not. This distinction provides guidance in petrographic investigations un dertaken with the object of deducing the physical conditions of metamorphism."

Metamorphic rocks make up the largest volume of the Earth. They systematically change their mineralogical composition as a result of tecto-thermal events. The outstanding feature of the 7th edition of this book is the large number of phase diagrams showing the stability relations among minerals and groups of minerals found in metamorphic rocks. The diagrams help to determine the pressure and temperature conditions under which a given collected set of metamorphic rocks may have formed. More than half of the chapters have been completely rewritten or revised. All figures have been edited and improved and recent advances in the field such as multiequilibria thermobarometry and pseudosections were incorporated in the text. The bibliography has been revised and extended, new research publications have also been included. Graduate students will find in depth information on the origin, significance and genesis of metamorphic rocks.