Mineralogical Society Series – serie

This book covers a wide range of processes which govern the properties and evolution of the deep continental crust. The response of rocks to conditions of deep crustal metamorphism and the onset of melting is a fundamental part of large-scale geological history which researchers have only recently begun to understand in any detail. This book aims not only to document recent research on this important area of geology but also to explain current methods of investigation and the interpretation of results. The main aspects of petrology of high-grade, regional metamorphic rocks are covered as well as melting and fluid transport within the Earth's crust. Chapters on theoretical framework and relevant experiments are complemented by others on key regions illustrating high-grade metamorphism. These include Sri Lanka and central Australia, which are now being studied intensively for the first time, and the classic ground of the Adirondack Mountains in New York and the Lewisian of Scotland. The study of these areas is based largely on petrological lines but tectonic settings are also considered.As a guide to recent developments, the book is considered essential reading for research workers and students of geology and should provide an invaluable reference work for lecturers and a useful introduction for non-specialist geologists.

This volume addresses the fundamental factors that underlie current understanding of all aspects of mineral behaviour and crystal chemistry. It highlights the factors that determine the stability of minerals, including the quantum mechanical and atomic basis of structural stability, the thermodynamic and thermochemical properties of minerals and the chemical and physical limitations of mineral stability. The text also explores recent advances in supercomputing, which have enabled chemists and physicists to apply their understanding of bonding to model complex silicates.

Clay minerals play an important part in everyday life. They are used by petroleum engineers to make up drilling muds and in waste disposal to isolate tips from the surrounding environment. Clay minerals occur naturally within petroleum reservoirs and can cause extraction problems; they can also influence the behaviour of geothermal power systems. This book contains selected research and review chapters which deal with theoretical and applied aspects of clay minerals. The four review chapters cover the geochemical characterization of porous solids and aggregates using synchroton radiation techniques, the phenomenon of overpressuring, primary global distributions of clay minerals, and the use of clays as barriers in waste disposal. Examples of how current research bears on current problems vary from computer simulation of the atomic structure of clays at the molecular level, through to experimental studies of clay mineral stability in surface and diagenetic environments to evidence for clay-fluid reactions in natural mudrocks and chemical studies of pore waters from clay sequences and adjacent to radioactive waste disposal sites.This interdisciplinary book aims to provide the opportunity for geochemists and mineralogists to learn about applications of their work within a number of different fields. It should provide a valuable source of information for senior undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as acting as a useful reference book for more experienced scientists.

This advanced text provides an overview of the rapidly developing field of mineral surface science. Each chapter, written by acknowledged experts, comprises a completely up-to-date review of an aspect of the investigation into the character and reaction of mineral surfaces. Theoretical concepts and experimental techniques are explained and illustrated, and the present-day status of the science is revealed. These chapters aim to introduce the topic covered, as well as provide a detailed insight into the current developments in the study of mineral surfaces. The surfaces of minerals can now be studied at the molecular level, enabling understanding of the fundamentals of phenomena such as: the breakdown of minerals; sorption of species including metals on minerals surface; and the role of minerals as catalysts. Such phenomena are central to an understanding of many processes taking place at the surface of the Earth, whether natural or resulting from human activity. They are also central to many industrial processes in the fields of mineral extraction and industrial mineral chemistry.This book should be of interest to advanced undergraduates and postgraduates in mineralogy, soil science, catalysis and solid state chemistry, and materials science; and technologists in the minerals industry chemical industry and environmental industry.

This text presents a current overview of this geologically and industrially important group of minerals. It brings together selected papers and some additional contributions based on the conference "Rare Earth Minerals: Chemistry, Origin and Ore Deposits" held at the National History Museum in April 1993. This book should be of interest to postgraduates and researchers in applied mineralogy and economic geology.

This work brings together review and research articles united by the theme of deformation-enhanced fluid transport, with the aim of emphasizing the many common roots of this important body of work. Subjects covered include the movement of basaltic melts in the mantle; the segregation, ascent and emplacement of granitic melts in the crust; the flow through the crust of volatile fluids produced during metamorphic events; and the movement of aqueous fluids through fractured rocks near the Earth's surface. The book should appeal to all geoscientists interested in the movement of fluids through the Earth. It should prove a useful reference work for those working in the field and provide an introduction to this wide-ranging and rapidly evolving area of research for non-specialists.

30% discount for members of The Mineralogical Society of Britain and IrelandThis volume addresses the fundamental factors that underlie our understanding of mineral behaviour and crystal chemistry - a timely topic given current advances in research into the complex behaviour of solids and supercomputing.

This monograph has its origins in a two-day meeting with the same title held in London, England in the spring of 1987. The idea for the meeting came from members of the UK Mineral and Rock Physics Group. It was held under the auspices of, and made possible by the generous support of, the Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Additional financial assistance was provided by ECC International pIc and the Cookson Group pIc. The aims of the London meeting were to survey the current state of knowledge about deformation processes in non-metallic materials and to bring together both experts and less experienced Earth scientists and ceramicists who normally had little contact but shared common interests in deformation mechanisms. This monograph has similar aims and, indeed, most of its authors were keynote speakers at the meeting. Consequently, most of the contributions contain a review element in addition to the presentation and discussion of new results. In adopting this format, the editors hope that the monograph will provide a valuable state-of-the-art sourcebook, both to active researchers and also to graduate students just starting in the relevant fields.