Demonstrating the multidisciplinary approach currently used to understand Jurassic magmatism and tectonics in western North America, 19 papers report a wealth of new data in the fields of structural geology, igneous petrology and isotope geochemistry, geochronology, sedimentology, and volcanology. T

"In this well-illustrated book, Hildebrand expands upon his model for the development of the North American Cordillera detailed in Special paper 457. Starting with an overview of Cordilleran geology he goes on to provide an in depth look at how the Rubian ribbon continent was assembled. He integrates the complex geology of the Cordillera into an actualistic model involving arc magmatism, arc-continent collision, slab failure magmatism, and transcurrent motion in both Rubia and the western North American margin. While much of the focus is on the assembly of the Rubian ribbon continent, Hildebrand explores its interactions with North America during the Sevier and Laramide events and concludes that North America was the lower plate in both"--Provided by publisher.

In this Special Paper, Hildebrand and Whalen present a big-picture, paradigm-busting synthesis that examines the tectonic setting, temporal relations, and geochemistry of many plutons within Cretaceous batholithic terranes of the North American Cordillera. In addition to their compelling tectonic synthesis, they argue that most of the batholiths are not products of arc magmatism as commonly believed, but instead were formed by slab failure during and after collision. They show that slab window and Precambrian TTG suites share many geochemical similarities with Cretaceous slab failure rocks. Geochemical and isotopic data indicate that the slab failure magmas were derived dominantly from the mantle and thus have been one of the largest contributors to growth of continental crust. The authors also note that slab failure plutons emplaced into the epizone are commonly associated with Cu-Au porphyries, as well as Li-Cs-Ta pegmatites.

"AAPG Memoir 79, The Circum-Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, is the first volume in more than a decade to document such a wide range of research on the geology of this vast area. Of the total 44 papers, roughly two-thirds pertain to the Gulf of Mexico, with an emphasis on the Mexican portion of the basin, and to the petroliferous areas of the southern Caribbean, including Colombia, Venezuela, Cuba, and Trinidad and Tobago. The remaining papers relate to the Antilles and Central America, as well as a series of papers that address region-wide topics such as plate tectonic evolution. A significant number of papers were contributed by authors from national oil companies and universities from within the region." --AAPG.

Accretionary orogens form at convergent plate boundaries and include the supra-subduction zone forearc, magmatic arc and backarc components. They can be broken into retreating and advancing types, based on their kinematic framework and resulting geological character.Accretionary systems have been active throughout Earth history, extending back until at least 3.2 Ga, and provide an important constraint on the initiation of horizontal motion of lithospheric plates on Earth. Accretionary orogens have been responsible for major growth of the continental lithosphere, through the addition of juvenile magmatic products, but are also major sites of consumption and reworking of continental crust through time.The aim of this volume is to provide a better understanding of accretionary processes and their role in the formation and evolution of the continental crust. Fourteen papers deal with general aspects of accretion and metamorphism and discuss examples of accretionary orogens and crustal growth through Earth history, from the Archaean to the Cenozoic.