courses more petrogenesis-orientated are im My main objective in writing this book has been to mediately confronted with a basic problem; the review the processes involved in present-day mag ma generation and their relationship to global average student does not have a strong enough tectonic processes. Clearly, these are fundamental background in geochemistry to understand the to our understanding of the petrogenesis of ancient finer points of most of the relevant publications in volcanic and plutonic sequences, the original tec scientific journals. It is virtually impossible to fmd tonic setting of which may have been obscured by suitable reading material for such students, as most subsequent deformation and metamorphism. authors of igneous petrology textbooks have de Until fairly recently, undergraduate courses in liberately steered clear of potentially controversial igneous petrology tended to follow rather classical petrogenetic models. Even the most recent texts lines, based on the classification of igneous rocks, place very little emphasis on the geochemistry of descriptive petrography, volcanic landforms, types magmas erupted in different tectonic settings, of igneous intrusions and regional petrology . despite extensive discussions of the processes re However, the geologist of the late 1980s requires, in sponsible for the chemical diversity of magmas.

This unique book presents hundreds of spectacular photographs of large-scale to small-scale field geological features of flood basalt volcanism from around the world. Major flood basalt provinces covered in this book include the British Palaeogene, Central Atlantic Magmatic Province, Columbia River, Deccan, East Greenland, Emeishan, Ethiopian, Ferrar-Karoo-Tasmania, Iceland, Indo-Madagascar, Paraná, Siberian, West Greenland, and others. Intermediate- to small-sized flood basalts (such as Saudi Arabia and South Caucasus) are also included. Different chapters of the book illustrate varied features of flood basalts, including landscapes, lava flow morphology and stacking, structures formed during lava flow transport, inflation and degassing, structures produced during lava solidification, subaqueous volcanism and volcanosedimentary associations, explosive volcanism, intrusions, igneous processes and magmatic diversity, tectonic deformation, secondary mineralization, and weathering and erosion. This book will be valuable for a large audience: specialists studying flood basalt volcanology, petrology, geochemistry, geochronology, geophysics, and environmental impact and mass extinction links; nonspecialists who want to know more about flood basalts; field geologists (such as those working in geological surveys); students of volcanology and igneous petrology, and even people employed in the industry, such as those working on flood basalt-hosted groundwater or petroleum reservoirs.

Large igneous provinces (LIPs) are intraplate magmatic events, involving volumes of mainly mafic magma upwards of 100,000 km3, and often above 1 million km3. They are linked to continental break-up, global environmental catastrophes, regional uplift and a variety of ore deposit types. In this up-to-date, fascinating book, leading expert Richard E. Ernst explores all aspects of LIPs, beginning by introducing their definition and essential characteristics. Topics covered include continental and oceanic LIPs; their origins, structures, and geochemistry; geological and environmental effects; association with silicic, carbonatite and kimberlite magmatism; and analogues of LIPs in the Archean, and on other planets. The book concludes with an assessment of LIPs' influence on natural resources such as mineral deposits, petroleum and aquifers. This is a one-stop resource for researchers and graduate students in a wide range of disciplines, including tectonics, igneous petrology, geochemistry, geophysics, Earth history, and planetary geology, and for mining industry professionals.