Granite Petrogenesis And Geodynamics

Granites (sensu lato) represent the dominant rock-type forming the upper–middle continental crust but their origin remains a matter of long-standing controversy. The granites may result from fractionation of mantle-derived basaltic magmas, or partial melting of different crustal protoliths at contrasting P–T conditions, either water-fluxed or fluid-absent. Consequently, many different mechanisms have been proposed to explain the compositional variability of granites ranging from whole igneous suites down to mineral scale. This book presents an overview of the state of the art, and envisages future avenues towards a better understanding of granite petrogenesis. Particular emphasis of this Volume is on the following topics: Compositional variability of granitic rocks generated in contrasting geodynamic settings during Proterozoic to Phanerozoic Periods, Main permissible mechanisms producing subduction-related granites, Crustal anatexis of different protoliths, and the role of water in granite petrogenesis, New theoretical and analytical tools available for modelling whole-rock geochemistry, in order to decipher the sources and evolution of granitic suites.

There are several books emphasizing the mineralogical and petrological aspects of granites, but this book is the only one emphasizing the experimental aspects.

A modern presentation of granitic rocks, translated into English and updated from the original French edition. Mineralogical, petrological, structural, and economical aspects are developed in a succession of 14 chapters containing special 'info boxes' discussing topics for those wishing to deepen the subject.

This book reviews current ideas explaining the formation of granite in terms of melting, segregation, ascent and emplacement. It introduces an alternative hypothesis that granites are endogenic in that they essentially form and remain at melting sites in the middle–upper crust under conditions of abnormally high heat flow. The book highlights results of Chinese research over the last 30 years in English for the first time.

A compilation of landmark papers on granite petrogenesis is overdue. This volume is organized into a number of sections that represent what the editors regard as the main research fields in which progress has been made in understanding granites and their genesis. The origin of granitic magmas is part of the cycle that unites tectonic processes with the generation of mantle magma, crustal growth, the transfer of mantle heat to the crust, high-grade regional metamorphism, crustal melting and crustal differentiation. The extended subject area is far too wide to deal with in a single volume and therefore the selection has been limited to papers dealing with the formation, physical behaviour and chemical evolution of granitic magmas, and just touching on the matter of associated ore deposits. John (JC) Clemens and Fernando Bea are world experts on the subject of granite petrogenesis. Clemens' most important work has been on the origin and evolution of granites and silicic volcanic magmas, experimental studies and modelling of partial melting and the ascent and chemical evolution of granitic magmas, and these continue to be his main interests. Bea's research interests have been in the petrology and geochemistry of granite rocks and the mechanisms of generation of granite magmas, having studied in detail the role of heat-producing elements.

Meso- to Neoarchean is a critical transitional period for the formation and evolution of continental crust and the corresponding geodynamic mechanisms, during which the average composition of continental crust gradually shifted from Na-enriched to K-enriched. However, the ultimate source of K and its enrichment mechanism in continental crust are still enigmatic. Moreover, fierce controversies remain on the Precambrian subdivision and late Archean geodynamic models of the North China Craton (NCC). Archean basement terranes in the Eastern Hebei-Western Liaoning Provinces, northern NCC display characteristic lithological zonation similar to those developed in modern convergent plate margins, and from northwest to southeast can be subdivided into the MORB-type tholeiite belt, oceanic arc tectonic belt, and K-rich granitoid belt. This book reports systematic field geological, petrographic, structural, whole-rock geochemical, and zircon U-Pb-Hf-O isotopic data for the various late Neoarchean lithological assemblages of the K-rich granitoid belt. Their deformational characteristics and petrogenesis are discussed in detail, and integrated with their spatiotemporal relationships and metamorphic features, a late Neoarchean active continental margin setting with multi-stage trench retreats and subsequent arc-continent collision is proposed to account for the formation and evolution of the K-rich granitoid belt. It also throws light upon the ultimate source and enrichment mechanism of K in the late Archean continental crust by comparing K-rich granitoid belt with the adjacent oceanic arc tectonic belt.