Chemical Petrology

3 units

Application of chemical data to the petrogenesis of selected metamorphic, igneous, and sedimentary rock suites. Topics include: abundance and distribution of elements in crustal materials; crystal-chemical controls on elemental fractionations; elemental mobility and immobility in crustal metamorphic processes; uses and abuses of discriminant diagrams; secular trends in crustal composition. Two class hours and one two-hour discussion period a week.