During the last few years, carbonatites have received a considerable amount of attention. Some of this interest was no doubt kindled by the importance of volatiles in the Earth's mantle, particularly CO , by the fact that carbonatites 2 can be used to monitor the chemical evolution of the sub-continental upper mantle, and by the fact that carbonatites may be effective metasomatizing agents at both mantle and crustal levels. The interest in Oldoinyo Lengai has extended over at least 100 years, but it was not until the eruptions of 1960, when the unique carbonatitic nature of its lavas was recognized, that the volcano took on special significance in volcanology and igneous petrology. The recognition of carbonatitic flows coin cided with the first successful laboratory experiments carried out on carbonatitic melts. Since then, Oldoinyo Lengai has formed a cornerstone in all carbonatite discussions. It is probably true to say that the findings from Oldoinyo Lengai have dominated our ideas about carbonatites, in spite of the fact that the alkali rich, natrocarbonatitic lavas of Oldoinyo Lengai are markedly different from other carbonatites.

Phoscorites are dark, often very handsome, sometimes economically valuable, magnetite-apatite-silicate rocks, almost always associated with carbonatite. They are key to understanding the longstanding question of how carbonate and carbonate-bearing magmas rise to the crust and the Earths surface. Despite this, they have been given little attention; a search on geological literature databases will produce thousands of references to carbonatite (up to 4125 on Georef) but not more than thirty references to phoscorite. This book goes some way to redress this balance. Over recent years many European and North American scientists have studied Kola rocks in collaboration with Russian colleagues. The idea for this book came from one such project funded by the European organisation, INTAS (Grant No 97-0722). The Kola Peninsula is one of the outstanding areas in the World for the concentration and economic importance of alkaline rocks. However, Russian work on the Kola complexes is still relatively unknown and a particular aim of this book, as well as presenting current research, is to make this knowledge accessible to English language readers. A large exploration programme on Kola alkaline rocks was active from 1950 to 1990 and involved teams of geologists who studied many kilometres of drill core and carried out detailed mineralogical and petrological studies.

Featuring over 250 contributions from more than 100 earth scientists from 18 countries, The Encyclopedia of Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology deals with the nature and genesis of igneous rocks that have crystallized from molten magma, and of metamorphic rocks that are the products of re-crystallization associated with increases in temperature and pressure, mainly at considerable depths in the Earth's crust. Entries range from alkaline rocks to zeolite facies - providing information on the mineralogical, chemical and textural characters of rock types, the development of concepts and the present state of knowledge across the spectrum of igneous and metamorphic petrology, together with extensive lists of both commonly used and little used terms and bibliographies.

Silicate Glasses and Melts, Second Edition describes the structure-property-composition relationships for silicate glasses and melts from a geological and industrial perspective. Updated sections include (i) characterization of silicate melt and COHN fluid structure (with and without dissolved silicate components) with pressure, temperature, and redox conditions and responses of structural variables to chemical composition, (ii) determination of solubility and solution mechanisms of COHN volatiles in silicate melts and minerals and of solubility and solution mechanisms of silicate components in COHN fluids, and (iii) effects of very high pressure on structure and properties of melts and glasses. This new book is an essential resource for researchers in a number of fields, including geology, geophysics, geoscience, volcanology, material science, glass science, petrology and mineralogy. - Brings together multidisciplinary research scattered across the scientific literature into one reference, with a focus on silicate melts and their application to natural systems - Emphasizes linking melt properties to melt structure - Includes a discussion of the pros and cons of the use of glass as a proxy for melt structure and properties - Written by highly regarded experts in the field who, among other honors, were the 2006 recipients of the prestigious G.W. Morey award of the American Ceramic Society

This study documents alkaline rock occurrences in British Columbia; describes their petrography, geochemistry, economic geology, and field relationships; and determines the timing and tectonic controls of emplacement, providing a basis for future, detailed studies. Work was begun in 1984 and included field mapping during the summers of 1984, 1985, and 1986. All the carbonatite-syenite localities (with the exception of the Wicheeda Lake and Mount Bisson showings) and a large number of the diatreme breccias were mapped and sampled.

A comprehensive guide to carbon inside Earth - its quantities, movements, forms, origins, changes over time and impact on planetary processes. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

This text describes and provides ready access to the literature for all known occurrences of alkaline igneous rocks and carbonatites of Africa. Over 1000 occurrences are described from 40 countries. The descriptions include geographical co-ordinates and information of structure, general geology, rock types, petrography, mineralogy, ages, economic aspects and principal references. There are 348 geological and distribution maps and a locality index.

A unique interdisciplinary approach to disaster risk research, including global hazards and case-studies, for researchers, graduate students and professionals.

The structure and volcanic activity of the northern Tanzania sector of the Gregory Rift Valley have hitherto been less well described than those in Ethiopia and Kenya. This book focuses on northern Tanzania where, although the volcanic area is smaller than those to the north, there are major features such as Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain on the African continent; Ngorongoro, one of the largest calderas on Earth; and Oldoinyo Lengai, the world's only active carbonatite volcano. Following an account of the discovery and early exploration of the rift valley, there are descriptions of the individual volcanoes. These are set within the context of the regional geology and geophysics of the rift valley, and in relation to the structural evolution of the rift and its associated sedimentary basins which include Olduvai, an important site in the history of human evolution The volume concludes with a discussion of the volcanism as related to the plume-related African Superswell.