Oceanic Basalts

About this book

Oceanic basalts are the most abundant rock type found at the earth's surface, and as such they have been the subject of considerable research, particularly since the concept of sea-floor spreading became widely accepted. This book provides a review of these rocks, first dicussing how we sample the ocean floor and what we know about the structure of the oceanic crust, followed by an overview of the various regional settings (Pacific crust, Atlantic crust, marginal basins, seamounts and islands) and finally examines the main processes (and their interactions) which prevail during the generation and emplacement of oceanic basalt magmas. This is a volume for geologists, geochemists and geophysicists and a source of reference for advanced undergraduate students and postgraduates in these disciplines.

Contents

Surveying and sampling the ocean floor, R.C.Searle; geophysical structure of the oceanic crust, R.S.White; ophiolites as ocean crust, J.A.Pearce; Atlantic Ocean crust, H.Bougault; Pacific Ocean crust, C.H.Langmuir; Indian Ocean crust, J.Natland; marginal basins, A.Saunders; islands and seamounts, P.A.Floyd; petrographic and mineralogical features, J.Natland; magmatic processes, M.F.J.Flower; metamorphic and hydrothermal processes, M.A.Morrison; experimental phase petrology, D.Elthon, sources and mantle evolution, R.Exley, Z.Palacz and C.J.Hawkesworth; mantle nodules, M.Menzies.

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