Processes involved in the development of igneous and metamorphic rocks involve some combination of crystal growth, solution, movement and deformation, which is expressed as changes in texture (microstructure). Advances in the quantification of aspects of crystalline rock textures, such as crystal size, shape, orientation and position, have opened fresh avenues of research that extend and complement the more dominant chemical and isotopic studies. This book discusses the aspects of petrological theory necessary to understand the development of crystalline rock texture. It develops the...

Processes involved in the development of igneous and metamorphic rocks involve some combination of crystal growth, solution, movement and deformation, which is expressed as changes in texture (microstructure). Advances in the quantification of aspects of crystalline rock textures, such as crystal size, shape, orientation and position, have opened fresh avenues of research that extend and complement the more dominant chemical and isotopic studies. This book discusses the aspects of petrological theory necessary to understand the development of crystalline rock texture. It develops the...