Theoretical petrology

Abstract

In the present paper, some areas of growing interest in the American efforts in petrology during the 1975-1978 quadrennium are reviewed. In igneous petrology, studies of structures and thermodynamic properties of silicate melts and of kinetics of igneous processes are in a period of rapid growth. Plate tectonic concepts have had (and will no doubt continue to have) an important influence by focusing interest on specific problems and by providing a framework for the understanding of petrogenesis. An understanding of mantle processes and evolution through the integration of petrological, geophysical, and geochemical constraints has been developed over the past 20 years, and will undoubtedly provide direction for future petrological studies.