Description based on: v. 3, published in 2003.

Identificationof rock-forming minerals in thin section is a key skill needed by all earth science students and practising geologists. This translation of the completely revised and updated German second edition (by Leonore Hoke, Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences, New Zealand) provides a comprehensive guide to identifying 140 of the most important rock-forming mineral species. The book is divided into three main parts. Part A is a practical guide to the fundamentals of crystal optics, polarization microscopy and the practical use of microscopes. Part B gives a detailed description of the characteristic optical features, special features, and the paragenesis of the most common rock-forming minerals. This well-illustrated part is divided into opaque minerals, isotropic, uniaxial and optical biaxial mineral groups. Part C contains identification tables for the minerals and diagrams showing the international classification of magmatic rocks, as well as a colour plate section showing crystal forms of minerals. The book will provide an invaluable guide to all undergraduate earth scientists, as well as to professional geologists requiring an overview of mineral identification in thin section.

This volume deals with sulphates, carbonates, phosphates and halides, incorporating recent advances in investigative techniques. Each mineral chapter has sections on structure, chemistry, optical and physical properties, distinguishing features and paragenesis. Chapters are headed with brief tabulations of mineral data and a sketch of optical orientation. Results are included from ocean floor experimentation and deep sea drilling.

Structured in the form of a dichotomous key, comparable to those widely used in botany, the mineral key provides an efficient and systematic approach to identifying rock-forming minerals in thin-section. This unique approach covers 150 plus of the most commonly encountered rock-forming minerals, plus a few rarer but noteworthy ones. Illustrated in

This revised edition has entailed a thorough re-writing of the text, taking account of the impressive advances that have been made in all aspects of earth sciences, particularly mineralogy, over the recent years.

A second edition, in two parts, of Volume 1 of this well-known reference series. This volume deals mainly with the olivine and garnet groups and also the humite group, zircon, sphene, vesuvianite, the Al2SiO5 (including mullite), topaz, staurolite and chloritoid. The disilicates and ring-silicates are covered in Volume 1B. In the years since the first edition was published, the quantity and scope of research on the olivines, garnets and the aluminosilicates has grown enormously and has given rise to a wide variety of literature. This book, which has been completely rewritten and considerably expanded, summarizes the important research results and presents them in an organized fashion. Each mineral chapter is divided into sections on structure, chemistry, optical and physical properties, distinguishing features and paragenesis. Each chapter is headed by a tabulation of mineral data and a sketch showing optical orientation, and concludes with full references to the literature. Diagrams of the crystal structures are presented and are followed by a discussion of the structural features. The chemical sections include a large number of analyses from which structural formulae have been calculated, illustrating the chemical and paragenetical variation exhibited by each mineral; phase equilibria in relevant systems are fully considered. In the sections on optical and physical properties, particular attention is paid to the correlation of these properties with chemical composition. The principal modes of occurrence are described and discussed in the paragenesis sections; here again correlation with chemistry is emphasized. 11 volumes are available in this series.