Granite: The Signature Rock of the Earth’s Continental Crust

Dear Colleagues,

Granite is the signature rock of the planet Earth. The continental crust of our planet has an average chemical composition that is approximately granitic. Granite is the ultimate magmatic silicate rock and among the most prominent constituents of the upper crust. It is mainly composed of quartz, feldspars, and micas. Grain size, structure, and color vary widely, from finest grained to megacrystic, from equigranular to porphyritic, and from whitish to blackish. Granites form huge composite batholiths, but also cm-sized dikes. Granite magmas are mostly generated by wet anatectic melting of metamorphic material or, rarely, by fractional crystallization of mantle-derived mafic magmas. Their composition ranges from peraluminous to peralkaline and from oxidized to reduced. Granite magmas form in a variety of tectonic settings under compressional or extensional regimes, in response to the collision of tectonic plates, slab subduction, or mafic underplating, reflected in the widely used S-I-A-M-C-H-type subdivision. Granites may be associated with pegmatites, which are of specific interest to mineral collectors and gemologists. We distinguish barren and fertile granites, which give rise to economically important ortho- and paramagmatic deposits of Sn, W, Nb, Ta, Li, Rb, Cs, Th and U, to mention a few. Granites and their genetically related pegmatites and hydrothermal rocks usually bear melt resp. fluid inclusions which, together with accessory and ore minerals, represent significant tracers of the P–T–X evolution of the magmatic-hydrothermal system.

In addition to being essential sources for strategic raw minerals, granites are of wide practical use. Humankind has utilized granitic rock for the manufacturing of sculptures, monuments, gravestones, and houses, or in the context of ritual purposes for thousands of years. In modern times, granite plutons are being explored for their utility as a deep geothermal reservoir and storage site of nuclear waste.

The Special issue is aimed at honoring the signature rock of the continental crust in all facets. We welcome contributions dealing with the mineralogy, geochemistry, stable and radiogenic isotope systematics, geochronology, ascent, origin, and tectonic setting of granitic rocks and their metamorphic equivalents. Appreciated are papers subjected to pegmatitic rocks and all types of ore mineralization genetically associated with granites. Equally welcome are studies devoted to the determination of their structural, physical, hydraulic, and thermal properties. This holds as well for geophysical works aimed at defining the size, extent, and shape of granite bodies, or dedicated to granitic rocks in the context of the study of the crustal temperature field and heat-flow determination. We specifically invite contributions focusing on granites for the storage of waste or as a geothermal resource for “green” heat and energy production.

Dr. Hans-Jürgen Förster
Dr. Sven Fuchs
Guest Editors

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