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

A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2022) | Viewed by 9370

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Helmholtz Centre Potsdam German, Research Centre for Geosciences, GFZ DE-14473 Potsdam, Germany
Interests: granitoid rocks and associated leucocratic mineral deposits; primary and secondary accessory minerals; micas; Se-bearing minerals; fluid−mineral−rock interactions; lithosphere thermal studies; petrophysical and thermal rock properties
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Helmholtz Centre Potsdam German, Research Centre for Geosciences, GFZ DE-14473 Potsdam, Germany
Interests: thermal transport processes; thermal rock properties; heat flow and palaeoclimate; geoenergy utilization; in situ conditions; mineral-pore system; geothermal exploration

Special Issue Information

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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Keywords

  • upper crust
  • granite
  • mineralogy
  • geochemistry
  • isotopes
  • age dating
  • tectonic setting
  • pegmatites
  • ore mineralization
  • melt and fluid inclusions
  • hydraulic properties
  • physical properties
  • thermal properties
  • geothermal energy
  • nuclear waste storage

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

21 pages, 15549 KiB  
Article
Geochemistry and Geochronology of Early Paleozoic Intrusive Rocks in the Terra Nova Bay Area, Northern Victoria Land, Antarctica
by Daeyeong Kim, Sang-Bong Yi, Hyeoncheol Kim, Taehwan Kim, Taehoon Kim and Jong Ik Lee
Minerals 2021, 11(7), 787; https://doi.org/10.3390/min11070787 - 20 Jul 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2793
Abstract
The Terra Nova Intrusive Complex (TNIC) in northern Victoria Land, Antarctica, results from widespread magmatism during the Early Paleozoic Ross Orogeny. According to field relationships, geochemistry, and geochronology data, the northern part of the TNIC comprises the Browning Intrusive Unit (BIU), which is [...] Read more.
The Terra Nova Intrusive Complex (TNIC) in northern Victoria Land, Antarctica, results from widespread magmatism during the Early Paleozoic Ross Orogeny. According to field relationships, geochemistry, and geochronology data, the northern part of the TNIC comprises the Browning Intrusive Unit (BIU), which is associated with an arc crustal melting including migmatization of the Wilson Metamorphic Complex, and the later Campbell Intrusive Unit (CIU), which is attributed to the mantle and crustal melting processes. Zircon U-Pb ages suggest Late Neoproterozoic to Early Cambrian protolith with Late Cambrian metamorphism (502 ± 15 Ma) in the WMC, Late Cambrian formation (~500 Ma) of the BIU, and Early Ordovician formation (~480–470 Ma) of the CIU. Sr-Nd isotopic characteristics of the BIU indicate predominant crustal component (εNd(t) = −8.7 to −8.9), whereas those of the CIU reflect both mantle (εNd(t) = 1.8 to 1.6) and crustal (εNd(t) = −4.0 to −7.5) compositions. These results suggest that the northern TNIC magmatism occurring at ~500–470 Ma originated from partial melting of the mantle–mafic crust components and mixing with felsic crust components. By integrating the results with previous studies, the TNIC is considered to be formed by a combination of the mantle and mafic crust melting, crustal assimilation, felsic crust melting, and magma mixing during the Ross Orogeny. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Granite: The Signature Rock of the Earth’s Continental Crust)
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