Prerequisite(s): GEOS 4243 or the approval of the instructor.
The course examines modern petrological techniques for evaluating igneous and metamorphic systems and delves into a nuanced understanding of their products. The course reviews prominent geothermobarometric and other mineralogical assemblages, and it explores modeling techniques for evaluating phase stability and mass transfer during alteration, metamorphism, and magmatism. The course will also review laboratory and field techniques for evaluating high-temperature earth systems. The course will cover readings on current igneous and metamorphic investigations, and evaluate in each in light of plate tectonic theory and a global geochemical framework. The course will utilize computer modeling and petrographic analysis of sample sets.