This atlas has been prepared for students of earth science, geology, mineralogy and physical geography who requ~re a text for practical classes on rocks and mInerals under the minoscope. While the book's prime purpose is as an introduction to the subject for college and university students as an essential part of their course, we hope that amateur geologists and mineralogists will also find it useful and attractrve.

Examination of thin sections under the microscope is a key part of any study of carbonate sediments, as a companion to field or core logging, and as a necessary precursor to geochemical analysis. This book is designed as a laboratory manual to keep beside the microscope as an aid to identifying grain types and textures in carbonates.

The study of rocks in thin section using a petrographic microscope is an essential part of any undergraduate course in geology. This is the fourth volume in a series of photographic atlases of minerals and rocks in thin section. As in previous volumes the main purpose of the book is to provide the student with a handbook for use in practical classes to enable him or her to become familiar with the more common mineral associations and textures to be found in metamorphic rocks. In addition, some more unusual rocks which have given rise to particular significant ideas about metamorphism are also illustrated; the aim of this atlas is however to complement, not replace, a theoretical course in metamorphism.

The study of rocks using thin sections and a petrographic microscope was initiated by llcnry Clifton Sorby in the middle of the nineteenth century and the first rocks he described were silicified limestones from the Jurassic in Yorkshire. This work was published in 1851. His presidential address to the Geological Society of London in 1879 was entitled 'On the structure and origin of limestones' and Sorby had a series of plates. made from camera Iucida drawings, reproduced for private circulation with copies of the text of his address. These illustrated the microscopic characteristics oflimestones from throughout the British geological record and amounted to the first petrographic atlas <...>

The purpose of this book is to illustrate the appearance of many of the common rockforming minerals in thin section under the microscope. It is not our intention that it should be used as a substitute lor a mineralogy text book but rather as a laboratory handbook for use in practical classes together with one ot the standard textbooks on mineralogy <...>

This concise, clear and handy–sized volume, aimed at the undergraduate level, provides an introduction to the observation, description and identifi cation in thin section, using the polarizing microscope, of samples of the commonlyoccurring rocks and minerals. Illustrated with a wealth of full colour thin section photomicrographs, and with the original images enhanced by new examples and a revised text, the book explains how to observe mineral and rock samples under the microscope. The book highlights the important diagnostic features of minerals and deals with all rock types – igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic – each with equal emphasis and authority, giving students the knowledge and confi dence to begin to identify specimens for themselves. While intended for students in geology, geography, civil engineering and materials science, the book stands on its own as a beautiful collection of photomicrographs and a permanent source of reference and fascination for all those interested in the nature and science of the world of rocks and minerals.

Atlas of igneous rocks and their textures A companion volume to the Atlas of Rock-forming Minerals in Thin Section, this full-colour handbook is designed to be used as a laboratory manual both by elementary students of earth sciences undertaking a study of igneous rocks in thin section under the microscope, and by more advanced students and teachers as a reference work. The book is divided into two parts — Part One is devoted to photographs of many of the common textures found in igneous rocks with brief descriptions accompanying each photograph. Part Two illustrates the appearance of examples of some sixty of the commonest (and a few not so common) igneous rock types; each photograph is accompanied by a brief description of the field of view shown. Nearly 300 full-colour photographs are included, and in many cases the same view is shown both in plane-polarized light and under crossed polars. A brief account of how thin sections can be prepared is included as an appendix. It is believed that the amateur geologist using these instructions will be able to make his own thin sections and, with the aid of a relatively simple microscope, enjoy the study of rocks in thin section.