Igneous Rocks: A Classification and Glossary of Terms: Recommendations of the International Union of Geological Sciences Subcommission on the Systematics of Igneous Rocks

Decades of field and microscope studies, and more recent quantitative geochemical analyses have resulted in a vast, and sometimes overwhelming, array of nomenclature and terminology associated with igneous rocks. This book presents a complete classification of igneous rocks based on all the recommendations of the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) Subcommission on the Systematics of Igneous Rocks. The glossary of igneous terms has been fully updated since the first edition and now includes 1637 entries, of which 316 are recommended by the Subcommission. Incorporating a comprehensive bibliography of source references for all the terms included in the glossary, this book is an indispensable reference guide for all geologists studying igneous rocks, either in the field or the laboratory. It presents a standardised and widely accepted naming scheme that will allow geologists to interpret terminology in the primary literature and provide formal names for rock samples based on petrographic analyses. It is also supported by a website with downloadable code for chemical classifications.

Work on this book started as long ago as 1958 when Albert Streckeisen was asked to collaborate in revising Paul Niggli's well-known book Tabellen zur Petrographie und zum Gesteinbestimmen (Tables for Petrography and Rock Determination). It was at this point that Streckeisen noted significant problems with all 12 of the classification systems used to identify and name igneous rocks at that time. Rather than propose a 13th system, he chose instead to write a review article outlining the problems inherent in classifying igneous rocks and invited petrologists from around the world to send their comments. In 1970 this lead to the formation of the Subcommission of the Systematics of Igneous Rocks, under the IUGS Commission on Petrology, who published their conclusions in the first edition of this book in 1989. The work of this international body has continued to this day, lead by Bruno Zanettin and later by Mike Le Bas. This fully revised second edition has been compiled and edited by Roger Le Maitre, with significant help from a panel of co-contributors.