This volume 49 will be the fourth publication on the theme of fluid and melt inclusions in the series of Topics in Mineral Science sponsored published by the Mineralogical Association of Canada.
The main focus of this volume is on the applications of fluid and melt inclusions to answering relevant geologic questions across a wide range of settings. As such, each chapter in this volume includes aspects of two main themes:
- How the analysis of fluid and melt inclusions has contributed, and continues to contribute, to answering key geologic questions.
- How to go about using fluid and melt inclusions to answer such questions.
We stress that this volume generally does not provide detailed descriptions of particular analytical methods, but rather it provides high-level overviews of the “philosophy,” approach and best practices to keep in mind when designing a fluid and/or melt inclusion study.
The focus in this volume is on relating specific analytical techniques and thermodynamic considerations to large-scale geological processes.
Our hope is that, armed with the insights contained in this volume, even novice practitioners will have the knowledge to recognize how fluid and melt inclusions can help answer key questions, and to devise the best approach to extract the key information from those inclusions that are most beneficial for making robust interpretations.
TMS 49 is a broad-topic issue-related approach to fluid inclusion and is intended as a complement to the 2003 volume SC 32 “Fluid Inclusions: Analysis and Interpretation” that in detail covers the use fluid inclusions (including thermometry, Raman, LA-ICP-MS, phase diagrams – chemical systems, etc.)
TMS 49 comprises two chapters on diagenesis/low temperature systems, 4 on magmatic/metamorphic systems and 4 on ore deposits, none of which is intend to be a case study, but to address kind of questions that can generally be answered in those fields.
The chapters are quite broad and the aim is to illustrate to the reader which kind of questions they can address through the study of fluid inclusions and to refer them to the 2003 volume for specific analytical and interpretation information.