Dear Colleagues,

Metamorphism has long been a cornerstone of geoscientific investigations, although it only in the latter half of the 20^th century that a number of major achievements have allowed significant breakthroughs in our understanding to be made. The advent of the electron microprobe, which allowed the rapid acquisition of mineral compositional data, and technological advances in experimental petrology that vastly enhanced the quantity and quality of thermodynamic data for a range of materials, led to the compilation of broad thermodynamic databases specifically relevant to metamorphic geologists. These advances were followed by the formulation of literature describing the application of thermodynamic methods and principles to metamorphic petrology, and the production of internally-consistent thermodynamic databases and associated computer software capable of manipulating this information to the user’s requirements. This marked, in the transition from the 20^th to the 21^st century, the beginning of a new era of quantitative petrology.

The application of phase equilibrium modeling is now commonplace in studies of metamorphic interest, whether region- or sample-specific, or process-oriented investigations. Bulk-composition-specific phase diagrams – or pseudosections – may be used to investigate important issues in many areas of geoscience, including thermobarometry, the genesis of precious metals and mineral deposits, hydrothermal alteration and fluid–rock interaction in the lithosphere, anataxis, melt drainage, and crustal differentiation over geological time, and the geochemical cycling of elements from the hydrosphere to the Earth’s deep interior during subduction. Future investigations aim to expand our capability to model wider ranges of rocks and minerals, such as those in the inaccessible deep mantle.

This Special Issue aims to bring together examples of how quantitative phase equilibrium modeling – a truly 21^st century technique – can be applied to solve a variety of key geological problems at the micro- to the macro-scale, either theoretical or regionally focused.

Assist. Prof. Richard M. Palin
Guest Editor

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• Metamorphism
• Thermobarometry
• Fluid–rock interaction
• Metasomatism
• Kinetics
• Crustal anataxis
• Phase equilibria
• Thermodynamics
• Mineral crystal chemistry