Volume 16 of Reviews in Mineralogy inroduces to high-temperature stable isotope geochemistry
and should provide an entry into the pertinent literature as well as some understanding of the
basic concepts and potential applications.The first three chapters focus on the theory and
experimental data base for equilibrium disequilibrium and kinetics of stable isotope exchange
reactions among geologically important minerals and fluids. The fourth chapter discusses the
primordial oxygen isotope variations in the solar system prior to formation of the Earth along
with a discussion of isotopic anomalies in meteorites. The fifth chapter discusses isotopic
variations in the Earth's mantle and the sixth chapter reviews the variations in the isotopic
compositions of natural waters on our planet. In Chapters 7 8 9 and 10 these isotopic
constraints and concepts are applied to various facets of the origin and evolution of igneous
rocks bringing in much material on radiogenic isotopes as well because these problems require
a multi-dimensional attack for their solution. In Chapters 11 and 12 the problems of
hydrothermal alteration by meteoric waters and ocean water are considered together with
discussions of the physics and chemistry of hydrothermal systems and the 18O 16O history of
ocean water. Finally in Chapters 13 and 14 these concepts are applied to problems of
metamorphic petrology and ore deposits particularly with respect to the origins of the fluids
involved in those processes.
