Komatiite

Nicholas Arndt was awarded a Ph.D. from the University of Toronto in Canada in 1975. Following academic positions in the United States, Canada and Germany and at the Université de Rennes, France, he moved in 1999 to the Université de Grenoble where he is Professor of Petrology-Geochemistry. Professor Arndt's research interests include petrology and geochemistry of mafic and ultramafic rocks, magmatic ore deposits, and the early-Earth environment. He is Director of the European Science Foundation 'Archean Environment: the Habitat of Early Life' program and a founding editor of eEarth, an online journal of the European Geosciences Union. Michael C. Lesher is Professor of Economic Geology and Research Chair in the Mineral Exploration Research Centre and Department of Earth Sciences at Laurentian University, Ontario. He works on the petrogenesis and physical volcanology of komatiites and associated magmatic Ni-Cu-PGE deposits. Steve J. Barnes is a research scientist at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in Perth, Australia. He also works on the petrogenesis and physical volcanology of komatiites and associated magmatic Ni-Cu-PGE deposits.

• Foreword; Part I. Background Information - Description of the Field Characteristics, Mineralogy and Geochemistry of Komatiites: 1. A brief history of komatiite studies and a discussion of komatiite nomenclature; 2. Brief descriptions of six classic komatiite occurrences; 3. Field characteristics, textures and structures; 4. Mineralogy; 5. Geochemistry; 6. Isotopic compositions of komatiites; 7. Experimental petrology; 8. Physical properties of komatiites; Part II. Interpretation – The Manner of Emplacement, the Origin, and the Tectonic Setting of Komatiites: 9. Physical volcanology; 10. Komatiite-associated Ni-Cu-PGE deposits; 11. The hydrous komatiite hypothesis; 12. Compositions and eruption temperatures of komatiitic liquids; 13. Petrogenesis of komatiite; 14. Geodynamic setting; References; Index.

'… highly readable and informative. Arndt occasionally allows a wry sense of humour to show through, which only makes the reading more enjoyable. … Arndt notes in the preface that he has attempted to provide a comprehensive account of komatiites while also producing a work that is brief and readable. He has succeeded. Komatiite deserves to be in the library of every university with a geology department and of any company working in Archean terranes.' Derek A. Wyman, University of Sydney, Australia