Table Of ContentUS I NG G E O CH E MI CAL DATA
This textbook is a complete rewrite and expansion of Hugh Rollinson’s
highly successful 1993 book Using Geochemical Data: Evaluation,
Presentation, Interpretation. Rollinson and Pease’s new book covers the
explosion in geochemical thinking over the past three decades, as new
instruments and techniques have come online. It provides a comprehensive
overview of how modern geochemical data are used in the understanding of
geological and petrological processes. It covers major element, trace
element, and radiogenic and stable isotope geochemistry. It explains the
potential of many geochemical techniques, provides examples of their
application, and emphasizes how to interpret the resulting data. Additional
topics covered include the critical statistical analysis of geochemical data,
current geochemical techniques, effective display of geochemical data, and
the application of data in problem solving and identifying petrogenetic
processes within a geological context. It will be invaluable for all graduate
students, researchers and professionals using geochemical techniques.
Hugh Rollinson is Emeritus Professor of Earth Sciences at the University
of Derby. His particular interest is in the application of geochemistry to the
early history of the Earth, and he has published on the geochemistry of
Archaean rocks from Scotland, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, India, west
Greenland and Russia.
Victoria Pease is Professor of Tectonics and Magmatism at Stockholm
University. Her research focuses on unravelling Arctic tectonics. She sits on
a number of international committees and is a chief editor of Precambrian
Research.
From a review of the First Edition:
“… a well-balanced, clearly written account of how to deal with
geochemical data … Students, researchers, academic and industrial
professional geologists will need to have this manual at their elbow when
dealing with geochemical data.”
Mineralogical Magazine
Praise for the Second Edition:
“The new edition of Using Geochemical Data is not only an excellent text
for a geochemistry course, but it also provides an easy source to find
geochemical information, especially for a non-specialist. The chapter on
analysing geochemical data is outstanding and the information in this
chapter is not generally available in other geochemical texts. The chapters
on major and trace elements are not only useful in geochemistry, but are
also important in igneous and sedimentary petrology courses: most
petrology texts do not cover the valuable information in these chapters. For
a non-specialist, it is easy to look up specific geochemical diagrams in the
book, see how they are constructed, and what the limitations are for their
applications. The discussion of trace elements in evaluating various
magmatic processes and tectonic settings in Chapters 4 and 5 is clearly in a
league of its own when compared to other geochemistry textbooks. And the
worked problems in Chapter 6(radiogenic isotopes) are very helpful for
students. I strongly recommend the book as both a geochemical textbook
and as an easy-to-use reference for geochemists and non-geochemists
alike.”
Kent C Condie, New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology
“This welcome second edition combines geochemical approaches in the
tackling of geological problems, with descriptions of widely used
techniques. It ranges from major and trace element geochemistry, to
geochemical discriminant diagrams, and radiogenic and stable isotopes,
ensuring that it will be a key resource for those seeking to utilise the
breadth of geochemistry now available. For me, the strength of this
textbook is the combination of the breadth of topics covered in one place,
providing a resource that people can dip into and learn how to apply
different approaches.”
Chris Hawkesworth, University of Bristol
“The new Rollinson and Pease version of Using Geochemical Data is a
very welcome second edition of the classic original … This revised and
much expanded text is very well illustrated and covers many new
developments in geochemistry … It will be of great value to petrology
undergraduates as well as to postgraduate students starting to use their own
data.”
Stephen Daly, University College, Dublin
“Geochemists of a certain vintage and with petrological inclinations usually
have at least one much-used copy of Rollinson (1993). This second edition
is an impressive distillation of the classic and the current, carefully updated
and expanded. It is still, at its heart, a pragmatic “how to do it” guide
anchored in numerical and a new statistical rigour, and so will take pride of
place on many a geochemical bookshelf.”
Mike Fowler, University of Portsmouth
“From A-F-M to Zr/Y, this timely update to a classic textbook provides an
accessible introduction to geochemical data analysis, accompanied by
numerous practical recipes, and built on solid statistical foundations.
Rollinson and Pease have created an essential reference for a new
generation of geochemists.”
Pieter Vermeesch, University College London
“This thoroughly contemporary revamp of Rollinson’s text - with updates
and additions on analytical methods, data analysis, and modern
interpretations - reinforces the critical role of this authoritative practical
reference for robust use of geochemical data across a broad swathe of solid
Earth geochemistry.”
Peter Reiners, University of Arizona
“After having broken apart several copies of the first edition of Using
Geochemical Data from extensive use, it is great to see a thoroughly
updated version of the book, which will again see much use as a shelf
reference and for graduate-level coursework. The second edition follows a
similar format as the first, but completely modernised to include more on
advanced instrumental and data analysis techniques followed by dedicated
sections that centre on how to understand and illustrate major- and trace-
element data, as well as radiogenic and stable isotope data. Unlike most
books that would be specifically geared to rock type, Using Geochemical
Data focuses discussion on explaining how and why different geochemical
approaches apply to the study of different rock types. This approach not
only does an excellent job of explaining how and why certain elemental
groups are used and illustrated, but also allows readers to build an
understanding of the geochemical connections between different fields of
geosciences.”
Chris Fedo, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
USING GEOCHEMI CAL
DATA
to Understand Geological Processes
Hugh Rollinson
University of Derby
Victoria Pease
Stockholm University
University Printing House, Cambridge CB2 8BS, United Kingdom
One Liberty Plaza, 20th Floor, New York, NY 10006, USA
477 Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne, VIC 3207, Australia
314–321, 3rd Floor, Plot 3, Splendor Forum, Jasola District Centre, New Delhi – 110025,
India
79 Anson Road, #06–04/06, Singapore 079906
Cambridge University Press is part of the University of Cambridge.
It furthers the University’s mission by disseminating knowledge in the pursuit of education,
learning, and research at the highest international levels of excellence.
www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9781108745840
DOI: 10.1017/9781108777834
© Hugh Rollinson and Victoria Pease 2021
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant
collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written
permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published 1993
Second edition published 2021
Printed in the United Kingdom by TJ Books Limited, Padstow Cornwall
A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Rollinson, Hugh R. (Hugh Richard), 1949- author. | Pease, Victoria, author.
Title: Using geochemical data : to understand geological processes / Hugh Rollinson,
University of Derby, Victoria Pease, Stockholm University.
Description: Second edition. | Cambridge, UK ; New York, NY : Cambridge University
Press, 2021. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020055279 (print) | LCCN 2020055280 (ebook) | ISBN
9781108745840 (paperback) | ISBN 9781108777834 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Geochemistry.
Classification: LCC QE515 .R75 2021 (print) | LCC QE515 (ebook) | DDC 551.9–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020055279
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020055280
ISBN 978-1-108-74584-0 Paperback
Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for
external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee
that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
Contents
Preface to the Second Edition
Preface to the First Edition
Abbreviations
1 Geochemical Data
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Geological Processes and Their Geochemical Signatures
1.3 Geological Controls on Geochemical Data
1.4 Analytical Methods in Geochemistry
1.5 Selecting an Appropriate Analytical Technique
1.6 Sources of Error in Geochemical Analysis
2 Analysing Geochemical Data
2.1 Introduction
2.2 A Statistical Approach?
2.3 Histograms, Averages and Probability Functions
2.4 Correlation
2.5 Regression Analysis
2.6 Ratio Correlation
2.7 Compositional Data Analysis
2.8 Multivariate Data Analysis
2.9 Statistics and Ternary Plots
2.10 Geochemical Data and Statistical Analysis
