Understanding the petrogenesis of igneous, metamorphic and mineralised rocks is fundamentally grounded in crystal-scale observations of rock microstructures and textures. The dynamic conditions under which a rock forms can be reconstructed by investigating the features of its crystals – shape, size, zonation, and inclusions (mineral, melt and/or fluid) – along with their crystallographic orientations and spatial arrangements. These data provide insights on a wealth of processes: cooling and heating rates; crystallisation regimes and resulting nucleation, growth and dissolution kinetics through space and time; ore mineralisation; fluid flux and speciation; and the extent, mechanisms, and timing of deformation. Correlating such textural and microstructural data with complementary geochemical and field datasets (e.g., elemental maps and hyperspectral images) offers unparalleled quantitative insights into the evolution, makeup, and dynamics of the Earth’s interior. Rock microstructures and textures are therefore key to solving geological problems with direct societal impact, such as critical mineral supply and volcanic risk mitigation.
We invite contributions focused on applying textural and microstructural approaches to igneous and metamorphic problems, using both traditional (e.g., universal stage) and more modern (e.g., EBSD, XRT, XMapTools) methods. We also seek submissions focused on developing new methods to acquire and process textural data, including numerical models of microstructural and/or textural evolution. We particularly encourage contributions that combine microstructural analysis with other datasets, e.g., geochemical data, to address geological questions.