This  short course aims to offer to PhD students and early carrier scientists working in the fields of metamorphic petrology, petrochronology and geochemistry a detailed overview of the most recent discoveries, theories and analytical techniques developed for the study of crustal rocks. The Earth´s crust is the result of a complex array of processes involving metamorphism, melting and metasomatism; these have operated over a long time period of more than 4 billion years. All these processes leave traces in the rocks as preserved metamorphic assemblages and textures. A careful integration of different disciplines like petrology, geochemistry and geochronology is of paramount importance to read correctly the natural archive represented by crustal rocks, thus unravelling the chemical evolution of our planet.

In the last decade the increasing availability of high-resolution, in-situ analytical techniques and computing power has had a profound impact on the way we study crustal rocks. New discoveries, e.g. preserved melt inclusions in metamorphic rocks and diamonds in subducted crust, are continuously being made. New elasticity models are being developed to extract information from the inclusion-host systems. Novel software solutions become widespread as tools to interpret compositional zoning in minerals and the relations with microstructures, while the applicability of the existent thermodynamic models is significantly enlarged by the creation of suitable databases to treat melt-bearing systems of crustal affinity. Finally new high-resolution dating techniques on main phases and accessory minerals provide an even more robust frame to describe absolute and relative timing of crustal evolution. In this workshop, petrologists working on crustal rocks will have the possibility to learn about the most recent analytical techniques from the established researchers which have mastered these new techniques, and to discuss fundamental petrological problems in an informal environment such as the one offered by the campus of Potsdam-Golm.

Scientific program and registration on the official homepage: http://potsdam2019.petrochronology.org/