SIGNIFICANCE OF HARKER DIAGRAM

Presentation by: ABDUL HAQ

Presented to: Dr M Sajid

Department of Geology, University of Peshawar.

 Table of Content

1. Introduction to Harker Diagram

2. Significance of Harker diagram
Introduction to Harker Diagram:

The Harker diagram is the oldest and probably best known graphical method for representing
 geochemical trends. It is based on the correlation of individual elements with the SiO 2
 content. The graphic representation was developed in the first years of the 20th century by
the English petrologist Alfred Harker and still bears his name today.

Harker variation diagrams are the bivariate diagrams in which the vertical ordinate represent
weight percentage of major or minor oxide components such as FeO, MgO, CaO while the
horizontal abscissa represent weight percentage of SiO2 .The objective is to concisely display
variations in major or minor oxide concentration with respect to changes in SiO2.
 It permits overall trends of major elements variation to be deduced.
Figure 1.An ideal Harker Diagram showing Na2O and K2O versus SiO2
 Significance of Harker Diagram

Harker’s variation diagrams are binary plots, introduced exclusively for the study of the evolution of igneous rocks,
in which two parts taken from a whole-rock chemical analysis are plotted, presented in a weight basis unit but
without closing the parts (i.e., without normalizing, the two plotted parts to 100%).
In the particular case of the Harker’s variation diagrams, major elements, reported in weight %, or minor elements,
reported in parts per million or “ppm”, are plotted against SiO2, also in weight %. Since the whole-rock chemical
analysis (with all the parts) is closed to 100 wt.%, it is evident that any correlation between two of the parts is
affected by the so-called spurious correlation effect, derived from the constant sum of the analysis. For instance, in a
variation Harker diagram of MgO wt.% vs. SiO2 wt.%, typically a negative (spurious) correlation is observed
between these two parts when an igneous system becomes more “evolved”. Whilst the association between such
variables is indeed positive since both components are being consumed by the growing solid phases, the
crystallization of ferromagnesian minerals, in particular olivine (see example below), consume more MgO wt.% than
SiO2 wt.% during crystallization, producing the relative decrease of the former in relation with the latter.
From the Igneous Petrology perspective, there are three specific purposes in plotting
compositional data using variation diagrams:

(a) The simple display of the evolutionary trends Shown by a related suite of magmas, in which such trends are
consequence of crystal–liquid fractionation/assimilation processes, either partial melting, fractional crystallization or
magma recharging

(b) Closely related with the previous objective is the fact that such trends, spurious or not, are the consequence of
fairly known geological processes. It follows that the presence of a trend can be used as a robust evidence of the link
between the samples if the geological processes are assumed.

(c) Finally, from the point of view of a Mass balances framework, variation diagram can be used to quantitatively
calculate the proportion of the species involved in the geological processes already assumed.
Harker diagram can be used to explain Bowen reaction series:

• For example the Harker Diagram of MgO,FeO vs SiO2 show decreasing trend because olivine crystallize first and
Olivine comprises Mgo and FeO so it can be stated that Harker Diagram can best explain Bowen Reaction series.

• Similarly Na2o and K2O Show increasing trend which show that they will be consume at last stage of magma
cooling process