Petrology

Study of Rocks
 Introduction
• Every rock contains clues about the environment
in which it was formed such as marine
environment, volcanic eruption or deep in the
earth during mountain building.

• Rocks are thus divided into three groups based

on their origin:
1. Igneous
2. Sedimentary
3. Metamorphic
 Igneous Petrology

http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/photos/volcano-
general/#pahoehoe-lava_329_600x450.jpg
 Igneous Petrology
• Igneous rocks are formed as magma cools and
crystallizes.
What is magma?
• Magma is a molten rock generated by partial
melting of rocks in the mantle and in much
smaller amounts, in the lower crust.
• It consists mainly of the elements found in the
silicate minerals.
• Si and O2 are the main constituents with lesser
amounts of Al, Fe, Ca, Na, K & Mg
• It also contains some gases, particularly water
vapour, which are confined within the magma
body by the weight of the overlying rocks
• Once a magma is formed, it rises buoyantly
toward the surface because it is less dense than
the surrounding rocks.
• Magma that reaches the surface is called lava.
• Eruptions can be violent, explosive, but are more
often quiet.
• Igneous rocks that form when lava solidifies are
classified as extrusive or volcanic igneous
rocks.
• Most magma, however, loses its mobility before
reaching the surface and eventually crystallizes at
depth.
• Igneous rocks that form at depth are termed
intrusive or plutonic igneous rock. Those that
form at shallow depths are termed hypabyssal.
• Intrusive igneous rocks would never be exposed
at the surface if portions of the crust were not
uplifted and the overlying rocks stripped away by
erosion.
Illustration of generation of magma, intrusive and
extrusive igneous rocks (after Tarbuck & Lutgens,
2006).
 Crystallization of magma
• Magma – very hot, thick fluid, but also contains solids (minerals)
gases (volatiles)
• The liquid portion, termed the melt, is composed of ions that
move about freely
• As magma cools, the random movements of the ions slow, and
the ions begin to arrange themselves into orderly patterns by a
process called crystallization
• Usually all of the molten material does not solidify at the same
time. Rather, as it cools, numerous small crystals develop.
• In a systematic manner, ions are added to these centres of
crystal growth. When the crystals grow large enough for their
edges to meet, their growth ceases for lack of space, and
crystallization continues elsewhere.
• Eventually, all of the liquid is transformed into a solid mass of
interlocking crystals
 Crystallization of magma
• Factors that influence the growth of
crystals are:
1. Rate of cooling of magma
2. Composition of magma
3. Amount of volatiles present
 Factors affecting growth of
crystals
1. Rate of cooling
If magma cools very slowly, relatively few centres of
crystal growth develop. Slow cooling also allows ions to
migrate over relatively great distances.
Thus, slow cooling results in the formation of large
crystals
If cooling occurs rapidly, the ions lose their motion and
quickly combine. This results in a large number of tiny
crystals that all compete for the available ions.
Therefore, the outcome is the formation of a solid mass
of small intergrown crystals.
Slow cooling - Large crystals
Rapid cooling – Small crystals
• Rate of cooling (contd..)
If the molten material is quenched almost
instantly, there is not sufficient time for the ions
to arrange themselves into a crystalline network.
The outcome is a solid of randomly produced
ions. Such rocks are called glass (e.g. obsidian).
Instant quenching occurs during violent eruptions
that produce tiny shards of glass termed volcanic
ash.
• Composition of magma
The composition of magma can be basic (mafic)
or acidic (felsic)
Basic magma consists of mainly Fe & Mg minerals
and are fluid whilst acidic magma consists of light
coloured silicate minerals – quartz and feldspar,
and are very viscous.
Viscous felsic magma takes a longer time to cool
than basic fluid magma
A magma’s viscosity is directly related to its silica
content. The more the silica in magma, the
greater the viscosity.
Basic magmas are extruded with ease whereas
highly viscous magmas are more difficult to force
out and can be very explosive.
Eruption of Mount St. Helens on July 22, 1980 (after Tarbuck & Lutgens,
2006).
• As a result of the rate of cooling, composition and
amount of dissolved gases in a magma, the
physical appearance of igneous rocks vary widely.

• It is however possible to classify igneous rocks

based on the following:
1. Colour index
2. Texture
3. Composition
 Colour of igneous rocks
• The colour of an igneous rock is a guide to the chemical
composition, particularly in the coarser grained plutonic
rocks. The dark coloured minerals tend to be the Mg and Fe-
bearing minerals and the light coloured minerals rich in the
elements Si and Al.

Leucocratic > 70% light coloured minerals

(Light coloured) < 30 % dark coloured minerals
Mesocratic 70 – 40 % light coloured minerals
(Medium coloured) 30 – 60 % dark coloured minerals
Melanocratic < 40 % light coloured minerals
(Dark coloured) > 60 % dark coloured minerals

Leucocratic rocks are rich in feldspar and quartz and the melanocratic
rocks rich in the minerals amphibole, pyroxene and olivine.
 Igneous textures
• Texture describes the overall appearance of an
igneous rock based on size, shape and arrangement
of its interlocking crystals.
• Very important characteristic as it reveals a great
deal about the environment in which the rock
formed.
• Rapid cooling produces small crystals and very slow
cooling produces much larger crystals.
• Igneous rocks with interlocking crystals have
crystalline textures, whereas those composed of
fragments have clastic or pyroclastic textures.
 Igneous textures
Based on crystallinity
• Hollocrystalline textures – composed entirely of
crystals
• Holohyalline textures – entirely glassy
• Hypocrystalline textures – involving both
crystals and glass
Different textures resulting from different environments of cooling; A) Aphanitic, B)
Phaneritic, C) Glassy, D) Porphyritic (after Tarbuck & Lutjens, 2006).
 Typical igneous textures
1. Aphanitic – the mineral grains are too small
to see without a microscope.
2. Phaneritic - the mineral grains can be seen
with the naked eyes
3. Porphyritic – large crystals (phenocrysts)
embedded in a matrix of smaller crystals.
Volcanic rocks lacking phenocrysts are said
to be aphyric, whereas those with
phenocrysts are phyric.
4. Pegmatitic – very coarse-grained rocks
dominated by grains >3 cm in length.
1. Glassy ‑ non‑crystalline.
 

Volcanic glass, or obsidian,

typically displays a conchoidal
fracture, and has the sharp
edges typical of broken glass.
No crystals are present, but
under the microscope flow
layering can be recognised.
Glassy texture is produced by
very rapid cooling called
quenching, during which the
silicate liquid does not have
time to develop an ordered
crystalline structure of mineral
Source:
grains. http://rockhoundblog.com/wp-
content/uploads/2006/10/obsidian.jpg
2. Aphanitic ‑ the mineral grains are too small to see
without a microscope.
Crystal growth requires time, hence a rock composed of
crystals requires more time to form than a glassy rock. Rocks
that are crystalline, but very fine‑grained are termed
aphanitic. These rocks are composed of mineral grains, but
the individual minerals can only be recognised under a
microscope. An aphanitic texture indicates rapid cooling, but
not as fast as in rocks with a glassy texture.
3. Phaneritic ‑ the mineral grains can be seen with the
naked eyes.
When the individual mineral grains can be recognised by the
naked eye, the rock texture is termed phaneritic. The grains are
all approximately the same size and form an interlocking
mosaic. The equigranular texture implies a uniform cooling
rate, and the large grain size is indicative of slow cooling. Such
slow cooling can only occur when magma crystallises deep in
the earth. Hence a phaneritic texture indicates a plutonic or
hypabyssal igneous intrusion that has been exposed by erosion.

Hypabyssal – crystallization at shallow depth

4. Porphyritic ‑ two, or more different sizes of minerals in
a rock.
In some igneous rocks two
different sizes of crystals are
present. The larger well‑formed
crystals are referred to as
phenocrysts, while the smaller
mineral grains make up the
matrix or groundmass. A
porphyritic texture can occur in
an aphanitic or a phaneritic
rock. The porphyritic texture in
an igneous rock normally
indicates that the magma
experienced variable conditions,
namely periods of slow and
rapid cooling prior to
5. Pyroclastic ‑ crystal and rock fragments.
The pyroclastic and porphyritic
textures can be confused, but under
the microscope the broken crystals
as well as bent, twisted lava
fragments can easily be recognised.
Pyroclastic rocks are formed during
explosive volcanic eruptions when
droplets of lava, early formed
crystals, volcanic glass and rock
fragments are ejected from the
volcano. If the material is still very
hot when it settles then the fragment
will become welded together,
otherwise secondary reactions and
ground water deposits can cement
the fragments together.
 Vesicular and Amygdaloidal Textures
The drop in pressure that a magma experiences as it flows from
underground to the Earth's surface allows water and gases in the lava
to form bubbles. If the bubbles do not get large enough to pop, they
are frozen in the lava as vesicles. Basalts are most commonly
vesicular. Vesicles range in shape from spherical to elongated and in
size from ~1mm to more than 1 cm.

Amygdaloids are vesicles that

have been filled in with a
secondary mineral long after the
flow cooled. Such secondary
minerals are commonly white:
quartz, calcite, or zeolite.
Pegmatitic Texture

A pegmatitic texture is one in which the mineral grains are

exceptionally large. The largest ones are more than about 3 cm
long.
The extra large size does not
mean that they cooled extra
slowly. Instead, the large
crystals of a pegmatite
formed in a magma that was
extra rich in dissolved water.
The water allowed the
necessary elements to diffuse
extra fast to the sites of
crystallization.
 Composition of igneous rocks
• Igneous rocks are mainly composed of silicate minerals.
• The mineral composition of igneous rocks is a consequence of
the chemical makeup of the parent magma and the
environment of crystallization.
• As magma cools and solidifies, the elements combine to form
two major groups of silicate minerals:
1. the dark silicates rich in Fe and or Mg and are relatively low
in silica (olivine, pyroxene, amphibole, and biotite-mica).
2. the light silicates contain greater amounts of K, Na and Ca.
These are higher in silica than the dark silicates. These
include quartz, muscovite-mica, and the most abundant
mineral group, the feldspars.
Classification of Igneous Rocks
Based on SiO2 Content

% SiO2 Classification Rock type

in magma
intrusive extrusive

<45 ultramafic dunite komatiite

45-52 mafic gabbro basalt

52-65 intermediate diorite andesite

65-75 felsic granite rhyolite

 Classification based on mineralogy
• In naming igneous rocks, the minerals may be
divided into:
1. Essential minerals – those that must be present if
a given name is applied to the rock
2. Accessory minerals – those that occur in
abundance of 5 % or more and are not implied by
the name but are used to modify the rock name
Only the essential minerals are used in determining
the name of the rock. The accessory minerals are
used as prefixes to the name. E.g. Olivine-gabbro
 Ultramafic rocks
Intrusive – Dunite, Peridotite
Ultramafic rocks have olivine or olivine and pyroxene as the essential
minerals. Such rocks are rare on the Earth's surface, but they dominate
the mantle. Many ultramafic rocks found on the surface in fact were
brought up from the mantle by rising bodies of magma that erupted on
the surface.

Source:
http://www.teara.govt.nz/files/p
9075gns.jpg
 Mafic rocks
Intrusive - Gabbro
Gabbros are generally dark colored. They are dominated by Ca-rich
plagioclase, which tends to be darker than the Na-rich variety, and by
pyroxene. Olivine may sometimes be present as an accessory; thus
the rock can be named an olivine-gabbro

Source:
http://0.tqn.com/d/geology/1/0/2/
S/1/rocpicgabbro.jpg
 Mafic rocks
Extrusive - Basalts
Basalts may be entirely fine grained or may show phenocrysts of
olivine and/or plagioclase. Basalts also may show vesicular or
amygdaloidal textures.

Basalt (after Tarbuck &

Lutjens, 2006).
 Intermediate rocks
Intrusive - Diorite
Being of intermediate composition between felsic and mafic, diorite
is made largely of white to light gray plagioclase and black
hornblende. Some diorites contain biotite as well as hornblende, and
some contain up to 10% quartz.
If there is more than 10% quartz, or if there is abundant K-feldspar
it is probably a granite.

Diorite (after Tarbuck &

Lutjens, 2006).
 Intermediate rocks
Extrusive - Andesite
Andesites are typically medium gray and porphyritic, with
phenocrysts of white to light gray plagioclase and/or black augite,
hornblende, and/or biotite. Some andesites are reddish and some are
vesicular.

Andesite (after Tarbuck &

Lutjens, 2006).
 Felsic rocks
Intrusive - Granite
Most granites are light gray to pink in color, but gray and dark red
granites are common, too. All granites contain quartz and K-
feldspar. If the K-feldspar is white, the granites are light gray; if
the feldspar is pink or red,SiO 65-75%
the2 granite is pink or red. Biotite or
hornblende comprise the dark minerals, and muscovite may add
some silvery flakes to the mix. Sometimes, biotite or hornblende
may be so much in abundance that it is used as a prefix in naming
the rock e.g. biotite-granite or hornblende-granite

Granite (after Tarbuck &

Lutgens, 2006)
 Felsic rocks
Extrusive - Rhyolite
Most rhyolites are light gray to pinkish in color, but red or even
black rhyolites are not rare. Most rhyolites are porphyritic and are
identified by the quartz phenocrysts and white to salmon K-
feldspar phenocrysts. The groundmass is aphanitic.

Rhyollite (after Tarbuck &

Lutjens, 2006).
 Summary of classification of the major groups of
igneous rocks based on mineralogy and texture (after
Tarbuck & Lutgens)
Common igneous rocks (after Tarbuck & Lutgens,
2006)