Adam C.

Simon
 
Ph.D., University of Maryland,
2003
 
Research Associate
Department of Geology
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742
p: 301 405 0235
f: 301 314 9661
e-mail: asimon@geol.umd.edu
 Igneous rocks are so named because
even relatively early on many believed
Igneous Rocks they were born of fire
that filled the inner Earth.

Today we will
talk about the
processes that
make igneous
rocks and how
their
compositions
and textures tell
us where they
come from and
how they
cooled.
 Why Do Rocks Melt?
We know that although it is at higher temperature than
the crust, the Earth’s mantle is solid (not molten). What
does it take to melt the mantle, or any rock?
• addition of water
• release of pressure
• addition of energy
So when we look at places
on Earth where melting is
occurring, we need to ask
which of these mechanisms
applies.
 Igneous Rock Classification

The two things needed to classify an igneous rock are:

-- texture
-- composition

The texture of an igneous rock refers to the grain size.

We determine the composition based on the minerals

that make up the rock.
 Igneous Texture

This is a thin
section
The igneous texture is one in which photograph of
mineral crystals interlock. a granite.
 Igneous Texture

mica

quartz

feldspar

Note that the individual minerals are not cemented

together, and the crystals appear randomly oriented.
 Rapid Cooling

Rapid cooling results in rocks with small crystals. Many crystal

nuclei (microscopic first-formed crystals) form, and as they hurry
to grow, they interfere with one another.
This is what we see in extrusive rocks, also known as
volcanic rocks. They form at or near the Earth’s surface.
 Quenching
When molten rock is exposed to very low temperatures (Earth
atmosphere or water at surface), the liquid rock does not have
adequate energy to form organized crystals.
The result is the formation of glass in a process called quenching.

The structure of the rock pumice is

made up primarily of glass, indicating
its formation at the interface between
volcano and air.
 Subaqueous
Extrusion
Pillow lavas form when
lava flows into the
water, like here in
Hawaii.
 Slow Cooling

With slow cooling,

fewer nuclei form,
thus allowing for
larger single
crystals to
develop.
This is what we
see in intrusive
igneous rocks.

1 cm
 Two-Stage Cooling

Many igneous rocks, however, have uneven grain size: some

small grains and some large grains.
This texture is called porphyritic.

Porphyritic texture denotes two-stage cooling:

There is an early stage of relatively slow (deep) cooling, when
some larger crystals grow.

Then the magma is cooled more rapidly:

large (usually more well-formed) crystals are trapped
in a matrix of finer-grained material.
 Porphyritic Igneous Rocks
Many igneous rocks have uneven grain size:
some small grains and some larger grains.

photomicrograph of a 1 cm
feldspar phenocryst in a fine-
grained, glassy (dark) matrix

hand sample of a medium-

grained rock containing cm-size
feldspar phenocrysts
 Composition
We classify igneous rocks based largely on the variable
proportions of silicon (Si) and elements like iron (Fe) on
magnesium (Mg).

Rocks rich in Si and poor in Fe,Mg are called felsic.

Rocks rich in Fe,Mg and poor in Si are called mafic.

Rocks with intermediate compositions are called...

intermediate.

Mantle rocks, extremely

rich in Fe,Mg, are called
ultramafic.
Igneous Rock Classification
PERIDOTITE

base
identification
on:
-dark minerals
-feldspars
-quartz

increasing
melting
temperature
 Felsic Igneous Rocks
keys for felsic rocks: presence of quartz, light color
(< ~25% dark minerals)

fine grained (extrusive) coarse grained (intrusive)

= rhyolite = granite
 Igneous Diversity

These are all granites. They fit the definition:

they are coarse grained igneous rocks with abundant quartz.
Why do they look so different??
 Intermediate Igneous Rocks
keys for intermediate rocks: near absence of quartz,
amphibole common, moderate color
(careful: may be as light in color as some felsic rocks, though)

fine grained (extrusive) = andesite

1 cm

1 cm

note: lots of amphibole and feldspar,

no visible quartz
 Felsic to
Intermediate

What changes as you go from granite (left) to diorite (right)?

Igneous Rock Classification
PERIDOTITE

increasing
melting
temperature
 Intermediate to Mafic

Similarly, in going from

diorite (left) to gabbro (right),
grain size stays the same, but
the rock becomes even more
highly dominated by dark
minerals.
 Mafic Igneous Rocks
keys for mafic rocks: no quartz, dark color (even plagioclase
feldspar may be very dark in color when it is Ca-rich)
fine grained (extrusive)
= basalt coarse grained (intrusive)
= gabbro
 Chemical Differences: Mafic v. Intermediate
Although we talk about these rocks having extremely different
compositions, be aware that broadly speaking they are very similar.

(a dacite is compositionally between a rhyolite and an andesite)

Ultramafic Igneous Rocks

The coarse-grained
intrusive ultramafic rocks
are varied in nature, but
fall under the general
term peridotite.

The mantle is essentially

all peridotite.

There are not many

extrusive ultramafic rocks weathered
fresh
(any more).
Igneous Rock Classification
PERIDOTITE

increasing
melting
temperature
 Bowen’s Reaction Series
Variations in the compositions of the igneous rocks was
demonstrated synthetically, even before 1950.
The model that came from these experiments describes
how different minerals may or may not coexist in rocks.
 Partial Melting
In nature, it is common that only 1-20% of a rock will melt
when heated, because it takes so much energy.
As a result, the minerals that melt are mainly those with
lower melting points (lower on Bowen’s reaction series).

This means that the part of the rock that melts doesn’t
represent the whole rock. The result is that partial melts
will have different compositions that their sources.

That is to say, partial melting is a differentiation process.

Partial melts are always more felsic than their sources:

For example: mantle peridotite melts
to form mid-ocean ridge basalt.
 Partial Melting

Without partial
melting, all Earth
rocks would be
essentially
mantle-like in Partial Melt
composition.

Granites
would be
diminishingly
rare.

Remaining solid
 Igneous Intrusions

It is common for
magma to move
into rock by
forceful intrusion,
exploiting
weaknesses like
fractures.
 Igneous Intrusions: Dikes
Complex
arrays of
dikes like
these are
common in
mountain
belts. Dikes
can carry
magma of
any
composition:
this one is
granite.
Dikes are a good relative age indicator: the dike rock is always
younger than the rock it cuts through.
 Igneous
Intrusions: Dikes

A typical sight
throughout the
Appalachians is dark,
basalt dikes cutting
across older rocks
(in this case granite).

These basalt dikes are

related to the opening
of the Atlantic ocean
~200 Million years ago.
 Igneous Intrusions: Sills

basalt sill

Intrusions may also be concordant, like this sill, indicating that the
magma found it mechanically easier to follow along structures in
the host rock rather than to cut across them.
 Igneous Intrusions: Plutons
Ultimately, enough magma that ponds together and crystallizes is
called a pluton. Although classically considered to be roughly
balloon shaped, these may have complex forms that relate to the
regional stresses in the crust.

The cores of many of the great mountain belts are massive pluton
complexes, like the Sierra Nevada in eastern California (the term
batholith is frequently used for bodies such as these). It is likely
that these bodies were the deep plumbing of volcanic centers that
were active long ago but have since eroded away, revealing the
plutonic roots of the system.
 Igneous Sources
mafic:
- melting mantle (ultramafic)

intermediate:
- melting mafic rocks
- melting ultramafic rocks and differentiating magma
through fractional crystallization
- mixing felsic and mafic magmas

felsic:
- melting silica-rich material (crustal rocks:
sediments and metamorphosed sediments)
Plate Tectonics and Mafic Rocks

mafic:
- melting mantle (ultramafic)

Where ocean crust is thin, or where crust is

being pulled apart, permitting mantle melts to
reach into crust.

- divergent plate boundaries (mid-ocean ridges and

continental rift zones)
- hot spots
- island arcs
 MORB = Mid-Ocean Ridge Basalt

Basalt is the most common rock in the crust, mainly because of the
constant activity at spreading centers, like the mid-ocean ridges.
 Continental Rifting

Continental crust can also be pulled apart, making easy paths for
basalt to reach the shallow crust. This is what happens as plates
pull apart at rift zones (like modern day northeast Africa).
 Mantle Plumes: Hot Spots in the Crust

Isolated mafic volcanoes, like the Hawaiian islands, usually relate to mantle
plume activity. Plumes originate in the moderate- to deep-mantle and are not
linked to interactions on edges of crustal plates.
Plate Tectonics and Intermediate Rocks

intermediate:
- melting mafic rocks
- melting ultramafic rocks and differentiating magma
through fractional crystallization
- mixing felsic and mafic magmas

where crust is moderate in thickness, commonly in

conjunction with mafic magma

- convergent plate margins: island and continental arcs

Island Arcs: Oceanic Plate Convergence

In settings like modern Japan, Indonesia, and Central America,

crust is thin and lavas are dominated by basalt and andesite.
Plate Tectonics and Felsic Rocks
felsic:
- melting silica-rich material (crustal rocks:
sediments and metamorphosed sediments)

areas where the crust is thick

- continental arcs
- some continental rifts
 Continental Margin Magmatism

Large granite plutons are among the classic characteristics of crust

thickened during mountain building.
 Heat Sources
mafic:
- melting mantle (ultramafic) decompression

intermediate:
- melting mafic rocks
- melting ultramafic rocks and differentiating magma
through fractional crystallization
- mixing felsic and mafic magmas addition of water or
mafic magma

felsic:
- melting silica-rich material (crustal rocks:
sediments and metamorphosed sediments)
decompression, addition
of water or magmas
 Credits

Some images in this presentation come from:

Plummer, McGeary and Carlson, Physical Geology, 8/e;
NMNH, Dept. of Mineral Sciences; GS Solar (SUNY
College at Buffalo); Hamblin and Christiansen, Earth’s
Dynamic Systems, 8/e; Univ. of North Dakota’s Volcano
World; Geocities.com; Don Swanson, USGS