Essentials of Geology: Chapter 3
magma assimilation
A magma chamber may incorporate the rocks that make up the wall of the magma chamber by rocks falling into the magma chamber and melting, or when heat from the magma chamber melts the wall of the chamber.
25 °C
Average value of the temperature gradient
magmatic differentiation
Bowen's experiments account for the great diversity of igneous rocks. It has been shown that, at one or more stages during the crystallization of magma, a separation of various components can occur. What do you call this process of separation?
Peridotite
Dense, dark igneous rock that makes up the mantle.
dike swarms
Dikes and sills can occur as solitary bodies, but dikes in particular tend to form in roughly parallel groups called ___________.
rate of cooling
Dominant factor of a rock's texture
Felsic
Geologists also refer to granitic rocks as being _________ , a term derived from feldspar and silica (quartz).
700°C
Granitic magma, which has a high silica content, is quite viscous ("thick") and may erupt at temperatures as low as _____ °C.
Pele's hair and Pele's tears
Hawaiian volcanoes sometimes generate lava fountains, which spray basaltic lava tens of meters into the air. Such activity can produce strands and tiny blobs of volcanic glass called________________ and ________________ respectively, after the Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes.
1. Increase in Temperature 2. Decompression Melting 3. Addition/Introduction of Volatiles
Magma can be generated in the upper mantle in three ways:
Uppermost mantle/Asthenosphere
Most magma originates in what layer of the geosphere?
Kirava, Sweden
Place in Europe where a pegmatite deposit that is composed of over 60% magnetite
Magmatic Segregation serves to concentrate selected metals producing major deposits of chromite (ore of chromium), magnetite, and platinum. Heavy minerals that crystallize early tend to settle to the lower portion of the magma chamber.
Primary magmatic process in ore deposition at Stillwater Complex in Montana and Bushveld Complex in South Africa.
Glass
Rocks that consist of unordered ions that are "frozen" randomly in place are referred to as ________.
andesitic composition
Rocks with a composition between granitic and basaltic rocks. Contain at least 25 percent dark silicate minerals, mainly amphibole, pyroxene, and biotite mica with the other dominant mineral being plagioclase feldspar.
volatiles
The gaseous components of magma, called ____________ , are materials that will vaporize (form a gas) at surface pressures. The most common volatiles found in magma are water vapor (H 2 O), carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), and sulfur dioxide (SO 2 )
Norman Levi Bowen FRS was a Canadian geologist. Bowen "revolutionized experimental petrology and our understanding of mineral crystallization".
The guy who pioneered the investigation into the crystallization of magma in the early 20th century?
Melt
The liquid portion of magma, called ________ , is composed mainly of mobile ions of the eight most common elements found in Earth's crust—silicon and oxygen, along with lesser amounts of aluminum, potassium, calcium, sodium, iron, and magnesium
magma mixing
The process whereby magmas of different composition mix together to yield a modified version of the parent magmas.
intrusions or plutons
The structures that result from the emplacement of magma into preexisting rocks are called __________________.
Silcon and Oxygen
Two elements that are the main constituent of Igneous rocks
Dikes and Sills
Two kinds of tabular intrusive bodies:
1. Radioactive Minerals and Rare Earths 2. Semi-Precious Gems: tourmali, topaz, beryl
Valuable Minerals and Elements typically found in Granitic Pegmatites
basaltic composition
a compositional group of igneous rocks indication that the rock contains substantial dark silicate minerals and calcium rich plagioclase feldspar
Dikes (can extend for many kilometers they are assumed to be the product of very fluid, and therefore, mobile magmas.)
are discordant bodies that cut across bedding surfaces or other structures in the host rock.
1100 and 1250 °C / 1000 °C
basaltic magmas are low in silica and are generally more fluid. Basaltic magmas also erupt at higher tem- peratures than granitic magmas—usually at temperatures between__________________ °C and are completely solid when cooled to ______ °C.
Pegmatites Pegmatites form late in the crystallization of a magma, when water and other volatiles, such as carbon dioxide, chlorine, and fluorine, make up an unusually high percentage of the melt. Because ion migration is enhanced in these fluid-rich environments, the crystals that form are abnormally large. Thus, the large crystals in pegmatites are not the result of inordinately long cooling histories; rather, they are the consequence of a fluid-rich environment that enhances crystallization.
composed of interlocking crystals all larger than a centimeter in diameter
discordant
cut across existing structures
Mafic
describes magma or igneous rock that is rich in magnesium and iron and that is generally dark in color
tabular or massive
describing a feature such as an igneous pluton that has two dimensions that are much longer than the third (table-like)
columnar joints
form as igneous rocks cool and develop shrinkage fractures that produce elongated, pillar-like columns.
Sills Further, because sills generally form in near-surface environments and may be only a few meters thick, the emplaced magma often cools quickly enough to generate a fine-grained texture
horizontal intrusions of solidified magma that was forced between rock layers
concordant
if they form parallel to features such as sedimentary strata.
Laccolith A 19th century study by G. K. Gilbert of the U.S. Geological Survey in the Henry Mountains of Utah produced the first clear evidence that igneous intrusions can lift the sedimentary strata they penetrate.
igneous rock forcibly injected between sedimentary strata, so as to arch the beds above, while leaving those below relatively flat.
Granite (Has quartz crystals, which are roughly spheri- cal in shape, are often glassy and clear to light gray in color. By contrast, feldspar crystals are generally white to gray or salmon pink in color and exhibit a rectan- gular rather than spherical shape. Other minor constituents of granite include mus- covite and some dark silicates, particularly biotite and amphibole. Although the dark components generally make up less than 10 percent of most granites, dark minerals appear to be more prominent than their percentage would indicate. When potassium feldspar is dominant and dark pink in color, granite appears reddish (see Figure 3.11). This variety of granite is popular for monuments and as a building stone. However, the feldspar grains are more often white to gray, so when they are mixed with lesser amounts of dark silicates, granite appears light gray in color.)
is a coarse-grained rock composed of about 25 percent quartz and roughly 65 percent feldspar, mostly potassium-and sodium-rich varieties.
tuff
is composed mainly of tiny, ash-size fragments that were later cemented together
Welded Tuff
is composed of fine fragments of glass that remained hot enough during their flight to fuse together upon impact.
Texture
is used to describe the overall appearance of a rock based on the size, shape, and arrangement of its mineral grains
Batholith
largest intrusive igneous bodies. plutonic body that has a surface exposure greater than 100 square kilometers
Magma mixing
may occur during the ascent of two chemically distinct magma bodies as the more buoyant mass overtakes the more slowly moving mass.
Decompression Melting
occurs where hot, solid mantle rock ascends in zones of convective upwelling, thereby moving into regions of lower pressure. This process is responsible for generating magma along divergent plate boundaries (oceanic ridges) where plates are rifting apart
Stocks Many stocks appear to be portions of much larger intrusive bodies that would be called batholiths if they were fully exposed.
plutonic body that has a surface exposure less than 100 square kilometers
Ultramafic
relating to or denoting igneous rocks composed chiefly of mafic minerals.
pyroclastic texture
result of the consolidation of rock fragments that were ejected during a violent volcanic eruption.
magmatic segregation
separation of heavy minerals that crystallize early or enrichment of rare elements in the residual melt
magmatic differentiation
the formation of one or more secondary magmas from a single parent magma
partial melting
the process by which different minerals in rock melt at different temperatures
Bowen's Reaction Series
the simplified pattern that illustrates the order in which minerals crystallize from cooling magma according to their chemical composition and melting point