SiliconOxygen Tetrahedron (SiO4)

Isolated Tetrahedrons (Olivine)

Tetrahedron Arrangement

Single-Chain Double-Chain Pyroxene Amphibole

Sheet Mica

Common silicate minerals

Igneous Rock Textures



Texture refers to the size, shape and arrangement of grains or other constituents within a rock Texture of igneous rocks is primarily controlled by cooling rate Extrusive igneous rocks cool quickly at or inenear Earths surface and are typically fine grained (most crystals <1 mm) Intrusive igneous rocks cool slowly deep beneath Earths surface and are typically coarsecoarse -grained (most crystals >1 mm)

Coarse-grained igneous rock

Fine-grained igneous rock

Classification is based on the rock's texture and mineral constituents

Igneous rocks

Texture

Size and arrangement of crystals Types Fine-grained fast rate of cooling Coarse-grained slow rate of cooling Porphyritic (two crystal sizes) two rates of cooling Glassy very fast rate of cooling

Igneous Rock Identification

 

Igneous rock names are based on texture (grain size) and mineralogic composition Textural classification
Plutonic rocks (gabbro gabbro-dioritediorite-granite) are coarsecoarse-grained and cooled slowly at depth Volcanic rocks (basalt (basalt-andesiteandesite-rhyolite) rhyolite) are typically finefine-grained and cooled rapidly at the Earths surface

Compositional classification
Mafic rocks (gabbro gabbro-basalt) contain abundant darkdark-colored ferromagnesian minerals Intermediate rocks (diorite (diorite-andesite) andesite) contain roughly equal amounts of darkdark - and lightlight-colored minerals Felsic rocks (granite (granite-rhyolite) rhyolite) contain abundant lightlight-colored minerals

Igneous Rock Chemistry



Rock chemistry, particularly silica (SiO2) content, determines mineral content and general color of igneous rocks
Ultramafic /Ultrabasic rocks have <45% silica, by weight, and are composed almost entirely of darkdark-colored ferromagnesian minerals ------- Undersaturated rocks


Most common ultramafic rock is peridotite (intrusive)

Mafic ic/Basic /Basic rocks have ~50% silica, by weight, and contain minerals that are abundant in iron, magnesium and calcium (45(45-52 wt. % silica) --------- Saturated rocks


Intrusive/extrusive mafic rocks - gabbro gabbro/basalt /basalt

Intermediate rocks have silica contents between those of mafic and felsic rocks (52(52-63 wt. % silica) ----- Saturated rocks


Intrusive/extrusive intermediate rocks - diorite/andesite diorite/andesite

Felsic (silicic/acidic) silicic/acidic) rocks have >63% silica, by weight, and contain lightlight -colored minerals that are abundant in silica, aluminum, sodium and potassium--------potassium--------- Oversaturated rocks


Intrusive/extrusive felsic rocks - granite/ granite/rhyolite rhyolite

Bowens Reaction Series

  

Minerals crystallize in a predictable order, over a large temperature range Early formed mineral + remaining melt = new mineral Discontinuous branch
Ferromagnesian minerals (olivine, pyroxene, amphibole, biotite) biotite) crystallize in sequence with decreasing temperature As one mineral becomes chemically unstable in the remaining magma, another begins to form

Continuous branch
Plagioclase feldspar forms with a chemical composition that evolves (from CaCa-rich to NaNa-rich) with decreasing temperature

Observations from Bowens



Large variety of igneous rocks is produced by diversification of magma compositions Mafic magmas will crystallize into basalt or gabbro if earlyearly -formed minerals are not removed from the magma Intermediate magmas will similarly crystallize into diorite or andesite if minerals are not removed Separation of earlyearly-formed ferromagnesian minerals from a magma body increases the silica content of the remaining magma Minerals melt in the reverse order of that in which they crystallize from a magma