University of Washington ESS X101 Chapter 3 Review

Why and how do rocks melt?

To produce an igneous rock we need to melt rock to produce magma. To completely melt a rock often requires temperatures well in excess of 1000 degrees Celsius. We know that temperature within the Earth increases with depth and that temperatures of 1000 degrees can be found at 100 km depth. Yet the mantle is not molten. Hmmm. Obviously there is something more involved in the production of melt than just temperature. There are four important concepts in melting. They are: partial melting, the relation of pressure to melting, the role of water in melting, and the density of melt relative to the solid. Let's examine each of these. Partial melt: Unlike ice, rocks do not melt completely at one temperature. This is because they are a multi-component system whereas ice is single component (water). A reasonable analog is a chocolate cookie. The chips melt before the cookie dough, thus heating a cookie you could melt the chocolate, but not melt the entire cookie. The composition of the melt (chocolate) differs from the remainder (dough). In a rock, certain minerals and certain crystals melt before others. Like a cookie, the composition of the melt is different than the solid residue and different from the sum until melting is completed. This means that the partial melt of a particular rock will not produce that rock upon crystallization. For instance, partial melt of a Diorite does not crystallize to form a Diorite. In fact, it will form a Granite. In general, the lower the melt percentage (percentage of the rock that melts), the more different the melt is from the solid. Pressure and melting: As pressure increases (as depth increases), melting temperature of rocks or components of rocks increases. For instance, a rock that melts entirely at 1000 degrees at the surface may require a temperature of 1300 degrees to melt at 100 km depth. This explains why the mantle is solid even though temperatures are very high: the melting temperature of the rock increases faster than the geotherm (temperature in the Earth). Water and melting: The presence of free water lowers the melting point (solidus-the temperature at which liquid first appears).

The effect is similar to salt on ice. Ice alone is a single component system with a melting temperature (solidus and liquidus, the temperature at which only liquid is present) of 0 degrees C. The addition of salt, NaCl (Halite), results in a multi-component system with a lower melting point. In the Earth, the presence of water during melting can greatly affect the composition of the melt. This is not true of salt on ice. Melt is less dense than solid: Melts are buoyant and will ascend if possible. Melts produced at depth migrate upwards, often a long way (50 km or more!). Putting these four concepts together, we can explain the occurrence of melt. We find from global studies that melts occur in three settings: mid-ocean ridges, subduction zones and hotspots. The cause of melting and composition of the melt produced varies between the three. 1. Mid-ocean ridges: By far and away the most productive source of magma, generation of melt at mid-ocean ridges is entirely responsible for production of oceanic crust (which is Gabbro and Basalt). At ridges, the crust and upper mantle is pulled apart (rifted), allowing hot mantle rock to ascend. As the rock ascends, the pressure acting on it decreases and so does its melting point (solidus). If it ascends faster than heat can conduct out of it, it will melt. This means of melting, known as pressure-release melting, usually results in a 1 to 10% partial melt, implying that a large amount of rock must be affected to produce the oceanic crust. The upper mantle is Peridotite. When this is partially melted, it produces a melt of gabbroic composition. 2. Subduction zones: Responsible for the ring of fire, melt production above subduction zones seems, at first glance, counterintuitive. Remember that at subduction zones one plate is diving beneath another. The descending plate is cooler than the mantle it sinks through, so why is there melt? The reason is water. Water is released from hydrated minerals, chiefly the Amphiboles, Clays, and Micas. This is because water in these minerals is only stable at low pressures, not the higher pressures of the mantle. The release of water lowers the solidus temperature of the mantle above the subducting plate (or slab). As a result, partial melting takes place. As mentioned earlier, the presence of water during melting can affect the composition of the melt. Whereas gabbroic melts are produced by the partial melting of peridotite at mid-ocean ridges, gabbroic to granitic magmas can be produced in subduction zones. The magma ascends through the mantle and crust. During the ascent, the magma interacts with the surrounding rocks. When magma ascends through oceanic crust, the magmas that emerge are gabbroic to dacitic (basaltic to andesitic). When they ascend through continental crust, they emerge as dacites, granodiorites and granites (andesites to rhyolites). By far the most

common rock produced is dacite/andesite. In fact, the name andesite comes from the Andes, an example of subduction zone volcanism on continental crust. 3. Hotspots/Mantle plumes: The last place we find melts is in hot spots. Hot spots got their name because they are either large igneous rocks provinces or linear chains of volcanoes that seem to arise from a single point. Examples of hot spots are: the Hawaiian island chain, the Snake River plain and Iceland. The presence of melt here is exceptional since there need not be anything anomalous happening in the crust and upper mantle. In this setting, magma ascend from very deep in the Earth's mantle, probably from the boundary between the core and the base of the mantle. Melting can occur here because of the very high temperatures within the core and the resultant flow of heat out into the mantle. The magmas produced are basaltic and are more or less identical to midocean ridge basalts.

Magmatic Differentiation/Crystallization of Magma

Rocks do not melt at one temperature, nor do they crystallize at one temperature. There is a well defined sequence by which minerals crystallize from a cooling melt. This was studied by Bowen early in this century in an attempt to understand the origin of different igneous rocks. The sequence is now known as Bowen's Reaction Series. It actually is two series, one called the "continuous" series, the other called "discontinuous." The continuous series applies to the Plagioclase feldspars. With decreasing temperature the series moves from Ca-rich (Anorthite) to Na-rich (Albite). The discontinuous series applies to the other major igneous rock-forming minerals. With decreasing temperature, the sequence goes: Olivine (isolated tetrahedra) to Pyroxene (chains) to Amphibole (double chains) to Biotite (sheets). The two sequence merge, with Potassium Feldspar, Muscovite and Quartz crystallization with continued cooling. Okay, so what? So some minerals crystallize at higher temperatures than others. Why should we care? Let's think about this. Olivine and Ca-rich Plagioclase Feldspars are the first minerals to crystallize. Olivine contains Mg, Fe and silica. Anorthite contains Ca, Al and silica. These elements are found in abundance in almost every magma, allowing these minerals to crystallize. But say the magma is granitic; granites don't have Olivine or Plagioclase Feldspar in them in any abundance. So what happens to these crystals when they form? Good question. The answer lies in equilibrium between crystals and melt. Although the temperature of the magma may be low enough to allow Olivine to crystallize, it is not in equilibrium with a granitic magma which is much more silica rich and lower in Mg and Fe. Because of this, Olivine reacts with the melt to produce Pyroxene. In the continuous series, the Ca-rich crystals react with the melt, giving up Ca and taking in Na, which would be more abundant in a granitic melt. Through this

process, the crystals maintain equilibrium with the melt, producing the right mineral assemblage for the rock type. But what if the crystals don't stay in equilibrium, then what? Fractional crystallization: If crystals settle out from the melt (remember they are solid and denser) or the melt rises quickly leaving the crystals behind, then the two (crystals and melt) can't stay in equilibrium. This causes the melt composition to evolve. Since the first minerals to crystallize are mafic (Olivine and Pyroxene), the melt becomes more felsic (richer in silica) and the rocks it will produce move from Gabbro toward Granite. That this happens can be seen in some exposed magma chambers where bands of distinct minerals occur in layers at the base of a magma chamber. Pegmatites, igneous rocks with very large crystals, form from melts that have evolved significantly toward the granitic end. The melt is very rich in silica and elements that don't fit easily into minerals. As a result, pegmatites are important sources of some rare elements such as Be, Li, and U.

Forms of Magmatic Intrusion

Magma must first be emplaced in the crust before lava can erupt. Often, the magma never becomes lava, that is it never reaches the surface. Even when it does, it is usual for most of the magma to remain below the surface. As it cools, it forms a number of different types of intrusive structures. These structures are called plutons (after Pluto). The most common are dikes and sills. Dikes are near vertical fissures filled with magma (solidified), frequently opened up as cracks to accommodate buoyant magma. Sills are near horizontal layers filled with magma, often following the original layering of the rock that magma has intruded. Laccoliths are similar to sills, but the roof is upraised, producing mounds. The most spectacular plutons are batholiths: huge bodies of igneous rock of irregular shape, usually constructed of more than one igneous intrusion (or diapir, literally an ascending magma blob). Batholiths are associated with subduction zones and are usually granitic. They are thought to involve much recycled continental crust, meaning that the melt produced above the subducting plate melts a large volume of the continental crust that it ascends through. This produces a more felsic, silica rich magma since continental crust is much more felsic and silica rich than the mantle. Batholiths can be huge. The Sierra Nevada batholith and Southern California batholith run pretty much the length of California. Larger still is the Coast Range batholith in British Columbia which extends from the international border into Alaska.