IGNEOUS ROCKS & THEIR ACTIVITIES Introduction: Both temperature and pressure increase with increasing depth and

it is the rate of increase that is important. The geothermal gradient measures the rate at which temperature increases within the Earth.

Roughly 25-30C per kilometer. This gradient must "flatten out" or lessen with increasing depth.

Pressure increases at a rate of about 333 bars per kilometer in the crust. A bar is about one atmosphere. Therefore the pressure gradient is about one-third of a kilobar (1000 bars) per kilometer.

Diamonds require about 100 kilobars to form, what depth of burial is required?

Partial Melting: Most rocks are mixtures of minerals and each mineral has its own set of physical characteristics. Quartz melts at about 1725C at one atmosphere total pressure; here, melting is defined as the temperature at which solid and liquid of the same composition are in equilibrium. In general we must specify the pressure in order to state a unique melting point. If Quartz is mixed with Alkali Feldspar in some proportion (e.g. 70% feldspar and 30% quartz) melting occurs but not in the same way that the melting of a pure compound occurs. In general, there is no single temperature at which any mixture of minerals goes from solid to liquid. Rather, there is a range of temperatures at which liquid and solid are present. This is the interval of partial melting or partial crystallization. 1000C all liquid 900C less solid + more liquid 800C solid + liquid 700C more solid + less liquid 600C all solid

The amount of liquid decreases as the temperature drops until all of the liquid is used up in producing solids. Here partial melting is initiated at about 700 degrees Centigrade and completed by 1000C. Cooling is the reverse. This mixture would be 100% liquid until a temperature of about 1000C. Crystallization begins and the amount of solids increase and the amount of liquid decreases as the temperature cools. At about 700 all of the liquid is gone. The concept of partial melting plays a crucial role in igneous processes. Essentially all magmas are formed by partial melting which did not reach the temperature at which all of the parent material was molten. In general, liquids tend to be less dense than the solids that crystallize from them. In a mixture of crystals and liquids the liquid (less dense) will attempt to migrate upwards whereas the crystals may sink. Initiation of Melting Melting temperatures rise with increasing pressure:

Therefore a relatively sudden reduction in pressure on an already hot rock can initiate melting. Similarly, the addition of water (a bond breaker) to a hot rock can cause melting to begin.

When magma reaches the surface it is called lava. Magmas that cool at the surface of the Earth are extrusive whereas those that cool within the Earth are intrusive. Plate Tectonics Review the relationships between plate boundaries and igneous activity. Classification of Igneous Rocks Why do we classify things?

Identify important attributes Efficiently communicate information.

Two properties of igneous rocks that we will focus on are texture and mineralogy. Texture refers to the size, shape and arrangement of the grains in the rock.

phaneritic - coarse grained - you can see the individual crystals aphanitic - fine grained - you can't see the individual crystals or grains porphyritic - big grains and small grains phenocryst - big groundmass - small

Minerals in igneous rocks have an interlocking texture. Minerals crystallize and compete for space. Rapid cooling leads to fine-grained aphanitic rocks extrusive. Slower cooling in an intrusive mass (lower temperature contrast with surroundings) should lead to a phaneritic texture. Mineralogy - Remember that the most abundant mineral groups in the crust are the plagioclase and alkali feldspars. Norman Bowen (about 1915) proposed the following sequences of crystallization of silicates from a magma. Bowen's Reaction Series Here

With the exception of quartz, the other phases represent solid solution series. The viscosity (resistance to flow) of a melt (magma/lava) increases with decreasing temperature. The complexity (amount of sharing of the oxygens of the silicon-oxygen tetrahedrons) increases with decreasing temperature. high temperature - olivine, pyroxene and Ca-rich plagioclase; intermediate temperature - amphibole, biotite and Na-rich plagioclase; and low temperature - muscovite, alkali feldspar and quartz. Bowen's Reaction Series points out that there are commonly occurring mineral assemblages (based on similar temperatures of formation/crystallization). For example, quartz and olivine (at least the magnesium-rich variety) are not expected to occur together as an equilibrium assemblage.

On the discontinuous, left side of Bowens reaction series are minerals rich in iron and magnesium: high temperature olivine pyroxene amphibole biotite

low temperature On the continuous side of Bowens reaction series: high temperature calcium-rich plagioclase calcium-sodium plagioclase sodium-rich plagioclase low temperature On the bottom portion of Bowens reaction series the following minerals crystallize: high temperature muscovite alkali feldspar quartz low temperature Generalize from the feldspars: high temperature calcium-rich plagioclase sodium-rich plagioclase alkali feldspar (a solid solution between K and Na feldspars) low temperature Classification scheme for igneous rocks using texture and mineralogy. Temperature estimated by the feldspar(s) present Cooling rate (and thus extrusive vs intrusive) estimated from the texture Alkali Feldspar Sodium Plagioclase Calcium Plagioclase

Phaneritic Aphanitic Silica Content

Granite Rhyolite >65 %

Diorite Andesite 53-65%

Gabbro Basalt 45-52%

Granite is a coarse grained igneous rock which contains abundant alkali feldspar. Granites also contain quartz. This is a low-temperature assemblage. Rhyolite is the mineralogical equivalent of granite but it formed as a result of rapid cooling giving the rock the fine-grained texture. Think about the analogous relationships between Diorite and Andesite and Gabbro and Basalt. Remember the steps on the west side of the Memorial Library, around the Library Mall fountain and the base of the Lincoln statue - what name would you give these rocks? If the rock is a granite but with a porphyritic texture it would be a granite porphyry. It if is a rhyolite but with a porphyritic texture it would be a rhyolite porphyry. Viscosity is a measure of "resistance to flow". A liquid with high viscosity flows with difficulty. In general, as the temperature of the liquid increases the viscosity of the liquid decreases and the liquid flows more easily. Magmas with lower silica contents also flow more readily - these effects are both in the same direction for igneous melts and make basalts much more fluid than rhyolites.

Shapes of Igneous Bodies

Tabular Bodies - relatively low viscosity to allow magma to follow relatively narrow openings. Dikes - tabular bodies that cut across the "structure" of the enclosing rock. Sills - tabular bodies that are oriented parallel to the "structure of the enclosing rock". Laccoliths - bodies that "dome up" the overlying rocks Pipes and Necks - the fossil remnant of the plumbing system under a volcano Irregular bodies include stocks and batholiths that typically were formed from highly viscous (silica-rich) melts.

Mechanics of Batholith Emplacement

Granitization: NO in almost every case - local phenomena if at all Forceful injection: driven by density variations and possibly tectonic forces Diapirs: analogy to salt dome formation Stoping: commonly good evidence for this

Source of Heat to Partially Melt Solid Rock Radioactive elements (U235, U238, Th 232 and K40) decay giving off heat. Each decay gives off a very small amount of heat but over long time periods, this heat can result in temperature increases sufficient to initiate partial melting.

Extrusive Igneous Activity and Features Volcanoes

Craters vs. calderas Shield volcanoes: 2-10 slopes, low viscosity magmas Composite cones: layers of lava and ash - Pacific NW Cinder cones: up to 33 slopes (angle of repose) Lava domes: Mt. Pelee, nuee ardente Fissure eruptions: basalt plateaus - Columbia flood basalts Pyroclastic sheet eruptions: welded tuffs

Features of extrusive igneous rocks:

Columnar joints Pahoehoe and aa flows Pillow lavas Pyroclastics: ash, cinders, bombs May contain xenoliths samples from lower crust or mantle

Magma-forming Environments

Subduction zones Frictional heating Circulation of the asthenosphere Addition of water Rifting

Pressure release melting Hot spots

Sedimentary Rocks
Mechanical and chemical weathering
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Definitions: Mechanical weathering - reduction into physically smaller particles Chemical weathering - chemical reactions in presence of water, oxygen and carbon dioxide Examples: Granite (mostly quartz + feldspar + amphibole or biotite mica): quartz weathers mechanically to produce sand feldspar weathers chemically to produce clay and dissolved silica, calcium and sodium Fe-Mg minerals weather chemically to produce iron oxide and dissolved silica, calcium, magnesium, and sodium. Basalt (mostly pyroxene + feldspar + olivine): pyroxene weathers chemically to produce iron oxide and dissolved silica, calcium, magnesium, and sodium. feldspar weathers chemically to produce clay and dissolved silica, calcium and sodium olivine weathers chemically to produce iron oxide and dissolved silica and magnesium

Formation of sedimentary rocks - sediments must be deposited in a deep hole (or a hole that is deepening), otherwise they will be eroded again.
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One such deep hole is the deep ocean basin (or abyss), at the edge of continents (Fig 6.5) Delivery of sediments to the sea by rivers (Table in Lecture 5) Bed load and suspended load (Fig. 15.13) Dissolved load Redistribution of sediments by waves Concept of wave base: (see Waves in Chap. 19) - deepest water depth where sediments are moved by wave action Wave base is determined by the largest storms

Delivery of sediments to the abyss

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Turbidites: rapid flow of sediments down submarine canyons, like an avalanche (Figs. 6.19, 11.10) Coarse sediments moved quite far off shore Telephone cable breakage after the Grand Banks earthquake (1929) indicated that the flow velocity was about 80 km/hr Suspended sediment: fine particles Wind blown sediment: fine clay brought to the middle of the ocean Dissolved sediments: especially limestone, deposited by corals and other organisms that make limey shells. Form mainly where there is little clastic deposition (clear water) Florida Keys and Bahama Banks are two areas of the US where limestone are being laid down Corals may be ground up and reworked into lime sand before deposition

Environments of deposition
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Biogenic Carbonate deposits (Limestone) Warm, shallow water, absence of clastics. Examples: Florida shelf Yucatan shelf Bahama banks map symbol: brick pattern Fine-grained sediments (shale) (e.g. Fig. 6.15) Deposited in quiet water - below wave base Often some distance from shore Examples: Prodelta sediments Marsh environments Deep water deposits Coarse clastics Higher energy environments - near shore- above wave base, wind deposits Examples: Delta mouth bar Point bar Beach deposits

Desert deposits: fine material blown away by dunes History in the sequence of sediments - more detail in upcoming lecture on Geologic Time Lithology - facies - paleoenvironments Superposition of sediments - a sequence in time (e.g. Fig. 6.16) Idea first developed by Nikalaus Stensen (Steno 17th century) Fossils - their evolution provides a unidirectional vector in time William Smith (early 18th century) showed that the ages of rocks could be characterized by the fossils that they contained Called the law of Faunal succession The Geologic Column (see Fig. 8.2) Division of the geologic record Eons, Eras, Periods, Epochs The major geologic Eras (Paleozoic, Mesozoic, Cenozoic) cover only the most recent 12% of the earth's age, but this time is important because it spans the time when multicellular life has flourished. You should learn the Eons and Eras and the ages of the boundaries of each. Age of ocean margin sediments Discussion of sediment cross-sections from the two sides of the Atlantic (near Senegal, Africa and Maryland, US). Similar sediment sequence on the two sides of the Atlantic Oldest sediments: Triassic-Jurassic Why are there no earlier sediments? (There was no ocean then). Earliest rocks are limestones. Why? Thermal bulge at the beginning of the opening of the ocean caused high elevations at edge of rift Little clastics deposited, since streams tend to flow away from high topography of bulge Shallow water limestones now at several kilometers depth Imply subsidence Due to cooling in this case

Metamorphic Rocks
Metamorphism refers to a set of processes that result in changes in mineralogy and texture accompanying changes in temperature and pressure. In other words, transformation of existing rock, usually beneath the Earth's surface, as a consequence of one (or a combination) of three agents: heat, pressure, and fluids.

The boundary between diagenesis (sedimentary process) and the onset of metamorphism is one of semantics.

Metamorphic Types
Contact Metamorphism - nearby heat source - an intrusive igneous body is injected into a colder, older rock - heat flows from the intrusive body into the country rock May also involve fluid flow or exchange

Regional Metamorphism - no obvious, local heat source - increasing depth of burial plus deformation results in an increase in temperature and pressure Remember the geothermal gradient

Dynamic Metamorphism - variable pressure at relatively low temperatures - often associated with fault zones Commonly reduces grain size

High Pressure - Low Temperature Metamorphism - associated with subduction zones Characterized by unusual minerals - blueschists

Effects of Metamorphism
Increasing Grain Size: Increasing Temperature and Pressure may aid in the recrystallization of minerals in the rock Small grains become larger - oriented with respect to direction of applied pressure(s) stress Clay minerals are often enlarged with increasing metamorphism

Growth of New Minerals: New minerals may grow during metamorphism CaCO3 + SiO2 = CaSiO3 + CO2 The presence of wollastonite can be used as an indicator of the degree of metamorphism ISOGRAD - a line on a map connecting points of equal degrees of metamorphism

Classification
Is the rock banded? - each band is often a single mineral - GNEISS Does the rock exhibit foliation - parallelism of the cleavage of micas? Schist - coarse flakes Phyllite - fine - barely visible flakes, shiny surface Slate - very fine If the rock is neither foliated nor banded it is called a granofels if it is coarse grained or a hornfels if it is fine grained Marble - a metamorphosed limestone Quartzite - a metamorphosed quartz sandstone

Degree of Metamorphism
A function of the pressure, temperature and composition of the parent rock - the Protolith Marble - had a parent rich in carbonate Quartzite - quartz sandstone parent Slate, Schist, Gneiss - clay mineral rich parent Metamorphic Facies - attempts to deduce degree of metamorphism by looking at index minerals, rock fabric

Plate Tectonics and Metamorphism