LU 5 IGNEOUS AND SEDIMENTARY ROCKS

◊IGNEOUS ROCKS

Igneous rocks form by direct crystallization of minerals

from a magma melt;

We see a surface expression of magmatic activity during

volcanic eruptions.

What’s magma?

• Molten or partially molten rock beneath the earth's

surface

• Magma is generated deep underground due to the high

temperatures and pressures inside the Earth

• Magma tends to rise

• It encounters colder rock and begins to cool to form igneous rocks.

The igneous rocks may again be divided into two types

depending on the place of cooling.

• Intrusive (plutonic) rocks crystallize at depth, whereas

• extrusive (volcanic and pyroclastic rocks) rocks

crystallize after the magma reaches the earth's surface.

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Chemical Composition:

• The Table below lists the major chemical constituents of

igneous rocks, expressed as oxides, along with the
weight percent ranges in those oxides in normal igneous
rocks.

• It is clear from this Table that igneous rocks have

extremely variable and complex compositions

Oxide Formula Weight Percent Range

SiO2 35-78
TiO2 0.05-4.0
Al2O3 5-22
MgO 0.01-30
CaO 0.5-17
FeO* 0.5-15
Na2O 0.3-9
K2O 0.05-10
Note that FeO* is a combination of FeO (ferrous iron) and Fe2O3 (ferric iron).

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Mineralogy:

• The Table below lists the most common minerals found

in igneous rocks.
• Note that not all minerals are found in all igneous rocks.
• In fact, most igneous rocks only contain four or five different
minerals.
Major Minerals in Igneous Rocks
Mineral Chemical Formula
QUARTZ SiO2
ALKALI-FELDSPAR (K,Na)AlSi3O8
PLAGIOCLASE CaAl2Si2O8-NaAlSi3O8
HORNBLENDE (Na,K)Ca2(Mg,Fe)5(Si,Al)8O22(OH)2
MUSCOVITE (K,Na)2Al4Si6Al2O20(OH)4
BIOTITE K2(Mg,Fe)6Si6Al2)O20(OH)4
PYROXENE Ca(Mg,Fe)Si2O6
OLIVINE (Mg,Fe)2SiO4
MAGNETITE-ULVOSPINEL Fe3O4-Fe2TiO4

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ILMENITE-HEMATITE FeTiO3-Fe2O3

• The minerals that make up an igneous rock reflect the

chemical composition of the rock.

• For example an igneous rock rich in SiO2 will tend to be rich

in the mineral QUARTZ and an igneous rock rich in MgO
will contain a lot of OLIVINE and/or PYROXENE.

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Classification:

• Igneous Rocks are classified in several ways, and

methods of classification have evolved a lot over the past
100 years.

• Each classification is useful for a certain purpose and

reflects a particular way of looking at igneous rocks.

• Igneous rocks are often classified according to the

percentage of SiO2.

• The Figures below are general guide to igneous rock

classification, showing the rock names and the differences
in mineralogy.

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Key to interpret the classification table of igneous rocks
above.

Felsic Mafic

Rhyolite Andesite Basalt

Fast Small Crystals
Cooling
Micro
Micro Granite Andesite
Grandiorite

Slow Large
Cooling Granite Granodiorite Gabbro Crystals

Acidic Basic

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Major Minerals of Igneous Rocks

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◊IGNEOUS ROCKS

Crystallization and Textures:

• Crystallization is the process of mineral formation by the

creation of orderly bonds between atoms.

• Bond formation leads to a 3D crystal structure

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Crystallization of Minerals:

As magma cools, crystals of certain minerals form (see

below).

Generalized Cooling and Crystallization of Magma

(5x magnified view)

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If such crystals settle out of the magma the composition
of the magma may be altered, leaving a different
combination of elements in the magma to form the next
crystals in the cooling process.
For example, if much of the Ca, Fe and Mg are removed
from a melt through the formation of Ca-rich plagioclase,
olivine and pyroxenes, the remaining magma may be
more enriched in Al, K and Na (felsic) and form
intermediate to felsic rocks when cooled.

Bowen's Reaction Series:

This can be thought of as an idealized order of crystallization in a

cooling magma.

N. L. Bowen theorized that the formation of minerals,

making up igneous rocks, begins at high temperatures
with two different chemical sequences that eventually
merge into a single series at cooler temperatures.

• One sequence, the discontinuous series, involves the

formation of chemically unique minerals at discrete
temperature intervals
• The other sequence, known as the continuous series,
temperature reduction causes a gradual change in the
chemistry of the minerals
• Both of these go on simultaneously in a cooling melt.

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The discontinuous series-

• The discontinuous series starts with the formation of

rocks that are primarily composed of the mineral olivine.
• At a certain temperature magma might produce olivine,
but if that same magma was allowed to cool further, next
mineral on the series pyroxene is produced.
• Continue cooling and the pyroxene would produce
amphibole and then biotite.
• Continued temperature decreases change the minerals
dominating the composition of the rock from pyroxene, to
amphibole, and then biotite.
• This series is discontinuous because the reaction
occurs at a fixed temperature at constant pressure
wherein the early-formed mineral is converted to a more
stable crystal.
• Most silicate minerals are made from slightly different
proportions of the same 8 elements, all that’s really happening here

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 is adjusting the internal crystalline lattice to achieve stability at
different temperatures.
• Each mineral in the series displays a different silicate structure
that exhibits increased polymerization as the temperature drops;
olivine belongs to the island silicate structure type; pyroxene, the
chain; amphibole, the double chain; and biotite, the sheet.

The continuous series-

• The continuous series produces light colored rocks rich in

plagioclase feldspar minerals.
• Plagioclase is continuously reacting with the liquid as the
temperature decreases.
• At high temperatures, the plagioclase feldspar
minerals are dominated with the element calcium (Ca).
• With continued cooling, the calcium in these minerals is
gradually replaced with sodium (Na).

Convergence of both series

• The convergence of both series occurs with a continued
drop in magma temperature.
• In both cases, the liquid was consumed in the reaction.
• In the merged series, the minerals within the
crystallizing rock become richer in potassium and silica
• We get the formation of first potassium feldspars and
then the mineral muscovite.

The last mineral to crystallize in the Bowen reaction series

is quartz. Quartz is a silicate mineral composed of just
silicon and oxygen (SiO2).

However, not all of these minerals will be crystallized

together in the same rock.
• A mafic magma will begin crystallizing olivine and
continue with pyroxenes and calcium rich plagioclase
feldspar. Some amphiboles may also crystallize before the
melt is used up. Mafic melts don’t have enough silica to
crystallize potassium feldspar, quartz, etc.

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• Felsic melts don't have enough iron, magnesium, and
calcium to form olivine, pyroxene, or calcium plagioclase.
The first-formed minerals in a felsic melt are amphiboles
(hornblende) or biotite mica, along with some intermediate
or sodium plagioclase. Eventually, as the melt continues to
cool and becomes richer in silica (as the metal cations are
used up preferentially in the double chain and sheet
silicates) potassium feldspar and quartz crystallize.
http://gly1000-01.su00.fsu.edu/ig/Ig8.html#six

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The continuous reaction series for Na-Ca Feldspar (plagioclase)
reacting with a melt.

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 Texture

• Texture refers to the way in which individual grains

relate to grains immediately surrounding them.
• Texture deals with small-scale features seen in hand specimen
or under the microscope, such as the degree of crystallinity, grain
size, grain shape, grain orientation, grain boundary relations
and crystal intergrowths.
• Textures are useful indicators of cooling and
crystallization rates and of phase relations between
minerals and magma at the time of crystallization.
• Igneous rocks with interlocking crystals have crystalline
textures.

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• The crystallinity and dominant grain size in crystalline
igneous rocks are each described by one of a series of
terms, as shown in the Figures below.

• Phaneritic - individual crystals large enough to be

detected with the naked eye.

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 Large crystals are clearly visible to the eye with or without
a hand lens or binocular microscope.
• The entire rock is made up of large crystals, which are generally
1/2 mm to several centimeters in size; no fine matrix material is
present.
• They are further described as fine grained (< 1 mm), medium
grained (1-5 mm) or coarse grained (5-10 mm).
This texture forms by slow cooling of magma deep
underground in the plutonic environment.

• Aphanitic- individual crystals too small to be detected

with the naked eye.

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 Aphanitic texture consists of small crystals that cannot be
seen by the eye with or hand lens.
• The entire rock is made up of small crystals, which are generally
less than 1/2 mm in size.
This texture results from a rapid cooling in volcanic
or shallow subsurface (hypabyssal) environments.

• Porphorytic-characterized by two distinct mineral grain

sizes.

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• Smaller crystals constitute the matrix or groundmass
which surrounds larger crystals known as phenocrysts.

Porphyritic rocks are composed of at least two minerals

having a conspicuous (large) difference in grain size.
• The larger grains are termed phenocrysts and the finer grains
either matrix or groundmass (see the diagram above).
Porphyritic rocks are thought to have undergone two
stages of cooling; one at depth where the larger
phenocrysts formed and a second at or near the surface
where the matrix grains crystallized.

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 • Pegmatitic - an extreme case of porphorytic texture with
crystals > 1cm.
• Pegmatites are igneous rocks that have porhorytic
rocks with crystals > 1 cm found in a matrix or groundmass
of smaller crystals.
• Aplites - Aplite is defined as a light-colored plutonic
(intrusive) igneous rock characterized by a very fine-
grained, granular to sugary texture.
• Vesicular - contains cavities (vesicles) formed by gas
bubbles trapped as lava cooled.
Vesicular basalt

• Glassy - lava or magma quenched abruptly, forming an

amorphous mass. No crystals evident even under high
magnification.
Obsidian = volcanic glass

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Aplites & Pegmatites:

• Both pegmatites and aplites have the same mineralogic

composition as granite
• Although aplites may range in composition from granitic to
gabbroic, most tend to be granitic with a mineralogical makeup
consisting of essentially quartz, microcline (potassium feldspar)
and plagioclase.
• In some cases, aplites may consist of nearly all of the mineral
albite (sodium feldspar). These albitic aplites (sometimes
referred to as saccharoidal albites) are often associated with
granitic pegmatites, which are typically extremely coarse-
grained] but they have different textures.

• Pegmatites are very coarse-grained.

• Aplites are sugary textured.

• The figure below shows a medium-grained pink granite that

is cross-cut by related pegmatite and aplite dikes

Granite with pegmatite and aplite

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Formation of Aplites and Pegmatites from
Hydrothermal Fluids

Sources of Hydrothermal Fluids

• Magmatic rocks exsolve water (called “juvenile” or
magmatic water) during the final stages of cooling.
• Meteoric water (precipitation) and connate
water (formation)
• The hot water fluids are called “hydrothermal fluids”.

• Hydrothermal Fluids change the mineralogy as a result

of interaction of the rock with the hot water fluids.
• The fluids cause hydrothermal alteration of rocks by
changing their composition by adding or removing or
redistributing components.

• Temperatures can range from weakly elevated to boiling.

• Fluid composition is extremely variable.
• They may contain various types of gases, salts (briney fluids),
water and metals.

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 Formation of Hydrothermal Solution by Exsolution

• The magmatic rocks exsolve water (called “juvenile”

water) during the final stages of cooling as follows.

• When falling temperatures cause crystallization from

magma this hydrous silicate melt result in a liquid
that becomes relatively enriched in H2O.
• This liquid is a rich hydrous silicate.
• This last melt of a differentiated magma is called
petrogeny's residua system.
• As the magma is emplaced, falling temperature causes
crystallization to begin in the hydrous silicate melt.
• The result is that the liquid becomes relatively enriched
in H2O.

• A continuation of this causes an aqueous fluid of low

viscosity to begin to separate from the melt in a process
called resurgent boiling.
• This liquid is termed a hydrothermal solution.

Formation of Pegmatites and Aplites

This process leads to the petrogenesis of pegmatites and

aplites as follows.

Stage 1: As the magma is emplaced,

• Falling temperature causes crystallization to begin in

the hydrous silicate melt.

• One result is that the liquid becomes relatively

enriched in H2O.

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 • Further crystallization causes an aqueous fluid of low
viscosity to begin to separate from the melt, in a
process called resurgent boiling.

• The watery vapor phase, mentioned above, that

accumulates atop a, say, magma chamber is a
supercritical fluid.
It has the properties of a gas and so the
molecules bounce freely.
It also has the properties of a liquid and thus
contains many dissolved ions.

• The separation of a fluid phase from the saturated melt

gives the system three major phases (crystals,
melt and fluid) and initiates the second stage.

Stage 2: Petrogeny's residua system has a granitic melt

and a supercritical fluid i.e. it has two fluids
and magmatic temperature is reduced,

• The vapor (supercritical fluid) could unmix and

separate into a liquid and a gas. That is to say that
the supercritical fluid has boiled.

• This boiling or separation of a gas phase from a liquid

phase is called second boiling or resurgent boiling.
Unlike normal boiling that comes from increased
temperature, resurgent boiling arises from
reduction of temperature or pressure.

• If the supercritical fluid boils, then there will be 3

fluids: silicate melt + watery fluid + gaseous
fluid.

• Thus, petrogeney's residua system might contain two

or three fluids.

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Stage 3: Marked by the end of crystallization from melt,

• Commonly, the vapor phase hydro-fractures the

early formed rocks.

• Petrogeney's residual system moves into the

fracture.

• In these fractures

• If the vapor boils, there will be three fluids.

•In such a situation, water dissolves nuclei, so that only

a few survive, and ions diffuse more readily
through water to aid the few surviving ones to
grow to giant crystals of pegmatites.

• If the supercritical fluid does not boil, the growing

crystals do not have the benefit of water.

• Many nuclei will yield a sugary textured aplite.

• Pegmatite forms from 3 fluids while aplite forms from 2

fluids.

• Notice that pegmatites and aplites are dikes or veins

because they fill fractures.

• It is possible that, the residua system might change

from supercritical fluid to a three phase fluid, so that
the vein fill might start as an aplite and proceed to
become a pegmatite.

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Trace Elements

Trace elements are elements that occur in low

concentrations in rocks, usually less than 0.1 % (usually
reported in units of parts per million, ppm).

Trace elements will be found in small quantities in all of the

minerals that crystallize from magma.

The ratio of the concentration of trace element i in a crystal

(CiC) to the concentration of trace element i in the liquid
(CiL) is called the distribution coefficient (Di) where

Di ≡ CiC/ CiL

• If Di << 1, the element is said to be incompatible (with

the crystals) and will be concentrated in the liquid in any
partial melting or fractional crystallization process.

• If Di ≥ 1, the element is said to be compatible (with the

crystals) and will be concentrated in the crystals in any
partial melting or fractional crystallization process.

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