LECTURE OUTLINE

IGNEOUS ACTIVITY, ROCKS, AND MINERALS

1) Molten Rock
a) Intrusive
i) Magma
ii) Plutonic rocks
b) Extrusive
i) Lava
ii) Pyroclastics (tephra)
iii) Volcanic rocks
2) Sources of magma
a) Most magmas are generated at plate tectonic boundaries
b) Temperature and melting
i) Geothermal gradient
(1) 20-30C/km (average)
(2) Radioactivity
ii) Partial melting of preexisting rock
(1) Low temperature vs. high temperature minerals
(2) Granites (quartz and plagioclase)
(3) Peridotite (olivine and pyroxene)
c) Pressure and melting
i) Pressure vs. depth
ii) Decompression melting
d) Water and melting
i) Surface water in sediment
ii) Dewatering of minerals
3) Igneous mineral growth
a) Fundamentals of chemical bonding
i) Atoms
(1) Nucleus
(a) Positive charge
(b) Protons and neutrons
(2) Electrons
(a) Negative charge
(b) Electron shells (energy levels)
(i) Each shell accommodates a certain number of electrons
1. Octet rule
2. Each atom would like to fill its outermost shell (valence shell)
(ii) Atoms frequently give up or gain electrons in order to meet the octet rule
(3) Charged atoms (ions)
ii) Compounds
(1) Two or more elements bound together in a specific ratio
(a) Filling the valence shell
(b) Electrically neutral
b) Minerals

i) A mineral is a naturally occurring, crystalline solid, with a definite chemical

composition (compounds)
(1) Naturally occurring (diamond vs. synthetic diamond)
(2) Solid
(3) Crystalline
(a) Atoms are arranged in an orderly manner
(b) Not all solids are crystals
(i) Mineralloids (amorphous)
(ii) Glass
(c) Crystal form
(i) Orderly arrangement of atoms
(ii) Internal vs. external crystalline form
c) Common Igneous minerals
i) Silicates
(1) Silicon and oxygen (silica)
(2) Feldspars (aluminum silicates)
(a) Potassium feldspar (kspar)
(b) Sodium and calcium feldspars (plagioclase)
(3) Ferromagnesium silicates
(a) Olivine
(b) Pyroxene
(c) Amphibole
(4) Micas
(a) Biotite
(b) Muscovite
(5) Quartz
(6) Temperature and silicate minerals
(a) High temperature vs. low temperature minerals
(b) High silica vs. low silica minerals
(c) Bowens reaction series
(i) Mineral growth consumes elements in a magma
(ii) Compositional changes over time (silica enrichment)
4) Igneous rocks and classification
a) Crystal size vs. cooling rate
b) Igneous textures
i) Vitric
(1) Glass
(2) Quick cooling
ii) Coarse-grained vs. fine-grained
(1) Phaneritic vs. aphanitic
(2) Intrusive/plutonic rocks (magma)
(3) Extrusive/volcanic rocks (lava-pyroclastics)
iii) Pyroclastic
c) Naming igneous rocks
i) Mineralogy and texture
(1) Felsic

(a) <15% ferromagnesian minerals

(b) Abundant quartz and kspar
(c) Plutonic granite (phaneritic)
(d) Volcanic rhyolite (aphanitic)
(e) High silica content
(2) Intermediate
(a) 15 - 40% ferromagnesian minerals
(b) Minor quartz, abundant plagioclase
(c) Plutonic diorite (phaneritic)
(d) Volcanic andesite (aphanitic)
(3) Mafic
(a) >40% ferromagnesian minerals
(b) Plutonic gabbro (phanieritic)
(c) Volcanic basalt (aphanitic)
(d) Low silica content
(4) Ultramafic (almost exclusively ferromagnesian minerals)
(a) Olivine and pyroxene
(b) Plutonic peridotite (phaneritic)
(c) Ultramafic volcanism is rare (extrusive rocks)
(d) Lowest silica content (<45%)
ii) Other igneous rocks
(1) Obsidian
(2) Pumice and scoria
(3) Tuff
5) Intrusive igneous bodies (plutons)
a) Batholiths
i) Largest of all plutons (irregularly shaped)
ii) Surface exposure >100km2 (>40mi2)
iii) Sierra Nevadas, CA
iv) Elkahatchee batholith, AL
b) Stock
i) Similar to a batholith (but smaller)
ii) Stone Mountain, GA
c) Dike
i) Discordant igneous body (sheet intrusion)
ii) Shiprock, NM (neck and radial dikes)
iii) Mafic dikes near Talbotton, GA
d) Sill
i) Concordant igneous body (sheet intrusion)
ii) Edinburgh, Scotland
6) Volcanism (extrusive igneous activity)
a) Volcanoes (mountain formed from eruptions of lava/pyroclastics)
i) Shape is controlled by the type of material erupted
(1) Viscosity
(a) Temperature
(b) Silica content

(c) Gas content

(2) Lava vs. pyroclastics
ii) Size is controlled by the volume of material erupted
iii) Types of volcanoes
(1) Shield volcanoes
(a) Mafic (basaltic)
(b) Largest volcanoes on Earth (Mauna Loa, Hawaii)
(c) Dominantly lava with less pyroclastic material
(d) Long lived (hundreds of thousands)
(2) Cinder/scoria cones
(a) Mafic/Intermediate
(b) Dominantly pyroclastics (cinders) with less lava
(c) May form on larger volcanoes
(d) Short lived (Paricutin, Mexico ~9 years)
(3) Composite volcanoes (stratovolcanoes)
(a) Alternating lava flows and pyroclastic material
(b) Intermediate magma (andesitic)
(c) Long-lived (hundreds of thousands)
(4) Lava domes
(a) Extremely viscous lava (felsic)
(b) Commonly plug vents in larger volcanoes
(c) Short lived
(5) Calderas
(a) Volcanic crater
(b) Caldera formation
(i) Collapse following eruptions
(ii) Violent (magma chamber empties)
(iii)
Slow subsidence (sinking following flank eruptions)
(c) Ignimbrites
(d) Long lived
iv) Fissure eruptions
(1) Shield volcanoes
(2) Flood basalts (Columbia flood basalts)
(3) Ignimbrite eruptions
(4) Long lived
7) Volcanic hazards
a) Lava
b) Ash falls
i) May be long duration (burial)
ii) Upper atmosphere (climate)
iii) Pompeii, Italy (Mt. Vesuvius, 79A.D.)
c) Pyroclastic flows
i) Nuee ardente (glowing cloud)
ii) St. Pierre, Martinique (Mt. Pelee, 1902)
d) Tsunami (Krakatau, 1883)
e) Lahar

i) Volcanic mudflow
ii) Tacoma/Seattle, WA (Mt. Ranier)
f) Gas eruptions
i) Volcanic gas composition
ii) Mammoth Lakes, CA
iii) Laky Nyos, Cameroon
8) Igneous activity and Plate Tectonics
a) Divergent plate boundaries
i) Decompression melting
(1) Asthenosphere - ultramafic magma
(2) Magmatic differentiation (crystal fractionation)
(a) Partial melting (olivine vs. pyroxene)
(b) Enrichment of silica
(c) Ultramafic to mafic magmas
ii) Continental rifting
(1) Secondary melting
(2) Felsic magmas
iii) Volcanism
(1) Fissure eruptions
(2) Shield volcanoes
(3) Bimodal volcanism (continental rifts)
b) Convergent plate boundaries
i) Subduction zone magmas
(1) Dewatering of the subducted plate
(a) Partial melting of the mantle
(b) Mafic to intermediate magma
(2) Partial melting of plate and associated sediment
(3) Secondary melts
(a) Magma migration through the overriding plate
(b) Melting of continental crust (felsic melts)
(c) Magma mixing and rock assimilation (xenoliths)
(4) Backarc volcanism
ii) Continental collisions and magma
iii) Volcanism
(1) Continental arcs
(2) Island arcs
(3) Composite volcanoes
c) Transform plate boundaries
i) Leaky transform faults
ii) Characteristics vary depending on the crust involved
d) Intraplate (within-plate) volcanism
i) Oceanic hot spots
(1) Mafic magmas
(2) Hawaii
ii) Continental hot spots
(1) Bimodal volcanism

(2) Yellowstone