CUADERNO-5

ROCAS IGNEAS

What we’ll learn today:"

1. 

2. 1. Describe igneous rock"

3. 2. Identify the information revealed by igneous texture"

4. 3. Identify how igneous rock color relates to chemical "

5.  composition"
6. 4. Describe the process of igneous evolution and the role of "
7.  plate tectonics in it"
5. Describe the environments where basalt accumulates "
8. 
 Quick Facts
• Earth’s crust is 4/5 igneous rock
• Every igneous rock begins life as magma
• As magma migrates toward the surface, some of it chills &
hardens underground into various types of igneous rocks
• Magma that makes it to the surface erupts in either
flowing or explosive volcanoes, generating
lava or pyroclastic debris

Kilauea lava flow, Aug 7, 2013

 Fundamental Rock Types
  Igneous Rocks:
form when magma solidifies

  Sedimentary Rocks:
form when sediment
becomes cemented into solid
rock!

  Metamorphic rocks:
form when heat, pressure, or
hot water alter any preexisting
rock
 The Rock Cycle
  Def.: All rocks change slowly from 1 of 3 rock types to another
  Rocks are created, changed, and recycled
Igneous rocks are the
foundation of the
Rock Cycle
 Igneous Rocks = Magma
  Magma: solid rock that is melted
(high temperatures) to form molten
liquid

  Magma rises toward Earth’s surface

& cools, solidifies
Igneous Rock-Forming Environments
 Types of Igneous Rocks
  Extrusive (volcanic)   Intrusive (plutonic)
- forms when magma erupts & - forms when magma solidifies
solidifies on the surface within the crust
 Cooling of Magma

lava splatter
intrusive extrusive

lava flow

magma chamber

pluton (deep)

oceanic lithosphere

Cooling is VERY SLOW for large magma bodies

 Extrusive Igneous Rocks
Lava

  Lava: fluid magma that flows from a crack

or volcano onto Earth’s surface

  Magma cools quickly =

less time for crystals to form
Basalt
  Ex.: Basalt - common volcanic rock,
ocean crust, few crystals

Obsidian

Rhyolite Porphyric rock

 Intrusive Igneous Rocks
  Magma cools slowly, more time for crystals to form

  Ex. Granite: most abundant rock in continental crust

medium- to coarse-grained crystals

Granite Gabbro
Igneous intrusions occur in a
variety of shapes and sizes
Igneous intrusions occur in a
variety of shapes and sizes
volcanic
pipe

laccolith

dike
Sill
Basalt forms at spreading centers & hotspots
Spreading centers

hotspots

Pillow basalts
 Pillow lavas form where erupting lava interacts
with water

http://www.youtube.com/watch v=DdIUuUY0L9c
Subglacial Volcanos: Eruption Beneath ice

Lava erupting beneath

ice forms volcanoes with
flat tops and steep sides

Called a “Tuva”

Herðubreið, Iceland
Igneous rocks are classified based on their
composition and texture

Composition: assemblage of minerals (Si vs. Mg)

Texture: size and arrangement of cyrstals (cooling history)
The Major 7 Types of Igneous Rocks

+ Peridotite
 Composition Types
Felsic Mafic

  Felsic: Feldspar & Silica

Granite (large grains), Rhyolite (small)

  Mafic: Magnesium & Iron (Fe)

Gabbro (large), Basalt (small)

  Ultramafic: High Mg & Fe

Ultramafic
Peridotite (mantle material, rare)

  Intermediate:
Andesite

Andesite
Felsic Intermediate Mafic

+ Peridotite Ultramafic
 Bowen’s Reaction Series Describes the
Crystallization of Magma!

As magma crystallizes, a network of interlocking minerals forms

 Mafic minerals crystallize early and
Felsic minerals crystallize late in magma
Minerals at the
TOP of the
series:
• Dark in color
• Mafic to
ultramafic
• Fe & Mg

Minerals at the BOTTOM of the series:

•  Light in color
•  Felsic
•  Na & K
 Composition vs. Color
Igneous color (gray scale) is used to estimate chemical composition
Felsic Intermediate Mafic

less Mg/Fe content more

more Si/O content less
 Using visual color to estimate
composition can be misleading.

Obsidian
is Felsic!
Igneous rocks are classified based on their
composition and texture

Composition: The assemblage of minerals (Si vs. Mg)

Texture: the size and arrangement of minerals (cooling history)
Texture is a Record of the Crystallization History
 Texture Styles

Phaneritic:
•  Slow cooling, larger crystals
•  Coarse texture
•  Intrusive or plutonic

Aphanitic:
phaneritic
•  Rapid cooling, smaller crystals
•  Finer texture
•  Extrusive or volcanic

Other textures are glassy, pyroclastic,

vesicular, and porphyritic Volcanic bomb - aphanitic
 Texture

Phaneritic
large minerals

Large crystals had a

long time to
crystallize.

Therefore, this is an
intrusive rock

Example: Granite
 Texture

Aphanitic
mineral grains too
small to see with the
unaided eye

Small crystals
had a short time
to crystallize.

Therefore, this is
an extrusive rock

Example: Basalt
 Texture

Vesicular
many pits from gas
escape

Extrusive rock

Example: Basalt
 Texture
Glassy
no obvious
minerals

No crystals.

This is an extrusive rock

that cooled
VERY quickly

Example: Obsidian
 Glass Formation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVk5Gbn1ePU
 Texture
Pyroclastic
Fused rock
fragments & ash
from an explosive
eruption

Extrusive rock
(made during an
eruption)

Example: Tuff
 Texture
Porphyritic
2 distinct grain sizes,
large & small

Two phases of cooling:

Intrusive phase: large crystals
Extrusive phase: fine crystals

Example: Andesite
 The Major Types of Igneous Rocks
Texture

Composition
Igneous rocks are named based on their
texture & composition

Seven major types of igneous rocks

 iClicker Question
Green Sand Beach, Big Island is made of Olivine.

True or false?
Olivine is also the most common mineral in the upper mantle.

A.  True
B.  False
 Many Uses of Igneous Rocks
building
materials

walls of
lava rock

pumice countertops
stone arrowheads
The Rock!
Cycle
Igneous rock is a ubiquitous component of Earth’s crust
because it evolves as a product of tectonic processes.
 What you should know from today:"
1. 

2. 1. Describe igneous rock"

3. 2. Identify the information revealed by igneous texture"

4. 3. Identify how igneous rock color relates to chemical "

5.  composition"
6. 4. Describe the process of igneous evolution and the role of "
7.  plate tectonics in it"
5. Describe the environments where basalt accumulates "
8. 
 Igneous Petrology
• Igneous rocks are assemblages of minerals (predominantly rock-forming minerals:
olivines, pyroxenes, feldspars, amphiboles, micas, feldspathoids, quartz, oxides…).
Minerals in abundances <1% are called accessories (apatite, zircon, sulfides…).

• Igneous rocks are not random assemblages of minerals

Certain minerals are commonly associated, e.g., olivines and pyroxenes, quartz
and K-feldspar, biotite and hornblende, plagioclase and all major silicates.

Certain minerals are never associated, e.g., olivine and quartz, leucite and
orthopyroxene, nepheline and quartz, sanidine and olivine…
Petrology has two aspects:

Petrography--the descriptive part of the science (modes, mineral compositions,

textures, bulk composition (major & trace elements, isotopes…). [Check
“Supplemental Material” on website for details on methods of characterizing
igneous rocks].

Petrogenesis--the interpretive part of the science in which we try to constrain the

origin of igneous rocks, i.e., where and how they are generated, how they
crystallize and differentiate, etc.
 Igneous Rocks
Origin: Solidified from magma (molten
rock containing suspended crystals
(phenocrysts/xenocrysts), and
dissolved gases)

Types: Volcanic (~25%)

Plutonic (~75%)

T range: ~650ºC → ~1400ºC

P range: 1 bar → 25 Gpa (~ 700 km)

Pressure: mostly lithostatic

Fluids: C-O-H-S system, primarily

H2O, CO2, SO2, …

Composition: SiO2 ranges from 40-80

wt.%
Goals of igneous petrology [for additional details on each item
see “Supplementary Material” on website]

Characterize of the variety of igneous rocks exposed at the earth’s surface and
establish relationships among them.

Attempt to identify and determine the composition and physical properties of

primary/parental magmas

Understand magma diversification processes

Melting
Fractionation
Assimilation
Mixing…

Determine P, T, composition and mineralogy of magma source regions

Understand the mechanisms of segregation, transport, emplacement and

eruption of magmas (magma physics)

Understand the role of magmatism in global evolution throughout earth

history. We will take a global view in the remainder of today’s class.
Figure 1-5. Relative atomic abundances of the seven most common elements that comprise 97% of the Earth's mass. An
Introduction to Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology, by John Winter , Prentice Hall.
 Earth’s Interior
Mantle: Peridotite (olivine-rich rock)
SiO2 45.1%
Al2O3 3.3 Average composition: mantle is variable
FeO 8.0 in comp: Upper mantle is depleted and
MgO 38.1 the lower mantle is “primitive”
CaO 3.1
Average composition is based on analyses of mantle
xenoliths, meteorites, density, and geophysical data

1. Upper mantle (27.5%) extends from MOHO to the 660

km discontinuity. There are two major transitions:
At 410 km (olivine transforms from orthorhombic to
cubic [spinel] structure with decrease in density)

2. Lower mantle (55.5%) At 660 km

spinel transforms to a denser
structure (similar to the structure
of perovskite) with Si in 6-fold
coordination. Associated with
magnesio-wüstite
Based on Winter (2001-Fig 1.2) An Introduction to
Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology. Prentice Hall.
 Earth’s Interior
Core (16%):
• 80-85 % Fe + 5-6 % Ni “alloy” + 10-15% light
elements--most likely (S + O + Si)
• Composition is based on analogy with iron meteorites,
density and seismic velocity data
• Outer core Is “liquid” ,i.e., it does not transmit S waves
• Inner core is solid (pressure effect)

•Convection in the outer

core is believed to be the
source of the earth’s
magnetic field.

•There is also a strong

temperature gradient at the
core/mantle boundary: may
be the source of plumes.

.Based on Winter (2001) Fig 1.2 An Introduction to

Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology. Prentice Hall.
 Earth’s Interior (crust)
Oceanic crust (Average thickness ~7 km)

Top: Pelagic sediments (av. ~0.5 km)

Pillow lavas and sheet lavas (basalt)
Sheeted dikes (diabase)
Gabbro (isotropic)
Gabbro (layered cumulates) s-moho
Ultramafic cumulates p-moho
Bottom Ultramafic tectonite

Continental Crust (20-70 km) Average

~40 km)

•Old (up to 4 Ga)

•Heterogeneous (average composition:
diorite-granodiorite)
•Cratonic core (pre-Cambrian):
surrounded by progressively younger
mountain belts
•Lower crust is mafic and upper crust is
more silicic
Questions:
1. How do we know the depth sequence in
oceanic crust?
2. If the earth is 4.567 Ga old, why is the oldest
crust only 4.0 Ga?
3. Why is lower crust mafic and upper crust silicic?
Figure 1-3. Variation in P and S wave velocities with depth. Compositional subdivisions of the Earth are on the left,
rheological subdivisions on the right. After Kearey and Vine (1990), Global Tectonics. © Blackwell Scientific. Oxford.
Pressure as a function of depth
Pressure units: 1 Pa = Force of 1 Newton m-2
1 bar = Force of 106 dynes cm-2 = 105 Pa
1 Kbar = 102 MPa = 0.1 GPa

dP/dZ = ρg Integrate to get: P = ρgZ

where P = pressure
ρ = rock density
Z = depth below surface
g = gravitational acceleration (981cm s-2)

At base of crust (z = 40 km, ρC = 2.7 g cm-3):

P = 2.7 x 981 x 40 x 105 dynes cm-2

= 10.6 x 109 dynes cm-2
= 10,600 bars =10.6 kilobars = 1.06 GPa

At depth of 200 km in mantle (ρm = 3.5 g cm-3)

P = 65.5 kilobars = 6.55 GPa

Pressure gradient in mantle is nearly linear

 Temperature in the earth
Two main heat sources:
1. Heat from the initial accretion
and differentiation of the Earth:
heat from this source is still
reaching the surface
2. Heat from radioactive decay,
primarily decay of U,Th and K.
This source is diminishing with
time and is highly variable in the
earth.
Heat is transferred via conduction,
convection and radiation

Computed geothermal gradients

for uppermost 300 km of earth

after Winter (2001)

 Schematic oceanic and continental temperature gradients

oceanic
continental

~300 km

after Winter (2001)

Heat in the
earth

Pattern of global heat flux variations compiled from

observations at over 20,000 sites. From Pollack, Hurter
and Johnson. (1993) Rev. Geophys. 31, 267-280.

Cross-section of the mantle based on a seismic tomography model. Arrows

represent plate motions and large-scale mantle flow. Subduction zones
shown by dipping line segments. EPR =- East Pacific Rise, MAR = Mid-
Atlantic Ridge, CBR = Carlsberg Ridge. Plates: EA = Eurasian, IN =
Indian, PA = Pacific, NA = North American, SA = South American, AF =
African, CO = Cocos. From Li and Romanowicz (1996). JGR, 101, 22,245.
Global schematic view
of plate tectonics and
mantle convection

Subducted plates are

shown descending to
the core--mantle
boundary

Hot spot volcanism is

shown arising from
thermal anomalies at
the core--mantle
boundary (D” layer)

Questions:
1. Do subducted slabs reach CMB?
2. What is the D” layer?
3. Do hotspots originate in D”?
4. Single layer or two layer mantle
convection?
 Schematic cross section through the upper part of the earth showing
major magmatic environments

1. Mid-ocean ridge (divergent margin): thin crust, asthenosphere is close to earth’s

surface, mantle upwelling, abundant basaltic volcanism/plutonism, e.g. Juan de Fuca
Ridge, East Pacific Rise, Mid-Atlantic ridge
2. Intraplate volcanic/plutonic rift system, e.g. East African rift, Rio Grande rift
3. Island arc (convergent margin): built largely on oceanic crust—composed largely of
island arc basalt and andesite
4. Continental arc (convergent margin): formation of new crust, volcanism/plutonism,
mountain building, regional metamorphism
5. Back arc basin: basaltic volcanism—similar to MORB
6. Ocean islands: basaltic volcanism, e.g., Hawaii, Canaries, and many others
7. Scattered intracontinental activity: may be continental hotspots, e.g., Yellowstone