MINERALS

A mineral is a naturally occurring inorganic solid with definite

chemical composition and a crystalline structure.
Minerals are:
 Inorganic
 Naturally occurring
 Must be crystalline solids
 Crystalline materials

Olivine
 ROCKS
Rock is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of
minerals or mineraloid matter.
METEORITES: DUNITE: Olivine
Olivine + Pyroxene
+ Fe-oxides
ORE MINERALS: PYRITE
TYPES OF ROCKS
Interior of the Earth
Crust
(granites & Litho
basalts) sphere
Astheno
sphere
Mantle
(silicates) Meso
sphere

Outer
Core

Core
(Fe, Ni, S) Inner
Core
 Interior of the Earth
Crust:
Oceanic crust Mantle:
Thin: 10 km Peridotite (ultramafic)
Basaltic
Continental Crust Upper to 410 km (olivine  spinel)
Thicker: 20-90 km, ~35 km Low Velocity Layer 60-220 km
Highly variable composition Transition Zone
Granodioritic velocity increases rapidly
Core: 410-660 KM (spinel  perovskite)
Fe-Ni metallic alloy SiIV  SiVI
Outer Core is liquid Lower Mantle has a more gradual
No S-waves velocity increase
Inner Core is solid
Minerals in
the Earth
 How do we know?
 Informers:
Density: Earth is ~5.52 g/cm3,
Surface rocks 3.0 g/cm3
Meteorites
Geophysical methods: Seismic & gravity
High P–T experiments
Obducted lithosphere
e.g. ophiolites
Mantle-derived magmas
Mantle-xenoliths–
carried by mantle-derived magmas
e.g. Kimberlites
How do we know?The decrease in abundance with increasing
atomic number (Z) reflects the difficulty
synthesizing progressively larger atoms.

The “sawtooth” nature of the curve is per the

Oddo-Harkins rule, which says that atoms with
even atomic numbers are more stable, and
hence more abundant, than their odd-
numbered neighbours.
 How do we know?
Seismic Waves—4 waves:
Body Waves - Primary (P) & Secondary (S) Waves.
Surface Waves - Rayleigh & Love Waves.
Notations of the
arrival waves:
P, PP, PKP, PcP,
PKIKP, PKiKP
S, SS, ScS
 Seismic waves and Temperature:

Seismic Discontinuities: abnormal behavior by the seismic waves due to

the change in physical and chemical properties
Seismic Discontinuities:
 Geotherm & Source of heat:
• Heat from the early
accretion and
differentiation of
The difference in
the Earth, still
T between
slowly reaching
adjacent hotter
surface
and cooler
• Heat released by the masses, called
radioactivity of 235U, the thermal
238U, 232Th, and 40K
gradient

• T gradient = 25 °C/km on continent

• Upper mantle ∼0.6 °C/km
Principles of igneous and metamorphic petrology: J.D. Winter
Pressure gradient:
• P increases with depth
• Nearly linear through mantle
• 35 km = 10 kbar (1 Gpa)
• Core: increase more rapidly
since alloy denser

Principles of igneous and

metamorphic petrology: J.D. Winter Principles of igneous and metamorphic petrology: J.D. Winter
• In the granodioritic continental crust, mean density = 2.8 g/cm3
• In basaltic oceanic crust density = 3.0 g/cm3
• In peridotitic upper mantle, density = 3.3 g/cm3
 Heat flow regions:

Ancient oceanic crust ~38 mW/m2

Orogenic belts = 150 mW/m2
Crust older than 800 Ma = ∼40 mW/m2 Principles of igneous and
metamorphic petrology: J.D. Winter