MAGMA FORMATION

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OBJECTIVES:

1. Describe how magma is formed

2. Describe what happens after
magma is formed.
1. True or False. Magma is composed of a slushy
mixture of molten rock, mineral crystals, and
dissolved gases.

2. What happens to the pressure the further you go

down into the Earth's crust and mantle?
A. It decreases because there isn't that much rock
above to push down (from above)
B. It increases because the weight of the rock above
presses down
3. What factors influence magma formation?
A. Heat
B. Water content
C. Pressure
D. All of the above
4. How does pressure change with depth?
A. It decreases
B. It does not change
C. It increases
5. How does higher water content affect the rock's
melting point?
A. Water lower's the rock's melting point
B. Water raises the rock's melting point
C. Water actually has no affect on melting point
6. Which term describes the "decreased pressure
that lowers the melting point of rocks" deep in the
Earth?
A. decompression melting
B. divergence
C. pressure melting
7. What type of rock is formed when magma cools
and becomes solid?
A. Igneous C. Metamorphic
B. Sedimentary D. Conglomerate
 WHAT IS MAGMA?
• Magma (from Ancient Greek (mágma) 'thick
unguent') is the molten or semi-molten natural
material from which all igneous rocks are
formed.
• Magma and lava contain three components:
melt, solids, and volatiles. The melt is made of
ions from minerals that have liquefied. The
solids are made of crystallized minerals floating
in the liquid melt.
Magma composition depends on
the composition of the rocks that
melted to form the magma, and
on the conditions under which the
melting happened. Most igneous
rock in Earth’s crust comes from
magmas that formed
through partial melting of
existing rock, either in the upper
mantle or the crust.
REQUIRED FOR MAGMA FORMATION

1. Temperature
2. Pressure
3. Volatiles
 MAGMA FORMATION
1. Decompression Melting
•Melting due to decrease in pressure
-The decrease in pressure affecting a hot
mantle rock at a constant temperature
permits melting forming magma.
Why does decompression induce melting
of rocks?
-In order to melt a rock, the bonds
between the particles should be broken.
Under intense pressure, this is not
possible even when the temperature
is high.
When pressure is decrease, melting
can occur because the bonds
between the particles can be broken
down and move farther away from
each other.
LOCATION OF DECOMPRESSION
Divergent Zone
(Mid Oceanic Ridge)
-The rising magma in mantle
convection cell brings
heat to the surface, transferring
to the overlaying rocks.
-The transfer of heat due to
convection is accompanied by
a decrease in pressure or
“decompression” associated with the spreading of the lithospheric plates.
-These two in tandem promoting the partial melting of rocks along the spreading center.
 Melting triggered by a reduction in pressure is
called decompression melting.
Pressure is reduced when mantle rocks move
upward due to convection, or rise as a plume
within the mantle. Pressure is also reduced where
the crust thins, such as along rift zones.
Mantle plume is a large
column of hot rock rising
through the mantle.
The heat from the plume
causes rocks in the lower
lithosphere to melt.
2. Flux-induced Melting
When a substance such as water is added to hot rocks, the melting
points of the minerals within those rocks decreases. If a rock is
already close to its melting point, the effect of adding water can
be enough to trigger partial melting. The added water is a flux,
and this type of melting is called flux-induced melting.
Flux-induced partial
melting of rock
happens
in subduction
zones. (Location)
Cooling Magma Becomes More Viscous.
At temperatures over 1300°C, most magma
is entirely liquid because there is too much
energy for the atoms to bond together.
As magma loses heat to the surrounding
rocks and its temperature drops,
things start to change.
Silicon and oxygen combine to form silica
tetrahedra.
With further cooling, the tetrahedra
start to link together into chains, or
polymerize. These silica chains make
the magma more viscous. Magma
viscosity has important implications
for the characteristics of volcanic
eruptions.
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER MAGMA IS FORMED
As magma cools the elements within the magma
combine and crystalize into minerals that form an
igneous rock. Magma cools either below the surface
or at the surface (magma that reaches the surface is
called lava). As magma cools igneous rock is formed.
Magma Escape routes
Magma leaves the confines of the
upper mantle and crust in two major
ways: as an intrusion or as an
extrusion. An intrusion can form
features such as dikes and xenoliths.
An extrusion could include lava and
volcanic rock.
Intrusion
Magma can intrude into a low-
density area of another geologic
formation, such as a sedimentary
rock structure. When it cools to solid
rock, this intrusion is often called
pluton. A pluton is an intrusion of
magma that wells up from below the
surface.
A magnetic dike is simply
a large slab of magnetic
material that has intruded
into another rock body

A xenolith is a piece of
rock trapped in another
type of rock. Many
xenolith are crystals torn
from inside the Earth and
embedded in magma
while the magma was
cooling.
Extrusion
The most familiar way for magma to
escape, or extrude, to Earth’s surface is
through lava. Lava eruptions can be “fire
fountains” of liquid rock or thick, slow-
moving rivers of molten materials. Lava
cools to form volcanic rock as well as
volcanic glass.
If a magma chamber
encounters an
enormous amount of
pressure, however, it
may fracture the rock
around it. The cracks,
called fissures or
vents, are tell-tale
signs of a volcano.
Many volcanoes sit
over magma
chambers.
Types of magma
All magma contains gases and a
mixture of simple elements. Since
oxygen and silicon are the most
abundant elements in magma, geologist
define magma types in terms of their
silica content, expressed as so2. These
differences in chemical composition are
directly related to differences in gas
content, temperature and viscosity.
MAFIC MAGMA
Mafic magma has relatively low silica
content, roughly 50%, and higher content
in iron and magnesium. This type of
magma has a low gas content and
viscosity, or resistance to flow. Mafic
magma has high mean temperatures,
between 1000° and 2000° Celsius (1832°
and 3632° Fahrenheit), which contributes
to its lower viscosity.
INTERMEDIATE MAGMA
Intermediate magma has higher silica
content (roughly 60%) than mafic
magma. This results in a higher gas
content and viscosity. It’s mean
temperature ranges from 800° to
1000° Celsius (1472° to 1832°
Fahrenheit).
Felsic magma has the highest
silica content of all magma types,
between 65-70%. As a result,
felsic magma also has the highest
gas content and viscosity, and
lowest mean temperatures,
between 650° and 800° Celsius
(1202° and 1472° Fahrenheit).
EVALUATION:
1. True or False. Magma is composed of a slushy
mixture of molten rock, mineral crystals, and
dissolved gases.

2. What happens to the pressure the further you go

down into the Earth's crust and mantle?
A. It decreases because there isn't that much rock
above to push down (from above)
B. It increases because the weight of the rock
above presses down
3. What factors influence magma formation?
A. Heat
B. Water content
C. Pressure
D. All of the above
4. How does pressure change with depth?
A. It decreases
B. It does not change
C. It increases
5. How does higher water content affect the
rock's melting point?
A. Water lower's the rock's melting point
B. Water raises the rock's melting point
C. Water actually has no affect on melting
point
6. Which term describes the "decreased
pressure that lowers the melting point of
rocks" deep in the Earth?
A. decompression melting
B. divergence
C. pressure melting
7. What type of rock is formed when magma
cools and becomes solid?
A. Igneous C. Metamorphic
B. Sedimentary D. Conglomerate
8. This process occurs if a substance that
decreases melting temperature mixes with hot
rocks.
A. partial melting C. full melting
B. flux melting D. decompression melting
9. ________ is the location of
decompression melting.
10. Divergent Zone is the location
of____________melting.
1. Define weathering
2. What are the types of weathering?
3. Give the three types of chemical weathering.