Introduction to Rocks

Vishal C Hulsure NCAOR Goa

What is a Rock?


A rock is a group of minerals bound together



An aggregate of minerals

3 Types of Rock

 

Igneous - fire


formed by the cooling and hardening (solidification) of molten rock

Sedimentary water


formed by the deposition, burial, compaction, and cementation of sediments (pieces of other rocks)

Metamorphic heated and / or squeezed



Formed by heat and pressure on other rocks

Sedimentary Rocks
Sedimentary rocks may be made of rock fragments sedimentsor by chemical reactions. The classification of sediments is shown below.

Clastic rocksmade of cemented sediments are classified by their grain sizes.

Non-clastic rocks form by chemical precipitation (settling out from a solution.) Limestone is made from calcite, chert from quartz, and halite is rock salt.

Biologic sedimentary rocks come from the remains of organic matter.



The most important of these is coal. Anthracite coal results from the greatest pressure and releases the most energy when burned. Other varieties are bituminous and lignite. Petrified (permineralized) wood is another organic rock.

IGNEOUS ROCKS

Form by solidification (crystallization) of melted minerals At the surface, LAVA hardens to form EXTRUSIVE rocks with tiny (FINE-GRAINED) crystals or GLASSY (no crystal) TEXTURES Beneath the surface, MAGMA hardens to form INTRUSIVE rocks with easily visible (COARSE-GRAINED) crystal texture.

Formation of igneous rocks

Igneous Rocks

Granite


Light-colored, coarsegrained, no pattern Mostly quartz, feldspar, mica, and hornblende Often used for buildings and monuments

Basalt
   

Dark-colored, finegrained, extrusive Formed where lava erupted onto surface Most widespread igneous rocks Found locally in the Palisades along west shore of Hudson River, Connecticut River valley

Gabbro


Dark-colored, coarsegrained intrusive Similar composition to basaltplagioclase feldspar with some pyroxene and olivine

Obsidian
 

Natural volcanic glass Forms when lava cools very quickly Usually dark, but small pieces may be clear Fractures along curved (conchoidal) surface Used as spear and arrow points, knives

Pumice and other igneous rocks



Light colored, frothy (many air spaces)

Same minerals as in granite, but finer in grain size

Granite Family: Igneous Rocks from Felsic Magma

Obsidian Pumice Rhyolite Granite

Name

Glassy Glassy Finegrained Coarsegrained

Pegmatite

Texture

Very coarsegrained

Gabbro Family: Igneous Rocks from Mafic Magma

Basaltic Glass Vesicular Basalt

Name

Scoria Basalt Gabbro Glassy Glassy Finegrained

Texture

Finegrained

Coarsegrained

Metamorphic rocks


When rocks are baked by heat of molten magma or squeezed by the movements of huge tectonic plates or by the pressure of overlying thick succession of rocks

 

They are altered or changed beyond their recognition i.e. change in Chemical composition, texture and structure

Metamorphic rocks

Metamorphism Is the process that occur in rocks due to the effects of

High temperature  High pressure  Chemically active fluids


Temperature


The source of temperature is either from magma or due to the depth factor Metamorphism usually result into change in min. comp. and texture of rocks (Ig. and Sed.) which are subjected to temp. > 1000 C and pressure > 1000s Mpa.

 

Low-grade metamorphism:
Occurs at about 1000 C to 5000 C.

High-grade metamorphism:
Occurs at > 5000 C

Pressure
UNIFORM PRESSURE
- increases with depth due to increase in overburden.

DIRECT or Differential PRESSURE

- increases with depth upto some extent, effective in the upper part of the crust.

- acts vertically downwards and affects the volume of both liquid & solids. - high temperature is also associated with (due to depth factor) Lithostatic overburden pressuredue to

- acts in all direction and affects only on solids resulting into deformation of shape and change in mineral composition - high temperature is not always associated. to depth factor) - Stress- due to tectonic forces

min

max inter Differential Stress Uniform Stress

Granite

Granite-Gneiss

The Rock Cycle

The Rock Cycle
 Magma is molten material that forms deep beneath the Earths surface.  Lava is magma that reaches the surface.  Weathering is a process in which rocks are broken down by water, air, and living things.  Sediment is weathered pieces of Earth elements.

The Rock Cycle