Igneous Rocks
& Volcanoes
REVIEW: How Rocks Melt
and Crystallize
Intrusive rocks
Volcanoes & Volcanic Hazards
Igneous Rocks
Molten rock that
solidifies/freezes at high temp
~1300C to 650C
(depends on composition)
Earth is mostly igneous rock.
Magma Subsurface melt
Lava Melt at surface
1100-1200 C
Volcanic/extrusive, rapid
cooling at surface
Lava
Intrusion
Plutonic/intrusive,
slow cooling at depth
How to form magma
Take HOT ROCKS and:
Decrease pressure
Decompression melting
Add volatiles
Volatile-enhanced melting
Increase temperature
Heat transfer and melting
Combination of the above
Magma Compositions
magma types based on silica (SiO2) percentage.
Felsic (feldspar and silica)
Intermediate
Mafic (Mg and Fe-rich)
Ultramafic
>63% SiO2
52 to 63% SiO2
45 to 52% SiO2
<45% SiO2
Mafic rocks/minerals are rich in iron (Fe) and magnesium (Mg)
typically dark colored minerals & rocks
Felsic rocks/minerals are rich in silica & feldspars.
typically light colored minerals & rocks
Magma Compositions
Composition controls magma density, T, and viscosity.
The most important factor is silica (SiO2) content.
Silica-rich magmas are thick and viscous.
Silica-poor magmas are thin and runny.
These characteristics govern eruptive style.
Type
Density
Temperature
Viscosity
Felsic
Very low
Very low (600 to 850C)
Very High: Explosive eruptions.
Intermediate
Low
Low
High: Explosive eruptions.
Mafic
High
High
Low: thin, hot runny eruptions.
Ultramafic
Very high
Very high (up to 1300C)
Very low.
Igneous Environments
Two major categories Based on cooling location
Extrusive (volcanic) Cool at or near the surface.
Cool rapidly
Small to no crystals
Intrusive (plutonic) Cool at depth
Lose heat slowly
Crystals grow large
Most mafic magmas extrude
Most felsic magmas intrude
Intrusive and Extrusive Rocks
commonly co-occur
magma chambers feed overlying volcanoes, cooling to
become plutons
Mid-Ocean Ridges
Sea-floor spreading opens the axial rift valley.
Rising asthenosphere melts, forming magma.
Pooled magma solidifies into oceanic crust.
Extrusive Settings
More on these next lecture
Lava flows: exit volcanic vents and spread outward,
stack vertically
Low-viscosity lava (basalt) can flow long distances
Extrusive Settings
Explosive eruptions
High-viscosity volatile-rich magma builds pressure
Violent eruptions yield huge volumes of pyroclasts
Intrusive Activity
Magma intrudes into other rocks in two
ways
As planar, tabular bodies (dikes and sills)
As balloon-shaped blobs (plutons).
Size varies widely
Plutons can be massive
Dikes and sills tend to be smaller.
Intrusive settings
Volcanic neck
Volcanic
pipe
Country
rock
Dike
Laccolith
Dike
Sill
Stock
Batholith
Xenoliths
Intrusive Characteristics
Intrusive contacts preserve evidence of high heat.
Baked zone Rim of heat-altered country rock.
Chill margin Magma at contact that cooled rapidly.
Xenolith - Country rock fragment in magma.
Magma cooled before xenolith could be assimilated.
Tabular Intrusions
Tend to have a uniform thickness.
Two major subdivisions.
Sill Parallels rock fabric.
Dike Crosscuts rock fabric.
Large Sill--Antarctica
Pt. Mugu
Tabular Intrusions
Dike emplacement
Sill emplacement
Volcanic neck:
Devils Tower, WY
Volcanic neck
Shiprock, NM
Fig. 4.10d
Batholiths
of
western
North
America.
Coast
Ranges
batholith
Idaho
batholith
Sierra Nevada
batholith
Peninsular
batholith
batholith
Yosemite
Sierra Nevada Batholith
Ancestral Sierra Nevadas
(~100 Ma)
Future Coast Range
Future Central Valley
During
intrusion
Landscape Evolution
During
erosion
Time
After
erosion
Igneous rock classification
Based upon texture and composition:
Texture reveals cooling and eruptive history of magma
Composition Si % (felsic, intermediate, mafic, and ultramafic)
C2
Type
Aphanitic (fine)
Phaneritic (coarse)
Felsic
Rhyolite
Granite
Intermediate
Andesite
Diorite
Basalt
Gabbro
Komatiite
Peridotite
Mafic
Ultramafic
Coarse-grained (phaneritic)
Intrusive
cooled slowly
Minerals grains are large
enough to be seen with
the naked eye
Crystalline textures: fine-grained
(aphanitic)
Extrusive
cooled fast
Mineral grains can
barely be seen
without hand lens or
microscope
Porphyritic
Larger minerals
(phenocrysts)
surrounded by a finergrained groundmass
(matrix).
Large minerals
crystallized 1st slowly,
then rest of rock cooled
more rapidly
Glassy Igneous Rocks
Lava cools too
rapidly for crystal
growth to occur
obsidian
Glassy Igneous Rocks
vesicular
Magma cools too
rapidly for all gases to
escape.
Trapped bubbles form
vesicles.
pumice or scoria
Pyroclastic
Rocks that have been
assembled from
erupted material
From pyro meaning
fire and clast
meaning fragment
Welded tuff
Classification is based on composition and grain size
Grain Size
Fast
cooling
Silica Content
of Magma
Intermediate
(= 60%)
Low
(= 45% - 50%)
Resulting
Plutonic Rocks
Rhyolite
Granite
Andesite
Diorite
Felsic
(silicic)
Silica Content
High
(= 70% - 75%)
Resulting
Volcanic Rocks
Mafic
Basalt
Gabbro
Slow
cooling
BOWENS REACTION SERIES
Temperature
Magma
composition
(low silica)
~1200C
~600C
(high silica)
extrusive
intrusive
Basalt
Minerals
Gabbro
Olivine
Pyroxene
Andesite
Diorite
Hornblende
Biotite
Rhyolite
Granite
Biotite
Muscovite
Quartz
intrusive
extrusive
Basalt
Feldspar
composition
Gabbro
Ca Plagioclase
Andesite
Diorite
Na Plagioclase
Rhyolite
Granite
K Feldspar
Extrusive
Intrusive
Basalt
Composition
Tetrahedron structure
isolated
Mafic
Olivine
Pyroxene
Pyroxene
Hornblende
Increasing Viscosity
Andesite
single
chain
double
chain
2D
frame
Rhyolite
Felsic
Biotite
Quartz
40
3D frame
extrusive
intrusive
