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The earth’s crust is overwhelmingly igneous in origin. An igneous rock is one that
formed from the solidification of magma.
-Magma is the hot-liquid molten material, generated within the Earth, that forms
igneous rocks when solidified. Most magmas are generated through the partial
melting of the upper mantle.
- The magmas rise towards the surface, and they are either stored within the crust
where they form intrusive bodies called plutons or are erupted on the surface either
as lava or as fragments sent into the air, collectively known as extrusive rocks.
- Plutons may be emplaced as concordant or discordant bodies in relation to the
layering of the intruded rock or host rock.
- Sills are concordant plutons; they are flat, tabular bodies intruded parallel to the
layering of the host rock.
- Dikes are discordant plutons that cut across the layering of the host rock. When
no layering in the host rock is evident, the pluton is called a dike.
- A volcanic neck is an intrusive structure apparently formed within the throat of a
volcano.

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-Laccoliths are mushroom-shaped bodies that rises near the surface and domes the
overlying layers while it spreads laterally.
- Batholiths are enormous, complex rock bodies that cover at least 100 km2.
- Stocks are plutons similar to batholiths but smaller in size (<100 km2).

7.0 Igneous activity

Igneous rock textures
Phaneritic texture – coarse grained; the
mineral components are visible to the naked
eye; charactersitic of deep intrusive rocks
that slowly cooled.

Aphanitic texture – fine grained; the

mineral components are not visible to
the naked eye (i.e., microscopic);
formed by relatively fast cooling of
some volcanic rocks (e.g., basalt).

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Glassy – texture of igneous rock with a
high glass content; formed by very rapid
cooling, such that minerals had no
time to form crystals.

Porphyritic – igneous texture in which

crystals visible to the naked eye are
embedded in a matrix of aphanitic
texture; it represents a solidifying magma
that has suddenly erupted to the surface.

7.0 Igneous activity

Classification of igneous rocks
Peridotite family.
Peridotite is a dark, coarse-grained intrusive rock composed mainly of olivine, with
lesser amounts of pyroxene with little or no plagioclase. It is believed to form the
bulk of the upper mantle. Thus, it is either directly or indirectly the source of most
igneous rocks. The peridotite family is also known as ultramafic by virtue of their
high Mg and Fe content.
Basalt-gabbro family.
Basalt is a fine-textured, dark brown to black extrusive rock, composed primarily
of Ca-plagioclase feldspar, pyroxene and olivine. Gabbro is its coarse-textured,
deep intrusive equivalent. Dolerite or diabase is intermediate between basalt and
gabbro, as it is intruded near the surface. They are also known as mafic rocks, as
Mg and Fe minerals remain important components but in lesser amounts than those
in ultramafic rocks. They compose the entire oceanic crust, basalt forming the
upper layers and dolerite and gabbro forming the thicker internal layer upon which
the basalt rests. Hotspot volcanoes and some arc volcanoes also erupt basalts.

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Andesite-diorite family
Andesite is a gray, fine-grained volcanic rock consisting of plagioclase, ±
pyroxene, amphibole and/or biotite (mica). The plagioclase has about equal
amounts of Ca and Na ions. Diorite is the coarse-grained intrusive equivalent. The
term andesite was termed after the lavas typical of the Andes Mountains of South
America. The andesite family is typical of subduction-related magmatism. They are
also referred to as intermediate rocks.
Granite-rhyolite family
Granite is a light-colored, coarse grained intrusive rock consisting primarily of
quartz, K-feldspar and/or Na-plagioclase. Ferromagnesian minerals such as
hornblende and biotite may or may not be present in subordinate amounts. Granite
and its slightly more mafic variety, granodiorite, are the most common igneous
rocks of the continental crust. Rhyolite is the extrusive equivalent of granite and
is also generally confined to the continental crust. Because of their extremely high
silica content, members of this family are also referred to as silicic or felsic rocks.
Illustrate a classification chart of the most common igneous rocks and
list down the range of mineral proportions for each igneous family group.

7.0 Igneous activity

How magma forms
- A rock melts and become a magma when the temperature is higher than the
melting points of the minerals comprising the rock. Total melting of a rock is
deemed infeasible as minerals have different melting temperatures. Minerals with
lower melting temperatures are melted first, spending the heat and thus, leaving
the minerals with higher melting points unmelted. Thus, magma originate
principally by partial melting of pre-existing rock.
Sources of heat:
1) Geothermal gradient (see previous chapter)
2) The hotter mantle – geothermal gradients are higher in hot spots, where mantle
plumes, which arenarrow upwellings of hot material within the mantle occur.
Factors affecting melting temperatures:
1) Pressure – In general, the melting point of a mineral increases with increasing P.
Upwelling mantle material originating from deeper high pressure portions would
melt at shallower portions where there is lower P.
2) Water – water vapor under high pressure can lower the melting T of rocks.

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How magmas of different composition evolve
1) Differentiation and Bowen’s reaction theory
Magma stored within the earth’s crust, if allowed to remain liquid, will undergo
differentiation, the process by which different ingredients separate from an
originally homogenous mixture. Differentiation is attained when minerals
crystallize and separate from the mother magma, altering the magma
composition in the process.
According to experiments by N.L. Bowen in the early 20th century, it is possible to
derive mafic and felsic magma from a common parental source through
differentiation. Bowen showed that minerals with the highest melting T
crystallize first, followed successively by minerals of lower melting T.
Crystallization begins along two branches:
a) Discontinuous branch – one mineral changes to another at discrete T during
cooling and solidification of the magma. All the minerals involved are
ferromagnesian. The crystallization proceeds as follows:
olivine  pyroxene  amphibole  biotite
Any magma remaining after biotite has finished crystallizing is devoid of Fe and
Mg.

7.0 Igneous activity

Bowen’s reaction series

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b) Continuous branch – Plagioclase feldspar is the only mineral in the continuous
branch As the magma cools, the Ca-plagiocalse, which has the highest melting T,
crystallizes first. As the Ca is spent, it is replaced by Na, such that subsequent
plagioclase crystals become progressively enriched with Na:
anorthite  bytownite  labradorite  andesine  oligoclase  albite
Magma left after all the plagiocalse has crystallized is richer in Si and contains K
and Al. they combine to form K-fekdspar. Muscovite may also form if water P is
high. Excess silica crystallizes as quartz.
The differentiating magma may be interrupted at any point along its differentiation
path and solidify or be erupted at the surface, resulting in magmas of different
compositions.
2) Source rock – magma composition is also dependent upon the nature of the
parent or source rock. The composition of the resultant magma is, in general, more
felsic than the parent magma. Thus, peridotite melting produces basaltic magma,
while melting a basaltic source will give rise to intermediate to felsic rocks,
depending on partial melting degree.

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3) Partial melting – The first minerals to melt are those in the later portion in the
Bowen reaction sequence. Thus, the lower the partial melting degree is, the more
felsic the rock becomes.
4) Assimilation 5) Magma
– A very hot mixing – If two
magma may melt magmas meet
the country rock and merge in the
and assimilate crust, the
the newly molten combined
material into the magma will be
magma. compositionally
intermediate.

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Geologic settings of igneous activity
Andesitic/rhyolitic
Basaltic MOR volcanoes Basaltic lava Rhyolitic ash flow
Trench
plateau
Basaltic shield Rift
Andesitic island arc volcano Trench Granitic valley
pluton

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Igneous activity at diverging plate boundaries
Basaltic magma produced at
diverging boundaries is due to
partial melting of the
asthenosphere. Asthenosphere is
plastic probably because it is at T
that is only slightly lower than the
T required for partial melting of
mantle rock. Extra heat added or P
reduced will cause melting to take
place. The resulting magma is
mafic and will solidify as basalt or
gabbro. The portion that did not
melt remains behind as ultramafic
rock.

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Igneous activity at converging plate boundaries

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Magmas for most of the composite volcanoes in volcanic arc seem to originate
from a depth of about 100-120 km, coinciding with the depth at which the
subducting plate is expected to slide beneath the asthenosphere.Partial melting of
the asthenosphere is deemed possible as the subducting plate releases water to the
mantle, thereby lowering its melting T. The resulting magma is basaltic to andesitic.
In special cases where the subducting plate is subjected to elevated T, it may
encounter partial melting and give rise to intermediate to felsic rocks.
Intraplate igneous activity
Volcanism may occur within the plate, far from any plate boundary. The basaltic
volcanism in Hawaii is an example. Such type of volcanism is theorized to be
related to the arrival beneath the lithosphere of a mantle plume.

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