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Applied Geology Lecture 7

The document discusses the origin of magma through three main processes: 1) Partial melting of solid rock in the crust and upper mantle due to decreases in pressure and increases in temperature, 2) Decompression melting as mantle rock rises to lower pressure areas, 3) Additional heat and volatiles like water causing rock to melt at lower temperatures. It then describes how magmas can evolve through differentiation, assimilation, and mixing during crystallization and how various igneous rock types form through partial melting processes.

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Wanambwa Silagi
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41 views15 pages

Applied Geology Lecture 7

The document discusses the origin of magma through three main processes: 1) Partial melting of solid rock in the crust and upper mantle due to decreases in pressure and increases in temperature, 2) Decompression melting as mantle rock rises to lower pressure areas, 3) Additional heat and volatiles like water causing rock to melt at lower temperatures. It then describes how magmas can evolve through differentiation, assimilation, and mixing during crystallization and how various igneous rock types form through partial melting processes.

Uploaded by

Wanambwa Silagi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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LECTURE – 7

ORIGIN OF MAGMA

• Highly debated topic

• Generating magma from solid rock

• Produced from partial melting of rocks in the crust and

upper mantle

• Role of pressure

• An increase in confining pressure causes an increase

in a rock’s melting temperature or conversely,

reducing the pressure lowers the melting

temperature

• When confining pressures drop, decompression

melting occurs
Decompression Melting

• The process of decompression melting involves the

upward movement of the earth's mantle to an area of

lower pressure

• The reduction in overlying pressure enables the rock

to melt, leading to magma formation

• Magma is formed by the melting of the earth's mantle


• The role of heat

• Temperature increases within Earth’s upper crust (called the

geothermal gradient) average between 20° and 30°C per

kilometer

• Rocks in the lower crust and upper mantle are near their

melting points

• Any additional heat (from rocks descending into the mantle or

rising heat from the mantle) may induce melting


• The role of volatiles (flux)

• Volatiles (primarily water) cause rocks to melt at lower

temperatures

• This is particularly important where oceanic lithosphere

descends into the mantle


Evolution of Magmas

• A single volcano may extrude lavas exhibiting very different compositions over time

• Bowen’s reaction series and composition of igneous

• N. L. Bowen demonstrated that as magma cools, minerals crystallize in a systematic fashion based on their melting points
• During crystallization, the composition of the liquid portion of magma continually changes

• Composition changes as a result of removal of elements by earlier – forming minerals

• The silica component of the melt becomes enriched as crystallization proceeds

• Minerals in the melt can chemically react and change


Evolution of Magmas

• Processes responsible for changing a magma’s composition

• Magmatic differentiation

• Separation of a melt from earlier – formed crystals to form a different composition of magma

• Assimilation

• Changing magma’s composition by incorporation of foreign matter (surrounding rock bodies) into a magma

• Magma mixing

• Involves two bodies of magma intruding on one another

• Two chemically distinct magmas may produce a composition quite different from either original magma
Magmatic Differentiation Assimilation

Magma Mixing
Evolution of Magmas

• Partial melting and magma formation

• Incomplete melting of rocks is known as partial melting

• Formation of basaltic magmas

• Most originate from partial melting of ultramafic

rock in the mantle

• Basaltic magmas form at mid – ocean ridges by

decompression melting or at subduction zones


Evolution of Magmas
• Partial melting and magma formation
• Formation of andesitic magmas
• Interaction between mantle – derived basaltic magmas and
more silica – rich rocks in the crust generate magma of
andesitic composition
• Andesitic magma may also evolve by magmatic
differentiation
• Formation of granitic magmas
• Most likely form as the end product of crystallization of
andesitic magma
• Granitic magmas are higher in silica and therefore more
viscous than other magmas
• Because of their high viscosity, they lose their mobility
before reaching the surface
• Tend to produce large plutonic structures
Intrusive Igneous Activity
• Most magma is emplaced at depth in the Earth
• An underground igneous body, once cooled and solidified, is called a
pluton
• Classification of plutons
• Shape
• Tabular (sheetlike)
• Massive
• Orientation with respect to the host (surrounding rock)
• Discordant: cuts across sedimentary rock units
• Concordant: parallel to sedimentary rock units
• Dike: a tabular, discordant pluton
• Sill: a tabular, concordant pluton (e.g. Palisades Sill in New York)
• Laccolith
• Similar to a sill
• Lens or mushroom – shaped mass
• Arches overlying strata upward
• Intrusive igneous features

• Batholith

• Largest intrusive body

• Surface exposure of more than 100 square kilometers (smaller bodies are termed stocks)

• Frequently form the cores of mountains


Mineral Resources and Igneous Processes

• Igneous mineral resources can form from

• Magmatic segregation: separation of heavy

minerals that crystallize early or enrichment of rare

elements in the residual melt

• Hydrothermal solutions: originate from hot, metal –

rich fluids that are remnants of the late – stage

magmatic process

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