Earth’s Interior

here is the summary handout on silicate minerals and magmas

Silicate minerals
Silicate Minerals: The most abundant rock forming minerals (why?? Think about that)

Based on the complex anion called the Silica Tetrahedron, SiO4-4. Each silica tetrahedron has a charge of -4

Family of silicate mineral groups: polymerization of tetrahedrons (how the tetrahedrons are bonded to each other):
3-D Frameworks Quartz and Feldspar
2-D Continuous Sheets Mica
Double chains Amphibole
Single chains Pyroxene
Isolated tetrahedra Olivine Group

Why the silicate family groups are IMPORTANT.

1. The silicate rocks make up 99% of our igneous rocks.
2. The igneous rocks ONLY make sense if you understand these silicate groups.
3. The control of igneous rock and volcanic eruption types by plate tectonics ONLY makes sense if you understand these
silicate groups.
4. The weathering susceptibility of various rock types (topic after igneous rocks) ONLY makes sense if you understand these
silicate groups.
5. Because of #4, the composition of sedimentary rocks makes sense ONLY if ....
6. This topic is not difficult, it's simply involved and requires actual study for most students.

Mineral Structural Type Composition

Olivine Isolated Fe and Mg rich
Pyroxene Single Chains Ca, Fe, and Mg rich
Amphibole Double Chains Ca, Fe, Mg and K rich (with "OH")
Mica Sheet Silicates K, Na rich (with "OH")
Plagioclase Tectosiicates Ca and Na rich
Alkali Feldspar Tectosilicates Na and K rich
Quartz Tectosilicates Si

Bowen's Reaction Series

 Bowen's Reaction Series is a listing of the most common silicate minerals in igneous rocks, in the order in which they crystallize
from a magma, as the temperature decreases and the magma cools.
 Bowen's Reaction Series also lists the minerals in the order in which they melt with increasing temperatures. Minerals higher on
the reaction series crystallize before minerals lower on the reaction series. The earlier-formed minerals react with the magma to
form minerals lower on the series. The process ends when the magma has completely crystallized. The composition of the
resulting igneous rock depends on the composition of the magma.

 Bowen's Reaction Series has two branches. They are:

1. Discontinuous reaction series, from olivine to biotite.
2. Continuous reaction series, from Ca plagioclase to Na plagioclase.

The discontinuous reaction series involves the dark-coloured mafic ferromagnesian minerals:
1. olivine
2. pyroxene
3. amphibole
4. biotite.
As a magma cools, olivine crystallizes first. The olivine crystals react with the remaining magma to form pyroxene. Pyroxene reacts
with the magma to form amphibole. Amphibole reacts with the magma to form biotite. Each successive mineral, from olivine to biotite,
has a different composition and a different silicate crystal structure. As crystallization proceeds, the crystal structures become
more complex (olivine has an isolated tetrahedral structure, pyroxene has a single chain structure, amphibole has a double chain
structure, and biotite has a sheet structure). The series of minerals is called discontinuous because a series of different minerals is
formed, each with a different crystal structure.

Isolated

Single
chain
Double
chain

Sheet

Frame
work

The continuous reaction series involves the plagioclase feldspars. Plagioclase feldspars are an example of a "solid solution series",
exhibiting gradations in chemical and physical properties. Chemically, this series consists of two "end members":
1. albite or Na plagioclase (NaAlSi3O8), the sodium "end member", and
2. anorthite or Ca plagioclase (CaAlSi2O8), the calcium "end member".

There is a continuous chemical and physical gradation between the two end members.

Ca-plagioclase is the first to crystallize. It reacts with the melt to become more sodium rich. This series of plagioclase minerals is
called continuous because all of the plagioclase minerals have the same crystal structure. The minerals differ primarily in the
proportions of calcium and sodium present.
During the last stages of crystallization, potassium feldspar (KAlSi308) crystallizes. Muscovite may also form. If the remaining melt
contains excess silica, quartz will crystallize.

Bowen's Reaction Series helps us to understand why certain minerals tend to occur together in igneous rocks. For example, the
mafic rocks, basalt and gabbro tend to contain olivine, pyroxene, and calcium-rich plagioclase feldspar. These are all minerals which
crystallize at high temperatures. As another example, felsic or sialic rocks such as granite and rhyolite tend to contain quartz,
potassium feldspar, sodium-rich plagioclase feldspar, and sometimes muscovite. These are minerals which crystallize at lower
temperatures. The minerals that ultimately form are controlled by the initial composition of the magma.

Bowen's Reaction Series also helps us to understand why certain minerals do NOT occur together in igneous rocks. For example,
olivine and quartz are unlikely to occur in the same igneous rock, because olivine is a high temperature mineral, and quartz is a low
temperature mineral.

Bowen's Reaction Series also shows us that the range of igneous rocks, from ultramafic to sialic (or felsic), can be produced by
the same original mafic magma. The magma changes as it cools. As a magma cools, the early-formed crystals may settle to the
bottom of the magma chamber. This would produce a rock type at the bottom of the magma chamber that is dominated by early-
formed minerals such as olivine, pyroxene, and calcic plagioclase (a mafic or ultramafic rock). The remaining melt would be enriched in
silica (relative to its original composition), and may continue moving upward toward the earth's surface. Crystal settling may occur
again, producing an intermediate rock. As the last remaining melt moves toward the Earth's surface, it will crystallize to produce a sialic
or felsic rock. The removal of crystals from the magma by settling (or other processes) is known as fractional crystallization.

The formation of several different rock types from one initial magma, through separation of earlier-formed crystals, causing the magma
to evolve to become more silica-rich, is known as magmatic differentiation. Magmatic differentiation can produce a variety of types of
igneous rocks through evolution of the original parent magma.
You have to know the series AND understand the concepts of how Bowen's Reaction Series relates to melting and to
crystallization, and to the origin of igneous rocks of various composition.
Igneous rocks (but also more about silicate minerals and Bowen’s Reaction Series)
Igneous rocks are rocks that form through the solidification of magma.

Heat in the Earth. Various lines of evidence allow geologists to estimate the geothermal gradient or geotherm - the
temperature/depth curve. Note, however that the curve is not linear.
Question: Why is the lower mantle considerably cooler than the outer core? Remember convection and conduction. Convection
occurs in the mantle but not between the mantle and crust.

How do magmas form? Factors that influence melting point:

Temperature. All other things being equal, every mineral has a distinct melting point.

 Pressure: All other things being equal, the greater the pressure, the less likely materials are to melt. (This explains why the
asthenosphere is limited to a shallow region of the mantle and the inner core is solid despite being hotter than the liquid outer
core.) When rocks experience decompression without losing their heat, they can experience decompression melting.

 Volatile substances: Generally, the addition of substances like water or CO2 to a mineral lowers its melting point.

Composition: So far we've assumed that all minerals have the same melting point (assuming they are dry and at the same
temperature). In fact, a rock's composition greatly influences its melting point. The higher a rock's silicate content, the sooner it melts.
Because rocks are usually aggregates of different minerals, we get Partial melting, in which the more silicate rich minerals melt first,
leaving the more iron-magnesium rich minerals as solids.

Where does magma form?

 Mid-ocean ridges: Rising rocks
in mantle convection cell bring
heat near the surface,
transferring heat to overlying
rocks. At the same time, the hot
rising mantle rocks experience
decompression melting.
 Subduction zones: As oceanic
crust sits at bottom of ocean, it
becomes charged with sea
water. Subduction slab, although
relatively cold, dives into hot
surrounding rock. The slab acts
as conveyors drawing water into the hotter, drier asthenosphere. When the water percolates into the surrounding hot rocks,
melting due to the infusion of volatiles occurs.
 Mantle plumes: Those enigmatic localized upwellings of hot mantle rock from very deep in the mantle, expressed on the
surface as mantle hot spots. As in mid-ocean ridges, hot spot rocks transfer heat to overlying rocks and experience
decompression as they come up.
How does magma behave? When melting first occurs, it happens mineral grain by grain, yielding tiny pockets of magma. Being liquid,
magma tends to be lighter than surrounding material from which it has melted. Thus, it tends to percolate upward by any available
means. As this happens, droplets coalesce, eventually forming large magma chambers.
Rocks from magma
How Igneous rocks differ from one another.
 Emplacement process
 Texture
 composition

Process differences in igneous rocks:

Intrusive (plutonic) rocks: Definition: A plutonic rock is an igneous rock that is formed by the cooling of magma that has forced
its way into surrounding rock. (Country rock)
 Large interlocking crystals
 Recognition of igneous nature
 Extrusive (volcanic) rocks: Definition: A volcanic rock is an igneous rock that is formed by the cooling of magma that has
erupted onto the Earth's surface.
 Lavas: Rocks formed from the cooling of magma erupted as a flowing or oozing liquid
 Pyroclastic rocks: Rocks formed from the deposition of volcanic material. This, in turn, forms when magma erupts
as lava as an aerosol of fine particles.
Texture: Depending on how quickly they cool, igneous rocks can show three basic textures:
 Phaneritic: Rocks which show large visible interlocking crystals. Most intrusive rocks which cool slowly have this texture.
 Aphanitic: Rocks which show small or microscopic interlocking crystals. Most extrusive rocks which cool quickly have this
texture.
 Glassy: Rocks which have no crystals but consist, instead, of volcanic glass. These cool almost instantaneously. Types of
volcanic glasses include:
 Obsidian Smooth glass with few if any gas bubbles.
 Scoria Glassy rock with vesicles representing gas bubbles (e.g., your pumice sample).
 Volcanic ash Tiny glassy fragments that form from an aerosol of molten rock. Often, ash fragments are still slightly
sticky when they fall, sticking together to form welded tuff. Of course, tuff is a pyroclastic rock.

Chemical and Mineral composition: chart to left shows the important mineral components of common igneous rocks. Its x axis
shows the percentage of silica in the rock, the y axis shows the relative abundance of different minerals in the rock. Remember, for
each composition there are intrusive and extrusive textural versions.
For example, granite might have 70% silica and be composed of 50% orthoclase, 25% quartz, and 25% plagioclase, muscovite, biotite,
and amphibole. Its volcanic equivalent is rhyolite.
The silica concentration continuum: Silica content is the key to understanding igneous rocks. In the modern world, igneous rocks
range from about 70% to about 40% silica. In the crust, they usually don't go below about 50% silica. We use the terms felsic and
mafic to describe silica content.
 Felsic: (Felsic = Feldspar + silica.) High quantities of orthoclase and quartz, small amounts of plagioclase, muscovite, biotite,
and amphibole.
 Intrusive: Granite. Common near surface on continents.
 Extrusive: Rhyolite. Tends to erupt on continents, often above subducting plates.
 Intermediate:
 Granodiorite (Intrusive) - Dacite (Extrusive): Small amounts of orthoclase and larger of plagioclase.
 Diorite (Intrusive) - Andesite (Extrusive): No orthoclase and little or no quartz. The major component of subduction
zone Extrusive arcs.
 Mafic (Mafic = Ma + Fe): High quantities of olivine and pyroxene, smaller amounts of plagioclase.
 Intrusive: Gabbro: Makes up the lower oceanic crust. may form intrusively in continental crust.
 Extrusive: Basalt: Makes up the upper oceanic crust and underlies continental crust. Erupts at mid-oceanic ridges
and from mantle hot spots. Occasionally erupts onto continents in large sheets.
 Ultramafic: Very rare on surface, often found as mantle xenoliths. Low silica content, with rocks primarily made up of olivine
with some pyroxene.
 Intrusive: Peridotite, the dominant rock of the mantle. Seen in mantle xenoliths.
 Extrusive: Komatiite. No extrusive ultramafics exist in the recent world. Komatiite, an ultramafic extrusive rock, was
erupted during roughly the first half of Earth's history, in the Archaean and early Proterozoic eons.
 General compositional trends:
 Felsic:
 more silica
 more Na (in plagioclase)
 More K
 Mafic:
 More Ca (in plagioclase)
 More Mg
 More Fe.
 Magma terminology: When we describe magma composition, we do so with reference to the kind of extrusive rock it would
form, thus we have basaltic, andesitic, dacitic, and rhyolitic magmas. Depending on their composition, magmas behave
differently:
 Felsic magmas are viscous, often have large quantities of water vapour, and tend to erupt explosively.
 Mafic magmas are less viscous and usually have less water and tend to flow as a liquid after eruptions.
Magmatic Differentiation: So, all of these sources draw on the melting of mantle rocks, which ought to be pretty uniform. Why do we
see such compositional variation in magmas?
 Partial melting:
Mantle rocks like peridotite consist of several different minerals,
each with its own melting point. As the rock heats, decompresses,
or is infused with water, the minerals with the lowest melting point
melt first and begin to move away from the source rock, so a
magma is always somewhat more felsic than its source. Consider
that the magma erupting at mid-ocean ridges has moved maybe a
mere ten km from its source, but whereas that source was
ultramafic peridotite, the magma is merely basaltic.

 Fractional crystallization. Reverse process of fractional

melting. The most mafic minerals in a melt (i.e. those with the
highest melting point) will be the first to crystallize out, leaving
an increasingly felsic magma.
 The sequence in which
minerals crystallize out of
magma was worked out by N.
L. Bowen in the early 20th
century: Bowen reaction
series.

 Assimilation:

The vast majority of intrusives we see on the continents are felsic, like
granite. Fractional crystallization can't account for this. Remember, in
general, continental crust is much more felsic than oceanic. As
ultramafic magmas encounter the felsic rocks of the continental crust,
they cause the most felsic minerals in those felsic rocks (the ones with
the lowest melting point) to melt. Thus, felsic material is added to the
magma as mafic material is lost to fractional crystallization. The result
is that magmas that have passed through thick layers of continental
crust represent highly refined concentrations of felsic materials.

Fractional Crystallization (a closer look)

Consider silicate melt at a certain temperature (e.g. 1100C)
only crystals of some specific minerals with a certain chemical composition will form. These crystals will coexist in chemical equilibrium
with the remaining melt

For example, starting with a melt of basaltic composition:

1) above about 1200C, melt is entirely molten (100% liquid); no crystals have begun to form.
2) at around 1200C, mineral olivine (Fe, Mg)2 SiO4 begins to form.
Note that olivine is a single tetrahedra silicate mineral (not much SiO4), and there is a lot of Fe and Mg per crystal

Thus, the following is true:

a) much of original Fe and Mg from the basalt melt is incorporated into the olivine crystals;
b) relatively little SiO4 is incorporated into the olivine crystals;
c) remaining melt is SiO4 -rich and Fe, Mg-poor and is a different composition than the olivine crystals.
3) magma cools further, more olivine crystals form, further depleting the remaining melt in Fe & Mg, and further enriching melt in SiO4
4) Eventually, magma is rich enough in SiO4 that single-chain silicates (e.g. pyroxenes) can form. At this point, olivine is no longer
stable; it is out of chemical equilibrium with the silicate-enriched melt. The melt is too enriched in SiO4 and too depleted in Fe and Mg.
5) Olivine crystals begin to break down and are assimilated (dissolved) back into the melt! Since pyroxene is now stable in the SiO4 -
rich melt, it begins to grow at the expense of olivine; often, pyroxene forms a rim around old olivine crystals

Bowen's Reaction Series:

As silicate melts cool, both discontinuous series and continuous series are operating simultaneously.
early formed crystals (e.g. from basalt magma) are:
1) from discontinuous series: rich in Fe, Mg; poor in SiO4 (e.g. olivine, pyroxene);
2) from continuous series: plagioclase rich in Ca
late formed crystals (e.g. from granitic magma) are:
1) from discontinuous series: poor in Fe, Mg; rich in SiO4 (e.g. amphibole, biotite);
2) from continuous series: plagioclase rich in Na
 eventually, enough SiO4 is left in melt for quartz (a pure silica framework mineral) to form
 cations and elements not incorporated into other earlier formed minerals will be incorporated into the last minerals to form such
as K-spar, muscovite mica (which contains water), and strange minerals, often with economic significance (e.g. fluorite, U-
bearing minerals, etc.)