Lecture 4_CE207_rocks_2022

Rocks
A rock is any naturally occurring solid

mass or aggregate of minerals or
mineraloid matter
https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/
Bowens Reaction Series
Back in the early 1900's, N. L. Bowen and others at the Geophysical Laboratories in Washington D.C. began
experimental studies into the order of crystallization of the common silicate minerals from a magma. The
idealized progression which they determined is still accepted as the general model for the evolution of
magmas during the cooling process.
Bowen’s reaction series is based on observations and experiments of natural rocks, the crystallization
sequence of typical basaltic magma change as they cool. It is a sorting tool according to the
temperature at which they crystallize common magmatic silicate minerals. Bowen’s Reaction Series
describes temperatures at which different common silicate minerals change from liquid to solid
phase (or solid to liquid). Petrologist Norman Bowen (1887-1956) conducted decades of melting
experiments to support granite theory in the early 1900s. He found that a basaltic meltdown slowly
cooled, and minerals formed crystals in a certain order.
Bowen determined that specific minerals form at specific temperatures as a magma cools. At the higher temperatures
associated with mafic and intermediate magmas, the general progression can be separated into two branches. The
continuous branch describes the evolution of the plagioclase feldspars as they evolve from being calcium-rich to more
sodium-rich. The discontinuous branch describes the formation of the mafic minerals olivine, pyroxene, amphibole, and
biotite mica.
Bowen’s principles
• This reaction series implies that from a single “parental magma” all the various kinds of igneous rocks can
be derived by Magmatic Differentiation (see below)
• As a melt cools, the minerals in the thermodynamic equilibrium with the melt crystallize (the dissolution
equals crystallization; if there is no equilibrium either crystallization will dominate [supersaturation], or
dissolution [under saturated]).
• As the melt continues to cool and the minerals crystallize, it will change the melt composition.
• Previously formed crystals will not be in equilibrium with this solution and will be dissolved again to form
new minerals. In other words: these crystals react with the melt to form new crystals, hence the name
reaction series.
• Common minerals of igneous rocks can be arranged in two series as a continuous reaction sequence of
feldspar and as a discontinuous reaction sequence of ferromagnesian minerals (olivine, pyroxene,
hornblende, and biotite).
• This sequence of reactions implies that all various magmatic rocks can be obtained by Magmatic
Differentiation from a single “parent magma”.
• Generally speaking, higher temperature minerals have a higher proportion of iron and magnesium and are
therefore considered mafic. Low temperature minerals are associated with the opposite end of the
composite spectrum (low in iron and magnesium, higher in silicon and oxygen) and considered to be felsic.
Some minerals are clearly mafic, some are clearly felsic, and some fall between these two extremes.
Obsidian
Gabbro
Granite
Sedimentary Materials
• Sedimentary rocks cover 80% of the earth’s surface but only comprise
~1% of the volume of the crust (they are generally NOT dense either!)
Types of sedimentary rocks
• Detrital (a.k.a. clastic)  form by compaction and lithification of
clastic sediments or lithic fragments
• Clasts are little grains or fragments of rocks (i.e. can be made of 1 or
more minerals)
• Classification based on size
• Chemical  form by precipitation of minerals from water, or by
alteration of pre-existing material
• Classification based on chemical composition
• Biogenic  formed of previously living organic debris
• HOWEVER  Many sedimentary rocks are combinations of 2-3 of
these types… WHY?
Metamorphism
Contact metamorphism around a high-level crustal

magma chamber (Example: the magma chamber
beneath Mt. St. Helens.) e: Regional metamorphism
in a volcanic-arc related mountain range (volcanic-
region temperature gradient
Types of metamorphism shown in the
context of depth and temperature
under different conditions. The
metamorphic rocks formed from mud
rock under regional metamorphosis
with a typical geothermal gradient are
listed
Gneiss

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Rocks

A rock is any naturally occurring solid

Contact metamorphism around a high-level crustal

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