History of Rock Worksheet SCI/245 Version 6

Associate Level Material

History of Rock Worksheet
Write a 500- to 750-word explanation regarding the role of plate tectonics in the origin of igneous rocks.

Igneous rocks can form in three places: where lithospheric plates pull apart at mid-ocean ridges, where plates come together at seduction zones and where continental crust is pushed together, making it thicker and allowing it to heat to melting. There are two ideas about igneous rocks that are geologically important. The first idea is that igneous rocks evolve the rocks can change from one kind of rock into another. The second idea is that rocks are not randomly distributed across the earth. Specific kinds of rocks can always be found in specific for specific reasons; they are all tied into plate tectonic processes. Igneous rocks begin as hot, fluid material, and the word "igneous" comes from the Latin for fire. This type of material may have been lava erupted at the Earth's surface, or magma at shallow depths, or magma in deep bodies. People commonly think of lava and magma as a liquid, like molten metal, but geologists find that magma is usually a mush like substance, which can carry a load of mineral crystals. Magma crystallizes into an assortment of minerals, and some crystallize sooner than others. When they crystallize, they leave the remaining liquid with a changed chemical composition. When a body of magma cools, it evolves, and as it moves through the crust, interacting with other rocks, it can evolve further. This makes igneous petrology a difficult field to understand and study. You can tell the three types of igneous rocks apart by their texture, starting with the size of the mineral grains. Extrusive rocks cool quickly (over periods of seconds to months) and have invisible or very small grains, or an aphanitic texture. Intrusive rocks cool more slowly (over thousands of years) and have small to medium-sized grains. Plutonic rocks cool over millions of years, deep underground, and can have grains as large as pebbles. These pebbles can be up to a meter across. Both intrusive and plutonic rocks have phaneritic texture. The minerals they contain classify igneous rocks. The main minerals in igneous rocks are hard, primary ones: feldspar, quartz, amphiboles and pyroxenes (together called "dark minerals", and olivine along with the softer mineral mica. The two most common igneous rock types are basalt and granite, which differ in composition. Basalt is the dark, fine-grained material of many lava flows and magma intrusions. Its dark minerals are rich in iron and magnesium; therefore, basalt is called a

History of Rock Worksheet SCI/245 Version 6

mafic rock. Basalt is mafic and either intrusive or extrusive. Granite is the light, coarse-grained rock formed at depth and exposed after deep erosion. They can be found in the deep sea floor and are made of basaltic rocks, with ultramafic rocks underneath. Basalts are also erupted above the Earth's great subduction zones, either in volcanic island arcs or along the edges of continents. However, continental magmas tend to be less basaltic and more granitic. The continents are the exclusive home of granitic rocks. Nearly everywhere on the planet, no matter what rocks you might find on the surface, If you drill down far enough, you can reach granitoid eventually. Granitic rocks are less dense than basaltic rocks, and thus the continents actually float higher than the oceanic crust on top of the ultramafic rocks of the Earth's mantle. The behavior and histories of granitic rock bodies are among geology's deepest and most intricate mysteries.

Write a 500- to 750-word explanation regarding the role of plate tectonics in the origin of metamorphic rocks.

Metamorphic rocks can form when rocks change after undergoing extremely high pressure or a large temperature increase. These temperature changes must be hot enough to change matter within the rock but not hot enough to melt it. Hot magma then pushes itself to the surface at both divergent plate boundaries and convergent plate boundaries. This magma then comes in contact with rocks as it rises to the surface. The magma is extremely hot, heating the rocks around it. As the rocks continue to heat, they change and become metamorphic rocks. This process is known as contact metamorphism. During the metamorphism of rocks, most structural and textural features in the original rocksuch as stratification, graded bedding, vesicles, and porphyritic textures are eventually destroyed. New minerals then replace those originally in the rock to create a new rock texture. These new textures are metamorphic rocks, a major group of rocks, which are formed from the constant motion of tectonic plates. Metamorphic rocks can be formed from igneous, sedimentary, or even previously metamorphosed rocks. Regional metamorphism occurs at convergent plate boundaries, due to intense pressure. So when two plates meet, the Earth's crust then folds and faults, the intense pressure then changes large areas of the Earth's crust into metamorphic rock. Mountain ranges are typically metamorphic rock, due to this plate tectonic process. Metamorphism occurs while the rock remains solid, if it reaches a point where the rock melts; it then becomes an igneous rock. Other rocks then recrystallized and develop into large mineral grains.

History of Rock Worksheet SCI/245 Version 6

This recrystallization in the solid state is a process we call metamorphism. The final result is a new rock type with a distinctive fabric and texture and, in some cases, an entirely new mineral composition. The minerals in the metamorphic rocks were not formed from magma, but are stable only at high temperatures and pressures found deep in the crust. Light-colored dikes and sills of igneous rock cut the metamorphic rocks. During metamorphism, new plate mineral grains grow in the direction of the least amount of stress, producing a planar texture known as foliation. Rocks with only one mineral (such as limestone) or those that are recrystallized in the absence of varying stresses do not develop strong foliation but instead develop a granular texture. Mylonite develops where shearing along a fracture forms small grains by ductile destruction of larger grains. The major types of foliated metamorphic rocks include schist, gneiss, slate, and mylonite; important non-foliated (or granular) rocks include marble, quartzite, hornfels, granulite and greenstone. They can be identified by their textures and also by their compositions.