Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Chapter 1 Introduction
- Chapter 2 Materials of the solid Earth
- Chapter 3 How are minerals identified?
- Chapter 4 Fundamentals of crystal structures
- Chapter 5 Introduction to crystallography
- Chapter 6 Minerals and rocks observed under the polarizing optical microscope
- Chapter 7 Igneous rock-forming minerals
- Chapter 8 How do igneous rocks form?
- Chapter 9 Igneous rocks
- Chapter 10 Sedimentary rock-forming minerals and materials
- Chapter 11 Formation, transport, and lithification of sediment
- Chapter 12 Sedimentary rock classification, occurrence, and plate tectonic significance
- Chapter 13 Metamorphic rock-forming minerals
- Chapter 14 Metamorphic rocks
- Chapter 15 Some economic minerals, mainly from veins and pegmatites
- Chapter 16 Some selected Earth materials resources
- Chapter 17 Earth materials and human health
- Glossary
- Minerals and varieties
- Common igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks
- Index
- References
Chapter 9 - Igneous rocks
Their mode of occurrence, classification, and plate tectonic setting
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Chapter 1 Introduction
- Chapter 2 Materials of the solid Earth
- Chapter 3 How are minerals identified?
- Chapter 4 Fundamentals of crystal structures
- Chapter 5 Introduction to crystallography
- Chapter 6 Minerals and rocks observed under the polarizing optical microscope
- Chapter 7 Igneous rock-forming minerals
- Chapter 8 How do igneous rocks form?
- Chapter 9 Igneous rocks
- Chapter 10 Sedimentary rock-forming minerals and materials
- Chapter 11 Formation, transport, and lithification of sediment
- Chapter 12 Sedimentary rock classification, occurrence, and plate tectonic significance
- Chapter 13 Metamorphic rock-forming minerals
- Chapter 14 Metamorphic rocks
- Chapter 15 Some economic minerals, mainly from veins and pegmatites
- Chapter 16 Some selected Earth materials resources
- Chapter 17 Earth materials and human health
- Glossary
- Minerals and varieties
- Common igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks
- Index
- References
Summary
So far in this book we have classified rocks into igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic, and we have discussed the origin of magmas and igneous rocks using only a few common rock names, such as basalt, andesite, and granite. In this chapter, we consider the classification of igneous rocks in more detail, and we see, for example, that some rock types commonly occur together, whereas others are never associated. In Chapter 8, we learned about igneous rock-forming processes – why rocks melt, where they melt, and how they melt. We saw that the melting process controls the composition of the liquid, which determines the composition of magmas that ascend into the crust. We also learned about the physical properties of magma and of processes that can change its composition and, hence, the spectrum of igneous rocks it can form. We are in a position to use this knowledge, first, to describe where igneous rocks form; second, to learn how igneous rocks are classified; and finally, to relate igneous rocks to plate tectonics.
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- Information
- Earth MaterialsIntroduction to Mineralogy and Petrology, pp. 236 - 287Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2012