ROCKS

• The study of the Earth’s rocks is called

PETROLOGY

Rocks are aggregates of minerals

 Three main types of rocks:

1. Igneous Rocks: formed from the direct cooling

and solidification of molten material
2. Sedimentary rocks: formed near the Earth’s
surface by the deposition and lithification of
sediments
3. Metamorphic rocks: a rock of any origin is
physically transformed by being subjected to
high pressures and temperatures.
• Igneous and metamorphic rocks make up
95% by volume of all of the Earth’s crust.

• However, sedimentary rocks cover most of

the Earth’s surface. Much of the crust
consists of a large thickness of igneous
rock, covered by a relatively thin layer of
sedimentary rock.
 IGNEOUS ROCKS
• Molten silicate material underneath Earth’s
surface is called magma.
• Magma reaching the surface in liquid form
is called lava.
• Igneous rocks may form either by eruption
of lava at the surface (volcanoes) to form
EXTRUSIVE igneous rocks, or by
solidification of magma below the surface
to form INTRUSIVE igneous rocks
 Types of Igneous Rocks
• Igneous rocks may be classified in terms of
composition (the minerals they contain) or texture.
• Texture refers to the size of the mineral grains
(crystals) in the rock.

Slow cooling  large crystals (coarse-grained)

Rapid cooling  small crystals (fine-grained)
Very rapid cooling  amorphous, or glassy
 Extrusive
igneous rock

Magma Intrusive
chamber igneous rock
 Texture types
• Phaneritic : all the crystals are large enough to be
seen with the naked eye
• Aphanitic: no crystals are visible to the naked eye
• Porphyritic: The bulk of the rock is fine-grained,
but contains some large crystals, called
phenocrysts, visible by eye. This rock results
from 2-stage cooling – magma begins to cool
slowly within the crust, forming large crystals.
The rock then erupts to the surface and cools
rapidly.
Granite- a phaneritic rock, containing
crystals of feldspar, quartz, biotite
Basalt – an aphanitic rock Obsidian – a glassy rock

Porphyritic Rock
• Note that crustal rocks e.g. granite, rhyolite
are rich in silica (felsic), while further down
into the earth, the silica content decreases
(mafic, ultramafic) e.g. olivine
Differentiation of igneous rocks
• The range of compositions of igneous rocks is
very vast.
• The type of minerals that crytallise from a magma
depends on the chemical composition of the
magma. The crystal size depends on the cooling
rate.
• As a magma cools (say from 1500oC), the
minerals with the highest melting point
crystallize out first and form a solid at the
bottom of the chamber. Progressively , more
minerals crystallise out, at the same time changing
the composition of the remaining magma. The
first mineral to crystallise out is olivine. This
process is called fractional crystallisation
Igneous Intrusions
 Sedimentary Rocks
• Most sedimentary rocks are formed from
fragmented rocks or minerals of any type.
Sediments always form at, or near, the earth’s
surface The rocks from which sediments originate
are called source rock types. This influences the
mineralogy of the final sedimentary rock.
• Other rocks originate by accumulation of
fragments of organic material (eg shells of
marine animals) or by chemical precipitation
from sea water or other solutions.
 Sedimentary systems

Source Rock Type

Weathering, Erosion

Transport Mechanism
Organic material Chemical
Precipitation

Site of deposition
 Types of Sediment
1. Detrital (or Clastic) Sediments: formed
from loose grains produced by weathering
of pre-existing rock
2. Biochemical Sediments: composed of
material of organic origin, such as shell
and coral fragments
3. Chemical Sediments: made up of
inorganic materials such as salt,
precipitated from solution.
• Weathering may be
mechanical (breaking down action of
temperature changes, wind, plant roots,
“sand blasting” etc)
Or chemical eg solution of limestone in
rain water.
• Transport of fragments may take place by
wind, water (rivers) or gravity.
• Deposition of sediments, usually on a
seabed, initially takes place in horizontal
layers, called strata
An example of sedimentary strata (layers).
The Maltese islands are composed entirely of
a sedimentary sequence of clastic and
biochemical rocks.
 1. Clastic Rocks
Clastic sedimentary rocks are classified
according to texture (size of grains they
contain). Weathered mountain material is
carried down by rivers. Large boulders stop
rolling earlier on, while smaller stones and
particles get transported progressively
further. As these fragments get carried
along, they rub together and become more
rounded. A long way from the mountains,
stream sediment is mostly sand-sized.
 Clastic Sedimentary Rocks
Rock Type Grain size Grain type
Conglomerate Gravel, pebbles, cobbles Rock fragments
(>2mm) rounded (conglomerate)
Angular (breccia)
Sandstone Sand (1/16 mm to 2mm) Single mineral fragments,
mostly quartz

Mudstone Mud or silt (<1/16mm) Very fine mineral grains,

mostly clay. If sheeted
structure, known as shale
 conglomerate

breccia
sandstone
mudstone
Mineral Composition of clastic sediments
• The minerals present in a sedimentary rock are
ultimately related to the source rock type. E.g. We
cannot have quartz sand on Maltese beaches
because our sand is derived from limestone!
• As sediment progresses downstream, more soluble
minerals get washed away, e.g. olivine.
Plagioclase feldspar cleaves easily and breaks into
ever smaller fragments. Quartz is very hard and
insoluble, therefore survives longest.
 2. Chemical Sedimentary Rocks
• Sea water is a solution of many salts, esp. sodium
chloride NaCl. If the concentration of a dissolved salt
becomes too high (e.g. by excessive evaporation) the
salts precipitate out of solution and form a layer on the
sea or lake bed.

• Within the sediments on the floor of the Mediterranean

basin, we find a layer of salt, about 2km thick. This
occurs because the Mediterranean dried up almost
completely about 6 million years ago.
 3. Biochemical Sediments
• Many marine organisms, such as molluscs, and
coral, grow shells or skeletons made of calcium
carbonate. Some are made of silica SiO2.
• When the animals die, the shell and skeleton
fragments settle on the sea bed.
• Limestone is almost pure calcium carbonate.
• In the deep ocean, microscopic organisms,
foraminifera, fall to the sea bed and form a fine
“ooze”, like mud.
• Limestone may contain well-preserved fossils.
Fossils in limestone, Malta
GRADED BEDDING: Each layer represents a depositional
episode, in which a volume of mixed sediment is carried. Of
this volume, large fragments settle first to the bottom, whereas
finer particles are laid down more slowly.
 LITHIFICATION

Loosely packed grains.

Spaces filled with water

Compaction. Water
squeezed out from
between grains
Increasing
Pressure

Cementation. Increased pressure

at contact points causes some
minerals to melt, acting as a
“cement”. Most cements are silica
and calcite.
 Metamorphic Rocks
• Metamorphism is the process by which rocks are
subjected to heat, pressure and chemical reaction and
thereby transformed. The transformation may involve
texture, mineralogy or even chemical composition.

• The high temperatures and pressures required for

metamorphism are usually generated in processes of
plate tectonics (later lectures), e.g in regions of mountain
building or subduction.

• Metamorphism may also occur by burial of sediments to

great depths and pressures, e.g.

mudmudstoneslate(flaky)schist(micas)gneiss
Source Rock Metamorphic Process
Rock
Sandstone Quartzite Rearrangement of quartz
crystal structure to more
compact form

Mudstone Slate, schist, gneiss Clay minerals converted

to mica minerals, with
foliation

Basalt Amphibolite, eclogite Minerals change to

amphiboles and
plagioclase feldspars,
then to pyroxenes and
garnets.
Limestone Marble Recrystallization of
grains into tightly-
locking calcite crystals
 Types of Metamorphism
1. Regional metamorphism: Generally occurs in
regions of mountain building (collision of two
plates). The crust is compressed, and parts of it are
buried by overthrusting crust and are subjected to
high pressures and temperatures. Marble, quartzite,
gneiss
2. High Pressure Metamorphism: usually at
subduction zones. Subducted plate remains cool,
but at high pressure. Mostly basalt  eclogite
3. Contact metamorphism: igneous intrusion heats
up the rock surrounding it. High temperature, low
pressure.
Contact Metamorphism