GEOLOGY 3900 - IGNEOUS AND METAMORPHIC PETROLOGY

 

Course Outline for Winter, 2006

 

Professor:             Alan Whittington whittingtona@missouri.edu

Lab instructor:    Jennifer Cooper   jrc9q3@mizzou.edu

 

Lectures:                   MWF  9:00 - 9:50      room 207, Geology Building

Labs:                    T         1:00 - 2:50           room 207, Geology Building

 

Prerequisites:       Mineralogy (GEOL 3400), Chemistry 32 (recommended)

                             

Lecture Text:       Winter, J.D., 2002, An Introduction to Igneous and Metamorphic

Petrology  (Prentice Hall) - REQUIRED

Lab Text:             MacKenzie W.S. and Adams A.E., 1994. A Color Atlas of Rocks and Minerals in Thin Section (Wiley)- RECOMMENDED

Writing Text:       Alley, 1996, The Craft of Scientific Writing (3rd edition) - REQUIRED

                                               Also see list of useful library books on reserve

                             

Grading:               A-B-C-D-F ± scale                                        

10%    First lecture exam (topics 1 through 9)

10%    Second lecture exam (topics 10 through 15)

15%    Writing assignment homeworks (see below)

20%    Writing assignment: Field trip report (see below)

10%    Lab midterm (igneous rocks)

15%    Lab final (comprehensive; half will be on metamorphic rocks)

20%    Final exam (comprehensive; half will be on topics 16 through 21)

 

Field Trip:            The field trip to the Precambrian volcano-plutonic complex of the St. Francois Mountains, Missouri is a required part of the course. It will be a Friday evening to Sunday evening camping trip, provisionally set for April 14th to 16th. You will need to bring money for food – we will eat on the road.

 

Laboratory and attendance policy: 

 

Attendance in all lectures and labs is mandatory. I do not award points for simply turning up, but experience clearly shows that missing significant portions of the course will inevitably result in low test scores and a poor final grade. This applies particularly to lab. Although individual labs are not counted towards your final grade, Jen will be ŇgradingÓ them for your benefit. You will be asked to turn in your lab each week by the end of class on the following Monday, so you get 6 days to complete the assignment. Each lab turned in late (or not at all) will result in 1% subtracted from your final overall score. (You can miss one lab but only one before this rule applies).

Please note carefully the rules regarding written homework assignments below. If something comes up and you cannot make a lab or homework deadline, you will lose points unless you contact either Alan or Jen in advance of that deadline.

Principle Course Objective: 

 

To teach you how to describe and interpret crystalline rocks, and to use your observations to interpret the petrogenesis of crystalline rock suites in relation to plate tectonics and the differentiation of the Earth. 

 

Specific Objectives of the Course:

 

To introduce terms and procedures used to describe and classify igneous and metamorphic rocks and their textures.

To explain how to interpret the textures of igneous and metamorphic rocks in terms of their petrogenesis, and alternative explanations for the formation of these textures.

To learn simple graphical and computational methods for using geochemical and isotopic data to determining the age, evolution and petrogenesis of igneous rocks

To learn some basics of thermodynamics and how conditions of metamorphism can be ascertained from the application of thermodynamic principles.

To improve your writing skills in the discipline of geology through the preparation of several writing assignments, and by anonymous peer-review of other studentsŐ work.

 

Writing assignments:

 

Your detailed field trip report, based on your observations as well as information from the literature, is worth 20% of your final grade. It will be returned to with comments and suggestions for improvement, and you will have at least one week to make changes before resubmission and final grading. There will also be four writing-based home-works, worth 15% of the final grade.

HW1: Summarize part of a chapter from the textbook in note form for use as a class handout in place of the textbook. (Topic 4) (2%)

HW2: Write a lab exercise that (a) explains the use of the Rb-Sr system in dating the crystallization and cooling history of igneous rocks, and (b) tests the studentsŐ understanding of this concept and ability to apply it to a real-world example (Topic 8). (4%)

HW3: Read two short journal articles, one on the petrogenesis of mid-ocean ridge basalts and one on arc magmatism, and write a scientific abstract of between 200 and 300 words for each [the abstracts and other information will have been removed] (Topics 11 and 14) (2%)

HW4: Read three papers supporting competing hypotheses for the genesis of leucogranites, and write a synopsis of the arguments, the evidence, and your well-reasoned conclusion regarding the problem. (Topic 15) (5%)

The remaining 2% of the grade will come from your written peer-reviews of other studentsŐ work on these assignments. (2%)

NOTE: Any assignments received late will lose 10% for every day or part day overdue.

 

Accommodation of students with disabilities:

 

If you need accommodations because of a disability, if you have emergency medical information to share with me, or if you need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please inform me immediately. Please see me privately after class, or at my office (312 Geological Sciences; office hours by appointment).

To request academic accommodations (for example, a note-taker), students must also register with Disability Services, AO38 Brady Commons, 882-4696. It is the campus office responsible for reviewing documentation provided by students requesting academic accommodations, and for accommodations planning in cooperation with students and instructors, as needed and consistent with course requirements. For other MU resources for students with disabilities, click on "Disability Resources" on the MU homepage.

Students who have special conditions as addressed by the Americans with Disabilities Act, and who need any test or course materials to be furnished in an alternative format, should notify the instructor immediately. Reasonable efforts will be made to accommodate the needs of these students. Such students should also register with the Disability Services Office, A038 Brady Commons, phone 882-4696.

 

MU policy on academic honesty:

 

Academic integrity ensures that all students have a fair and equal opportunity to succeed.  Any behavior that provides an unfair advantage to one student is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.  Each piece of work completed by a student must be solely a reflection of that studentŐs own work or his or her contribution to a collaborative effort.

 

I strive to uphold the University values of respect, responsibility, discovery, and excellence. On my honor, I pledge that I have neither given nor received unauthorized assistance on this work.

 

Students are expected to adhere to this pledge on all graded work whether or not they are explicitly asked in advance to do so. Furthermore, in instances where academic integrity is in question, I will refer to Article VI of the Faculty Handbook. (Article VI provides further information regarding the process by which violations are handled and sets forth a standard of excellence in our community.)  I plan to use Option B (Academic Integrity Violation Report).

 

Provisional Lab schedule, Winter 2006

 

 1.        Igneous Rock Classification and Textures (Jan 24th)

 2.        Igneous Rock Textures and Processes (Jan 31st)

 3.        Stillwater Complex: Gabbroic and Ultramafic intrusions (Feb 7th)

 4.        Phase Diagrams and Basalts (Feb 14th)

 5.        Trace elements and isotopes (Feb 21st)

 6.        Andesites and Dacites (Feb 28th)

 7.        SEM demonstration (March 7th)

 8.        Mid-Term Lab Exam (March 14th)

 9.        Granites (March 21st)

10.       Metamorphic Rock Terminology, Textures, Classification (April 4th)

11.       Pelitic rocks 1 (April 11th)

12.       St. Francois Mountains Lab (April 18th)

13.       Pelitic rocks 2 (April 25th)

14.       Final Lab Exam (May 2nd)

 

GEOLOGY 3900 - IGNEOUS AND METAMORPHIC PETROLOGY

 

Provisional lecture schedule

(subject to change)

 

 

      Igneous Rocks                                                           reading                          lecture

 

1    Intro / Mineral review                                                 Review min.       1          1

2    Igneous Rock Classification / major elements             Ch. 2, 8              2          2-3

3    Igneous Rock Textures                                               Ch. 3                  2          4-5

4    Igneous Structures (volcanics)                                    Ch. 4                  1          6
Igneous Structures (plutons)                                       Ch. 4                  1          7

5    Thermodynamics                                                         Ch. 5                  1          8

6    Phase Rule & Binary Phase Diagrams                        Ch. 6                  2          9-10

7    Ternary Phase Diagrams                                             Ch. 7                  3          11-13

            eutectic, peritectic  

            with one solid solution (Di-Plag)

8    Trace Elements and Isotopes                                       Ch. 9                  3          14-16

9    Evolution (Diversification) of Magmas                       Ch. 11                1          17

      Igneous Rock Associations

10  Petrology of the Earth's Mantle                                   Ch. 10                1          18

11  Petrogenesis of MORB                                               Ch. 10, 13          2          19-20

            Classification of basalts                                                                              

            Fo-Di-An, Fo-An-SiO2, Fo-Di-SiO2

12  Petrogenesis of OIB                                                    Ch. 14                1          21

13  Continental Flood Basalts                                           Ch. 15                1          22

14  Petrogenesis of Calc-alkaline Volcanic Rocks            Ch. 16, 17          3          23-25

15  Petrogenesis of Granitic Rocks                                   Ch. 17, 18          2          26-27

      St Francois Mountains Introduction                       read handout                28

 

 

      Metamorphic Rocks  

 

16  Occurrence, classification and facies                           Ch. 21, 22          4          29-32

17  Mineral reactions and chemography                            Ch. 24, 26          2          33-34

            AKF, ACF, and AFM diagrams

18  Metamorphic structures and textures                           Ch. 23                2          35-36

19  Geothermometry, geobarometry and P-T-t paths        Ch. 25, 27          2          37-38

20  Metamorphism of pelites                                             Ch. 28                1          39

21  Metamorphism of calc-silicates and ultramafics          Ch. 29                1          40

22  Case study: Nanga Parbat, Pakistan Himalaya                                       1          41

 

 

Geology 3900 Final Exam is Thursday May 11th 2006 from 8 am to 10 am.

Useful books in the library (most are on reserve):

 

 (i) Reference books on specific topics

 

Cox, K. G.                             MU GEOL                            QE461 .C845 

The interpretation of igneous rocks / K. G. Cox, J. D. Bell, and R. J. Pankhurst.

London ; Boston : G. Allen & Unwin, 1979.

Detailed explanations of phase diagrams

 

Deer, W.A.                            MU GEOL RESERVE           QE364 .D44 1992 

An introduction to the rock-forming minerals / W.A. Deer, R.A. Howie, J. Zussman.

2nd ed. Harlow, Essex, England : Longman Scientific & Technical ; New York, NY : Wiley, 1992.

Everything you are ever likely to need to know about mineral identification and petrogenesis

 

Yardley, B. W. D.                  MU GEOL RESERVE           QE475.A2 Y37 1989 

An introduction to metamorphic petrology / Bruce W.D. Yardley.

Harlow, Essex, England : Longman Scientific & Technical ; New York : Wiley, 1989.

Clear overview of metamorphic petrology

 

(ii) Color atlases – good for lab

 

MacKenzie, W. S.                  MU GEOL RESERVE           QE434 .M33 1994 

A color atlas of rocks and minerals in thin section / W.S. MacKenzie, A.E. Adams.

New York : Halsted Press, c1994.

 

MacKenzie, W. S.                  MU GEOL RESERVE           QE461 .M219 1982 

Atlas of igneous rocks and their textures / W.S. MacKenzie, C.H. Donaldson, and C. Guilford.

New York : Wiley, 1982.

 

Yardley, B. W. D.                  MU GEOL RESERVE           QE475.A2 Y35 1990

Atlas of metamorphic rocks and their textures / B.W.D. Yardley, W.S. MacKenzie, and C. Guilford. Harlow, England : Longman Scientific & Technical ; New York : Wiley, 1990.

 

(iii) General petrology textbooks

 

Best, M.G.                                      MU GEOL                              QE461 .B53 2003  

Igneous and metamorphic petrology / Myron G. Best.

Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub., 2003 (2nd edition).

 

Best, M.G.                             MU GEOL                            QE461 .B54 2001  

Igneous Petrology / M.G. Best and E.H. Christiansen

Malden, MA: Blackwell Science, c. 2001.

 

Blatt, H.                                 MU GEOL RESERVE           QE431.2 .B57 1996 

Petrology : igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic / Harvey Blatt, Robert J. Tracy.

2nd ed. New York : W.H. Freeman, c1996.