This course provides an introduction to the basic principles of mineralogy, crystallography and igneous petrology. You will learn about the physical and chemical properties of minerals and magmas. Mineralogy involves the study of the physical chemistry of solids, structures at the atomic scale, geometrical relationships and symmetry. Key skills that you will learn include how to identify minerals, how to link mineral properties to structure, and how to investigate them by light microscopy. Mineralogy is a fundamental basic part of the earth sciences: a geologist needs to be able to identify a rock from its constituent minerals; a geophysicist must be able to quantify how minerals propagate seismic waves and a geochemist should be able to estimate how minerals can modify the composition of fluids or melts. Theoretical chemical and physical background is important because it will provide you with tools that you can use in studies of rocks and rock-forming processes. The most important concept that we will present you with is that the physical properties of minerals are directly related to their crystal structure.
In the Magmas part of the course we will investigate the formation of crystalline igneous rocks from magmas initially generated in the mantle or crust. You will learn about melting processes using phase relationships and chemical data. After the course you will be able to recognize a range of igneous rocks and interpret their chemical and mineralogical composition. An important concept in igneous petrology is that magmas can evolve from one composition to another through processes including crystal fractionation, mixing and assimilation. You will study the field of volcanology and investigate the main controls on eruption styles and production rates.
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The Minerals part of the course will address:
- How minerals are built up: Crystallography and crystal structure
- How to investigate minerals: X-ray diffraction and Optical microscopy
- How to classify the most important minerals: Silicate mineralogy
- How to identify common rock-forming minerals in hand specimen (self-study)
Magmas will cover:
- Intrusive and extrusive processes
- Classification of magmatic rocks
- Magma evolution: melting and crystallization
- Introduction to phase diagrams
- Melting in relation to tectonic setting.
This course is an entry requirement for: GEO3-1306 - Chemische geodynamica.
The course will help to improve written communication skills through the production of the self-study report. Problem-solving skills will be developed during the practical classes along with Analytical/quantitative and technical skills
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