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Description
This course aims to provide students with a thorough understanding of the nature and origin of igneous and metamorphic rocks, from their formation and distribution to their geological expressions and associations with particular plate tectonic settings. The course also builds on fundamental concepts of geochemistry and mineralogy to explain phase behaviour in high temperature systems using quantitative phase diagrams and approaches.听Integral practical classes will use both hand specimens and optical mineralogy to understand diagnostic textures - which are used to identify and classify igneous and metamorphic rocks. The course will provide an introduction to modern research practice in the fields of igneous and metamorphic petrology.
By the end of this module students should:
- know the terminology applied to important families of igneous & metamorphic rocks;
- recognize and identify igneous & metamorphic rocks, and their constituent minerals;
- be able to provide a petrographic description of igneous & metamorphic rocks, their mineral compositions and textures;
- understand the processes by which igneous samples were formed;
- be able to place broad constraints on the P-T conditions of metamorphic sample formation;
- understand how to interpret mineralogical phase diagrams in a petrological context;
- be able to describe the tectonic settings in which igneous rocks occur including a preliminary assessment of volcanic hazard.
GEOL0001 Earth Materials is a prerequisite.
Module deliveries for 2024/25 academic year
Last updated
This module description was last updated on 19th August 2024.
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