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Donegal Batholith
The Donegal batholith is a large granitic igneous intrusion of early Devonian age that outcrops in County Donegal in Ireland. It consists of at least eight separate plutons, the largest of which is the Main Donegal Granite. It was intruded at a late stage in the Caledonian orogeny about 400 million years ago (Ma). Extent and geometry The Donegal batholith extends for about 75 km in a SW-NE direction from just west of the small town of Ardara to Fanad Head. The NW-SE extent is more difficult to determine as much of the Thorr and Fanad plutons lie offshore. Formation The Donegal batholith was formed during the Early Devonian, towards the end of the Caledonian orogeny between about 418 and 397 Ma. It is interpreted to have been intruded along a major SW-NE trending sinistral shear zone. The space to allow the intrusion of such large volumes of granitic magma into the crust is thought to be a result of movement along the shear zone combined with the sinistral strike-slip reactivation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Igneous Rocks
Igneous rock ( ), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main Rock (geology)#Classification, rock types, the others being sedimentary rock, sedimentary and metamorphic rock, metamorphic. Igneous rocks are formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava. The magma can be derived from Partial melting, partial melts of existing rocks in either a Terrestrial planet, planet's mantle (geology), mantle or crust (geology), crust. Typically, the melting is caused by one or more of three processes: an increase in temperature, a decrease in pressure, or a change in composition. Solidification into rock occurs either below the surface as intrusive rocks or on the surface as extrusive (geology), extrusive rocks. Igneous rock may form with crystallization to form granular, crystalline rocks, or without crystallization to form Volcanic glass, natural glasses. Igneous rocks occur in a wide range of geological settings: shields, platforms, orogens, basins, large igneous provinces ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Granodiorite
Granodiorite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock similar to granite, but containing more plagioclase feldspar than orthoclase feldspar. The term banatite is sometimes used informally for various rocks ranging from granite to diorite, including granodiorite. The term ''granodiorite'' was first used by George F. Becker, G. F. Becker (1893) to describe granitic rocks in the Sierra Nevada, United States. Composition According to the QAPF diagram, granodiorite has a greater than 20% quartz by volume, and between 65% and 90% of the feldspar is plagioclase. A greater amount of plagioclase would designate the rock as tonalite. Granodiorite is felsic to intermediate composition, intermediate in composition. It is the Intrusive rock, intrusive igneous equivalent of the extrusive igneous dacite. It contains a large amount of sodium (Na) and calcium (Ca) rich plagioclase, potassium feldspar, quartz, and minor amounts of muscovite mica as the lighter colored miner ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diorite
Diorite ( ) is an intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock formed by the slow cooling underground of magma (molten rock) that has a moderate content of silica and a relatively low content of alkali metals. It is Intermediate composition, intermediate in composition between low-silica (mafic) gabbro and high-silica (felsic) granite. Diorite is found in mountain-building belts (''orogens'') on the margins of continents. It has the same composition as the fine-grained volcanic rock, andesite, which is also common in orogens. Diorite has been used since prehistoric times as decorative stone. It was used by the Akkadian Empire of Sargon of Akkad for funerary sculptures, and by many later civilizations for sculptures and building stone. Description Diorite is an intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed principally of the silicate minerals plagioclase feldspar (typically andesine), biotite, hornblende, and sometimes pyroxene. The chemical composition of diorite is Intermedia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rubidium–strontium Dating
The rubidium–strontium dating method (Rb–Sr) is a radiometric dating technique, used by scientists to determine the age of rocks and minerals from their content of specific isotopes of rubidium (87Rb) and strontium (87Sr, 86Sr). One of the two naturally occurring isotopes of rubidium, 87Rb, decays to 87Sr with a half-life of 49.23 billion years. The radiogenic daughter, 87Sr, produced in this decay process is the only one of the four naturally occurring strontium isotopes that was not produced exclusively by stellar nucleosynthesis predating the formation of the Solar System. Over time, decay of 87Rb increases the amount of radiogenic 87Sr while the amount of other Sr isotopes remains unchanged. The ratio 87Sr/86Sr in a mineral sample can be accurately measured using a mass spectrometer. If the amount of Sr and Rb isotopes in the sample when it formed can be determined, the age can be calculated from the increase in 87Sr/86Sr. Different minerals that crystallized from the sam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metasomatism
Metasomatism (from the Greek μετά ''metá'' "change" and σῶμα ''sôma'' "body") is the chemical alteration of a rock by hydrothermal and other fluids. It is traditionally defined as metamorphism which involves a change in the chemical composition, excluding volatile components. It is the replacement of one rock by another of different mineralogical and chemical composition. The minerals which compose the rocks are dissolved and new mineral formations are deposited in their place. Dissolution and deposition occur simultaneously and the rock remains solid. Synonyms of the word ''metasomatism'' are metasomatosis and metasomatic process. The word ''metasomatose'' can be used as a name for specific varieties of metasomatism (for example '' Mg-metasomatose'' and '' Na-metasomatose''). Metasomatism can occur via the action of hydrothermal fluids from an igneous or metamorphic source. In the igneous environment, metasomatism produces skarns, greisen, and may affect hornfel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Syenite
Syenite is a coarse-grained intrusive igneous rock with a general composition similar to that of granite, but deficient in quartz, which, if present at all, occurs in relatively small concentrations (< 5%). It is considered a granitoid. Some syenites contain larger proportions of components and smaller amounts of material than most granites; those are classed as being of . The |
Magnetic Susceptibility
In electromagnetism, the magnetic susceptibility (; denoted , chi) is a measure of how much a material will become magnetized in an applied magnetic field. It is the ratio of magnetization (magnetic moment per unit volume) to the applied magnetic field intensity . This allows a simple classification, into two categories, of most materials' responses to an applied magnetic field: an alignment with the magnetic field, , called paramagnetism, or an alignment against the field, , called diamagnetism. Magnetic susceptibility indicates whether a material is attracted into or repelled out of a magnetic field. Paramagnetic materials align with the applied field and are attracted to regions of greater magnetic field. Diamagnetic materials are anti-aligned and are pushed away, toward regions of lower magnetic fields. On top of the applied field, the magnetization of the material adds its own magnetic field, causing the field lines to concentrate in paramagnetism, or be excluded in diamagn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Laccolith
A laccolith is a body of intrusive rock with a dome-shaped upper surface and a level base, fed by a conduit from below. A laccolith forms when magma (molten rock) rising through the Earth's crust begins to spread out horizontally, prying apart the host rock strata. The pressure of the magma is high enough that the overlying strata are forced upward, giving the laccolith its dome-like form. Over time, erosion can expose the solidified laccolith, which is typically more resistant to weathering than the host rock. The exposed laccolith then forms a hill or mountain. The Henry Mountains of Utah, US, are an example of a mountain range composed of exposed laccoliths. It was here that geologist Grove Karl Gilbert carried out pioneering field work on this type of intrusion. Laccolith mountains have since been identified in many other parts of the world. Description A laccolith is a type of igneous intrusion, formed when magma forces its way upwards through the Earth's crust but cool ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aplite
Aplite () is an intrusive igneous rock that has a granitic composition. Aplites are fine-grained to aphanitic Aphanites (adj. ''aphanitic''; ) are igneous rocks that are so fine-grained that their component mineral crystals are not visible to the naked eye (in contrast to phanerites, in which the crystals are visible to the unaided eye). This geo ... (without grains visible to the naked eye) and may consist of only quartz and feldspar or the term may refer to any leucocratic (pale-coloured) minor intrusion of that grain size. They are associated with the later stages of many larger intermediate to felsic intrusions. Occurrence Aplites have a global distribution and have been described from most areas where there are significant granitic intrusions. They occur in the form of intrusive sheets, both within the associated granitic bodies and in the surrounding Country rock (geology), country rock. Trace element analysis shows that there are no volcanic equivalents to a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biotite
Biotite is a common group of phyllosilicate minerals within the mica group, with the approximate chemical formula . It is primarily a solid-solution series between the iron- endmember annite, and the magnesium-endmember phlogopite; more aluminous end-members include siderophyllite and eastonite. Biotite was regarded as a mineral ''species'' by the International Mineralogical Association until 1998, when its status was changed to a mineral ''group''. The term ''biotite'' is still used to describe unanalysed dark micas in the field. Biotite was named by J.F.L. Hausmann in 1847 in honor of the French physicist Jean-Baptiste Biot, who performed early research into the many optical properties of mica. Members of the biotite group are sheet silicates. Iron, magnesium, aluminium, silicon, oxygen, and hydrogen form sheets that are weakly bound together by potassium ions. The term "iron mica" is sometimes used for iron-rich biotite, but the term also refers to a flaky micace ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monzogranite
Monzogranite is a plutonic rock that occupies the middle of the QAPF diagram, consisting of between 20–60% quartz, and of the remainder, between 35–65% alkali feldspar and the remainder plagioclase. Examples Pilgangoora belt, Pilbara craton, Western Australia Monzogranite is associated with the Pilbara craton, a terrane that collided with Western Australia approximately 3.315 Ga, forming a greenstone belt. These monzogranites are typically highly fractionated, rich in potassium, poor in aluminum, and have trace element compositions consistent with remelting of an older tonalitic– trondhjemitic– granodioritic crust. Carlindi monzogranites in the same greenstone belt are light greyish-pink coloured, with roughly equal parts plagioclase, quartz, and microcline, and small amounts of muscovite and mafic minerals. The texture of these monzogranites is similar to granodiorite. Quebec's near north In Quebec's near north, early monzogranites are moderately to st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Porphyritic
Porphyritic is an adjective used in geology to describe igneous rocks with a distinct difference in the size of mineral crystals, with the larger crystals known as phenocrysts. Both extrusive and intrusive rocks can be porphyritic, meaning all types of igneous rocks can display some degree of porphyritic texture. Most porphyritic rocks have bimodal size ranges, meaning the rock is composed of two distinct sizes of crystal. In extrusive rocks, the phenocrysts are surrounded by a fine-grained (aphanitic) matrix or groundmass of volcanic glass or non-visible crystals, commonly seen in porphyritic basalt. Porphyritic intrusive rocks have a matrix with individual crystals easily distinguished with the eye, but one group of crystals appearing clearly much bigger than the rest, as in a porphyritic granite. The term comes from the Ancient Greek (), meaning " purple". Purple was the color of royalty, and the "imperial porphyry" was a deep purple igneous rock with large crystal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
