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Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal

EES 312: Igneous Petrology Laboratory (1)

Prerequisites (Desirable): Students must have credited or be registered in EES 302

Learning Objectives:

The aim of this course is to understand how igneous rocks are classified based on their mineralogy and textures, and how these can be used to interpret their cooling history. Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to identify igneous rocks and explain the processes by which the rock formed based on the textural associations of the mineral assemblages.

Course Contents:

Review of Mineralogy:
Identification of the primary and secondary igneous minerals in hand specimen and thin section; Identification of these minerals within a rock.

Classification of Igneous Textures and Structures:
Grain shape and size; Grain fabric; Relationship between the grains of various minerals; Interpretation of cooling history based on textural analyses; Structures of igneous rocks.

Megascopic and Microscopic Study of the Following Rock Groups:

• Non-feldspathoidal basic rocks
• Silica-saturated intermediate rocks
• Acidic rocks
• Feldspathoidal mafic rocks (basic and ultrabasic)
• Feldspathoidal felsic rocks (intermediate with basic variants)
• Lamprophyres and ultrabasic rocks of extreme compositions
• Pyroclastic rocks

Laboratory Exercises:
Modal and normative mineralogy; Calculation of normative mineralogy; Bivariant and Triangular plots for mineral chemistry, major element, trace element, and isotopic data analyses.

Suggested Readings :

1. Williams, H., Turner, F. J., and Gilbert, C. M., 1982, Petrography (2^nd Edition), Freeman Publications.
2. Philpotts, A. R., 2015, Petrography of Igneous and Metamorphic Rocks, CBS Publications.
3. Cox, K. G., 1979, The Interpretation of Igneous Rocks, Springer.

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