Course Meeting Times
Lectures: 2 sessions / week, 1.5 hours / session
Course Description
In this course, principles of thermodynamics are used to infer the physical conditions of formation and modification of igneous and metamorphic rocks. The course includes phase equilibria of homogeneous and heterogeneous systems and thermodynamic modeling of non-ideal crystalline solutions. It also surveys the processes that lead to the formation of metamorphic and igneous rocks in the major tectonic environments in the Earth’s crust and mantle.
Recommended Texts
Greenwood, H. J., ed. “Mineralogical Association of Canada - Short Course in the Application of Thermodynamics to Petrology and Ore Deposits.” Mineral Assoc Canada, 1977.
Wood, B. J., and D. G. Fraser. Elementary Thermodynamics for Geologists. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1977. ISBN: 9780198599265.
Fraser, D. G., ed. Thermodynamics in Geology. New York, NY: Springer; 1 edition., 1977. ISBN: 9789027707949.
Spear, F. S. “Metamorphic Phase Equilibria and Pressure-Temperature-Time Paths.” In Monograph. Washington, DC: Mineralogical Society of America, 1994. ISBN: 9780939950348.
Ricci, J. E. The Phase Rule and Heterogeneous Equilibrium. Temecula, CA: Textbook Publishers, 2003. ISBN: 0758110553.
Morse, S. A. Basalts and Phase Diagrams. New York, NY: Springer Verlag, 1980. ISBN: 9780387904771.
Ehlers, E. G. The Interpretation of Geological Phase Diagrams. New York, NY: W.H. Freeman & Co., 1972. ISBN: 9780716702542.
Other Useful Texts
Prewitt, C. T., ed. Reviews in Mineralogy. Vol. 7, Pyroxenes. Washington, DC: Mineralogical Society of America, 1980. ISBN: 9780939950072.
Kieffer, S. W., and A. Navrotsky, eds. Reviews in Mineralogy. Vol. 14, Microscopic to Macroscopic. Washington, DC: Mineralogical Society of America, 1985. ISBN: 9780939950188.
Carmichael, I. S. E., and H. P. Eugster, eds. Thermodynamic Modeling of Geologic Materials: Minerals, Fluids and Melts 17 (1987).
Nicholls, J., and J. K. Russell, eds. Reviews in Mineralogy. Vol. 24, Modern Methods of Igneous Petrology. Washington, DC: Mineralogical Society of America, 1991. ISBN: 9780939950294.
Calendar
| LEC # | TOPICS | KEY DATES |
|---|---|---|
| Part I: Solution properties of silicate minerals | ||
| 1 | Ideal solutions | |
| 2 | Non-ideal solutions | |
| 3-4 | Alkali and plagioclase feldspars solution models | |
| 5 |
Introduction to pyroxene thermometry Diopside - Enstatite |
|
| 6 | Thermodynamic properties of multi-site mineral solutions - Homogeneous equilibria | |
| 7 | Pyroxene thermometry II, the quad | |
| 8-9 | Spinels, rhombohedral oxides and T-ƒO2 relations | Problem set 1 due |
| Part II: Heterogeneous equilibria in geologic systems | ||
| 10 | Heterogeneous equilibria in two - and three-component systems | |
| 11 | Liquidus diagrams - Liquidus boundaries | |
| 12 | Liquidus diagrams - Degeneracies and natural examples | |
| 13 | Liquidus diagrams - Thermodynamic controls on boundaries | |
| 14 | Schreinemaker’s analysis - Multi-component systems | |
| 15 | Choosing components - Representations of composition space | |
| 16 | Heterogeneous reactions - The Gibbs method | |
| 17 | Solution models for silicate melts-simple systems | |
| 18 | Solution models for silicate melts-multicomponent systems | Problem set 2 due |
| 19 | Thermodynamic models of multicomponent systems - MELTS | |
| 20 | Mixed volatile equilibria P-T-XCO2-XH2O | |
