Teaching Information
Igneous Petrology 412/512
A senior - first year graduate student level course on igneous petrology. The course consists of ten weeks of two one-hour lectures and two two-hours labs per week, including a field trip. The course emphasizes (a) the chemical and physical processes that lead to the formation and evolution of igneous rocks, (b) the sources of information that we can use to understand igneous rocks, including observations of field relations, hand specimen and thin section studies as well as the types of geochemical information that can be used to understand igneous rocks. The approximate syllabus is:
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Week 1 Introduction and review of important concepts Classification of igneous rocks |
Week 6 Magma generation in the mantle Magma generation in the continental crust |
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Week 2 More classification Introduction to thermodynamics |
Week 7 Differentiation of magmas Layered mafic intrusions |
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Week 3 Properties of melts and volatiles Chemical Petrology - Major elements |
Week 8 Textures and kinetics Ascent and emplacement of magmas |
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Week 4 Chemical Petrology - Trace elements Chemical Petrology - Stable isotopes |
Week 9 Magmatism in the ocean basins Subduction zone magmas |
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Week 5 Chemical Petrology - Radiogenic isotopes Mid Term |
Week 10 Magmatism in rifts and the continental crust Review of concepts |
This course is now taught be Roger Nielsen.