BOWENS REACTION SERIES Igneous rocks are made up of minerals that reflect the composition of the magma/lava from

which they crystallized out of, as well as the temperature of the magma/lava. Remember, the TEXTURE of an igneous rock is essentially a function of how rapidly (or slowly) the magma cooled, not what it is composed of. A magma that cools rapidly, i.e., one that reaches the surface of the Earth, is going to be inherently very fine grained. The individual mineral grains that make up this type of igneous rock are generally too fine to see with the eye. These are known as extrusive or volcanic rocks. A magma that cools slowly, i.e., one that never reaches the Earths surface, will generally have enough time to allow the individual mineral grains to grow to a size that is visible with the eye. The degree of coarseness, that is, how large any given mineral grain may grow, is generally a reflection of how slowly it cooled (slower cooling = bigger grains, quicker cooling = finer grains). So why do igneous rocks (volcanic or plutonic) exhibit different types of compositions? How does a single magma source produce chemically different types of igneous rocks? As a general rule, most magmas contain varying amounts of silica (SiO2) along with other elements, most commonly, Al, Fe, Ca, Na, K, and Mg. The silica and other elements combine to form various silicate minerals. The most common minerals making up igneous rocks are; Plagioclase feldspar Ca, Na, Al Silicate Orthoclase feldspar K,Al Silicate Olivine Fe, Mg Silicate Quartz Silicate Amphiboles (e.g. hornblende) Ca, Na, Mg, Fe, Al Silicate Pyroxenes (e.g. augite) Ca, Na, Mg, Fe, Al Silicate Biotite K, Mg, Fe, Al Silicate Muscovite K, Al Silicate [Notice that all of these minerals simply represent different combinations of the above-listed elements!] Laboratory experiments have confirmed that as a magma cools, minerals will crystallize out in a predictable sequence. This sequence is known as Bowens Reaction Series. It is made up of two trends, the Discontinuous Reaction Series and the Continuous Reaction Series (see attached diagram). Discontinuous Reaction Series This side of the diagram is composed of Olivine, Pyroxenes (you have not learned any of these), Amphiboles (hornblende is the most common), and Biotite mica. All of these minerals are frequently referred to as Ferromagnesian minerals, that is, they all contain Fe and Mg, and are therefore very dark colored. These minerals crystallize from the melt but subsequently react with the remaining melt(liquid) as the temperature changes. For example, olivine has the highest crystallization/melting point, hence is first to crystallize out into solid form as a magma cools. But as the remaining liquid portion of the melt continues to cool, the olivine crystals become unstable and react with the melt to form a new mineral group (the pyroxenes). The crystalline olivine may be partially to completely destroyed (used up) in reacting with the remaining melt(liquid) to produce a new more stable mineral. In this case, pyroxene crystallizes out at a slightly lower melting/crystallization point. And this reaction trend may continue as the temperature continues to drop, following the sequence on the diagram [olivine pyroxene amphibole biotite].

Continuous Reaction Series This side of the diagram is composed entirely of the Plagioclase Feldspars. Although you have only learned it as a single species, it is actually divided up into several names based on the composition of the plagioclase. This reaction series displays a continuum from Ca-rich plagioclase (hot; dark-colored) to Na-rich plagioclase (cooler; light-colored). Ca is preferentially taken up in plagioclase crystallizing at high temperatures. As the melt(liquid) cools, the composition of this molten material is changing. Ca is being removed and incorporated into early-forming, high-temperature plagioclase crystals, leaving the molten component depleted in Ca but relatively enriched in Na. Thus plagioclase crystallized at lower temperatures is richer in Na. This reaction series is continuous, that is, even though the relative ratio of elements changes as the melt cools, the earlier-formed, high temperature crystals may still co-exist with later formed lower-temperature crystals. This is distinctly different from the discontinuous series, where the higher temperature crystals/minerals are generally destroyed in favor of the formation of the lower temperature crystals/minerals. Both the Continuous and Discontinuous Reaction Series occur simultaneously as a magma melt cools, thus giving rise to different mineral assemblages in rocks formed at different temperatures! So why are not all igneous rocks essentially composed of quartz?? Since it is on the bottom of the trend and represents the coolest (and therefore last) mineral to crystallize from a melt. This is primarily a function of the initial composition of the melt itself, and to a lesser degree, the initial temperature of the melt. Realistically, a melt does not go through the entire series. It starts out somewhere in the continuum and then typically goes through 3-4 minerals within the series before it becomes totally crystallized (it never makes it to the bottom). Also, keep in mind that if a melt is depleted in, or lacks a given element, lets say Ca for example, this will highly constrain the type of minerals that may crystallize out, regardless of temperature. Such a magma as suggested here (lacking Ca), could not form minerals such as Ca-rich plagioclase, pyroxenes, or amphiboles, because they all require some Ca in their structure. So the final rock formed would be composed of various proportions of the other minerals present, less those minerals that contain Ca. So how are porphyritic textures created in volcanic rocks? Bowens Reaction Series provides a ready means to explain how this texture may occur in volcanic rocks. By definition, a porphyritic texture means visible grains (crystals) within an invisible groundmass. Many people mistakenly call rocks that exhibit this texture as plutonic, because they can see individual grains. However, in a true plutonic rock, mineral grains are visible throughout the entire groundmass or matrix of the rock. Applying the principles of Bowens Reaction Series, as a melt begins to cool, specific minerals will begin to crystallize out (based on the temperature of the melt). If this melt is given the time and allowed to cool slowly, the entire melt will eventually crystallize into solid grains (minerals) that will be visible. If however, this same melt which has begun crystallizing out some of the minerals, is suddenly cooled (by reaching the surface of the Earth for example), the resulting rock will have frozen in it these visible minerals which had begun crystallizing (solidifying) out of the melt surrounded by a matrix (groundmass) of invisible minerals (your classic volcanic texture).