Website Organization
This page will highlight some of the more interesting features of this website. Begin the tour with the "Everyone Read This" and "Contents" pages to see the overall layout and navigation information.
Website Tour Links
Active Reading
A major goal of the website is to encourage student engagement with the material by prompting them for responses as they use the website.
A major goal of the website is to encourage student engagement with the material by prompting them for responses as they use the website.
- The Lever Rule - Answer question to turn page.
- Ternary Diagram Plotting - Click on a diagram to answer question.
- Phase Diagram Labels - Drag an image to answer question.
- Contact Metamorphosed Serpentinite - Extended activity with samples and diagrams.
Animations
Motion captures your attention, but only intially. It is possible to sleep during a movie. However, motion that you control can hold your attention until you can predict the motion. The website has a number of diagrams that not only give the reader control, but also reveal information embedded in a diagram or chart that may not be apparent to a novice. Igneous and metamorphic rocks form at high temperatures that promote the achievement of chemical equilibrium. Many of the animated diagrams are equilibrium diagrams that relate the chemical and mineralogical compositions of rocks. Use your mouse and look for buttons and sliders that will change the appearance or response of the diagram.
Motion captures your attention, but only intially. It is possible to sleep during a movie. However, motion that you control can hold your attention until you can predict the motion. The website has a number of diagrams that not only give the reader control, but also reveal information embedded in a diagram or chart that may not be apparent to a novice. Igneous and metamorphic rocks form at high temperatures that promote the achievement of chemical equilibrium. Many of the animated diagrams are equilibrium diagrams that relate the chemical and mineralogical compositions of rocks. Use your mouse and look for buttons and sliders that will change the appearance or response of the diagram.
- H2O-NaCl Binary T-X - Click buttons and mouseover.
- Di-An Binary T-X - Click buttons and mouseover.
- Di-An w/Pressure Slider - Use the sliders to change pressure.
- Fo-Fa Binary T-X - Click buttons and mouseover.
- DiAnFo Ternary - Mouseover and slider interaction.
- AbDiAn Ternary - Mouseover and slider interaction.
- KFMASH Petrogenitc Grid w/AFM Diagrams - Diagram changes as you mouseover PT grid. Allow time for the AFM images to load.
- KFMASH Mineral Assemblage Diagrams - Assemblage and mode change as you mouseover PT grid. Allow time for the AFM images to load.
- CMS-TXCO2 Grid - See grid change with pressure.
- Fo-Fa G-X Diagram - See relationships among the Gibbs energies of phases.
- Fo-Qz G-X Diagram - See relationships among the Gibbs energies of phases.
- Cooling Dike Thermal Model - See the temperatures change with time and dike thickness.
- Continental Crust Thermal Model - See the effect of changing crustal thickness and heat production on a steady-state geotherm.
- Grt-Bt and GASP Thermobarometry - Enter mineral compositions to determine and equilibrium pressure and temperature for a Grt-Bt-Pl-Ky-Qz assemblage.
Working with Geochemical Data
Science is data driven. The chemical compositions of igneous and metamorphic rocks can reveal features of their origin and evolution. Geologists have measured the chemical compositions of thousands of rocks and in recent years, these data have been incorporated into online databases. Tools are available on this website to work with geochemical data both from preselected datasets and also from datasets easily uploaded by students who use the website.
Science is data driven. The chemical compositions of igneous and metamorphic rocks can reveal features of their origin and evolution. Geologists have measured the chemical compositions of thousands of rocks and in recent years, these data have been incorporated into online databases. Tools are available on this website to work with geochemical data both from preselected datasets and also from datasets easily uploaded by students who use the website.
Rock Library
Rocks are physical items that can be held and studied in the field, in hand samples, and in petrographic thin sections. For the visual aspects of petrology, pattern recognition is an important skill that is developed through looking at many rocks. This website has a rock library with images of hand samples and thin sections, eventually for a great many rocks. Tools are provided to view the rocks and to see inside them with "x-ray vision." Many rock images are still needed...
Rocks are physical items that can be held and studied in the field, in hand samples, and in petrographic thin sections. For the visual aspects of petrology, pattern recognition is an important skill that is developed through looking at many rocks. This website has a rock library with images of hand samples and thin sections, eventually for a great many rocks. Tools are provided to view the rocks and to see inside them with "x-ray vision." Many rock images are still needed...
- IUGS Plutonic Rocks- Try Q3 (Diorite).
- Plutonic Igneous Rocks by Name - Try dunite.
- Igneous Rock IUGS Naming Tool
- Metamorphic Rock IUGS Naming Tool
- PanZoom - Mouse wheel to zoom, drage to pan.
- EDS Mapped Rocks by Name - Try one of the blueschists and click the "Compare Images" button.
Other Things
- Composition Axes - A petrology topic.
- Ternary Diagrams - A petrology topic.
- Norm Calculations - An igneous petrology topic.
- Saturation Diagrams - An igneous petrology topic.
- Fractionation on a Variation Diagram - An igneous petrology topic.
- Fractionation on a Ternary Diagram - An igneous petrology topic.
- Fractionation on a Trace Element Diagram - An igneous petrology topic.
- Mode Estimate Help
- Mineral Names, Abbreviations, and Info
- Mineral Properties in Thin Section
- Acknowledgements
- Mineralogical Society of America
