MIGMATITES
SUDIPTA KUMAR NAIK
INTRODUCTION
• The term “migmatite”
was first introduced by
a Finnish petrologist
Jakob Sederholm
(1908) for rocks within
the Scandinavian
craton in Southern
Finland.
• The term derived from
Greek word “migma”
means mixed rock.
SUDIPTA KUMAR NAIK
PARTS IN IN-SITU MIGMATITES
1. PALEOSOME- Unaltered or slightly
modified parent rock or country rock.
2. NEOSOME - Newly formed rock portion.
It is generally of two types :
Leucosome : containing more light
minerals (quartz and or felspar ) with
respect to the paleosome
Melanosome : containing mainly dark
minerals, such as biotite, hornblende,
cordierite, garnet, sillimanite and others.
SUDIPTA KUMAR NAIK
APPEARANCES OF MIGMATITES
• Migmatites appear to represent the culmination
of high grade metamorphism under more
hydrous condition that charactrize granulite
facies.
• Migmatites are best developed in metapelites
but also occur in metamorphosed sandy and
arkosic sediments, mafic rocks, and granitoids.
SUDIPTA KUMAR NAIK
• Minerals of the dark coloured have
preferred orientation .
• Fabric of the leucosomes is
characteristic of a rock formed by
magmatic crystallization.
• The foliation characteristic of gneisses
is modified so that the individual light
and dark colored layers may have a
thickness of a few centimeters or a
tens of centimeters or even meters.
SUDIPTA KUMAR NAIK
STRUCTURES OF MIGMATITES
Typical migmatite structures
1. Agmatic (breccia) structure 11. Schlieren structure
2. Diktyonitic (net like)structure 12. Nebulitic structure
3. Schollen (raft) structure
4. Phlebitis (vein) structure
5. Stromatic structure
6. Surreitic (dilatation) structure
7. Folded structure
8. Ptygmatic structure
9. Ophthalmitic (augen) structure
10. Stictolithic (fleck) structure
SUDIPTA KUMAR NAIK
Agmatic (breccia)structure
• Fragments of the
paleosome are surrounded
by relatively veins of the
neosome.
• Name derived from Greek
“agma” means fragment.
• Mostly their sharp edges
corresponds exactly in
outline i.e., their origin due
to simple fracture of the
paleosome.
SUDIPTA KUMAR NAIK
Diktyonitic
(net like)structure
• The paleosome is interlaced by
net-like arrow veins of the
neosome.
• In contrast to the agmatic
fabric this structure exhibits
shear movement within the
country rock.
• For instance , structure of the
paleosome is bent parallel to
the adjacent veins in manner
of flexures.
• The mineral content of the
neosomes is generally granitic,
aplitic or rarely Pegmatitic.
SUDIPTA KUMAR NAIK
Schollen (raft) structure
Fragments of the
paleosome are generally
smaller than in the
preceding and somewhat
rounded, floats in the
neosome like rafts.
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Phlebitic (vein) structure
• Paleosome is irregularly
traversed by the vein –like
neosomes
• Resulting structure has the
rough appearance of the
vein system of a human
body.
SUDIPTA KUMAR NAIK
Stromatic(layered) structure
• Neosome form light
and dark layers in the
paleosome generally
parallel to the plane of
schistosity.
• As a rule the
neosomatic layers are
not entirely even, but
thicken and thin out
irregularly
SUDIPTA KUMAR NAIK
Ptygmatic fold
• Ptygmatic structures exhibit
highly disharmonic and
extremely tortuous folds.
• Normal granitic minerals
present in ptygmatic fold.
• The microfabric is always
plutonitic granular and
generally coarser than host
rock(gneiss)
• The folds were formed from
an original flat layer or
straight vein by deformation
SUDIPTA KUMAR NAIK
Ophthalmitic (augen) structure
• Here the neosome is
distributed or rather
dispersed, within the
paleosome in the shape of
eyes
• The neosome consists of
felspar phenocryst which
are often surrounded by
mafic streaks (like eyelids)
consistent with the main
planes of schistosity
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Nebulitic structure
• It carries ghost- like
relicts of pre –existing
rocks.
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Schlieren Structure
• Dilation structure in
which the leucosome
fills openings in
stretched component
layers and schleiren,
stretched or sheared
irregular streaks of
melanosome that taper
at ends.
SUDIPTA KUMAR NAIK
ORIGIN OF MIGMATITES
Two theories
Sedimentary source Igneous source
pelites+quartzo-felspathic Granites
Metamorphic gneiss
Partial melting
Partial melting
Migmatites
Migmatites
SUDIPTA KUMAR NAIK
CONTROVERSIES IN ORIGIN OF MIGMATITES
• There are three principle theories
• Migmatites are formed by injection of granitic leucosome into dark high grade
schistose rocks.
• Migmatites form by localized partial melting (anatexis). The first melts are
granitoids which compose the leucosome. The melanosome is generally
considered to be the restite or the somewhat refractory residiuum from which the
melt were extracted.
• Migmatites are created by metamorphic differentiation or metasomatic growth of
the leucosome and melts are not involved.
SUDIPTA KUMAR NAIK
Well established observation of
geologists.
Read formulates as follows: “ When
we follow rocks into higher
metamorphic grades, we finally end
in granitic core. This cannot be
accidential; the association of
metamorphites, migmatites and
granites must mean something.”
The origin of granites and migmatites
in deep-seated parts of the orogenic
belts must be considered as directly
connected with the high-grade
metamorphism
SUDIPTA KUMAR NAIK
• Granitic system is
essential to understand
the migmatites
formation.
• Granitic system-Qtz-
Albite-Orthoclase-H2O
system .
SUDIPTA KUMAR NAIK
GRANITIC SYSTEM
SiO2 - NaAlSi3O8 - KAlSi3O8 - H2O
Tuttle and Bowen,1958
• H2O is present “in excess”, so that H2O need not be represented graphically as a
component.
• The temperature axis is parallel to the edges of the prism.
• PH2O = 2000 bars
SUDIPTA KUMAR NAIK
SUDIPTA KUMAR NAIK
SUDIPTA KUMAR NAIK
Crustal melting (anatexis)
(a) Simplified P-T phase diagram for
melting of dry and wet granite like
composition.
(b) quantity of melt generated during
the melting of muscovite-biotite-
bearing crustal source rocks
Shaded areas in (a) indicate melt
generation.
SUDIPTA KUMAR NAIK
Petrographic significance of
migmatites
• In Mineralization
• Academic purpose- migmatites
presence in the field gives idea
about extreme conditions of
pressure and temperature in
metamorphism.
SUDIPTA KUMAR NAIK
OCCURRENCES OF MIGMATITES
• The high grade metamorphic belts of the northern
Appalachians in New England comprise one of the
classic migmatite terrains of the world.
• Migmatites occur in the highest grade metamorphic
zones in roughly linear north – south belts running from
Long Island Sound to near Canadian Border at a
distance about 500 km.
• In the High Himalayan Crystallines of Zanskar (NW
India) migmatites and leuco granites are found.
SUDIPTA KUMAR NAIK
