Mugearite

Mugearite

Mugearite

Volcanic rock type


Mugearite (/ˈmʌɡiərt/) is a type of oligoclase-bearing basalt, comprising olivine, apatite, and opaque oxides. The main feldspar in mugearite is oligoclase.[1]

Quick Facts Composition ...

Mugearite is a sodium-rich member of the alkaline magma series. In the TAS classification of volcanic rock, mugearite is classified as sodium-rich basaltic trachyandesite.[2]

Examples

Western Scotland

Mugearite was first identified at Mugeary on the island of Skye, Scotland by Alfred Harker in 1904.[3] Outcrops of mugearite also occur on the island of Mull. These examples of mugearite were formed during a period of continental flood basalt[4] volcanic activity that happened in western Scotland during the Paleogene period of the Earth's geological history, when the North Atlantic Ocean opened between Europe and North America.

Oceanic islands

Mugearite has been erupted by the volcanoes of some oceanic islands at hotspots. Examples are Hawaii, Ascension Island, Saint Helena, Réunion, Mauritius and Tahiti.[5]

Mars

Analysis of a Martian rock found by the Curiosity rover and named "Jake Matijevic" (or "Jake M"), after a NASA engineer, determined that this Martian rock is very similar to mugearite erupted on Earth.[3][6][7][8]


References

  1. "Mugearite". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2009-02-15.
  2. Le Bas, M. J.; Streckeisen, A. L. (1991). "The IUGS systematics of igneous rocks". Journal of the Geological Society. 148 (5): 825–833. Bibcode:1991JGSoc.148..825L. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.692.4446. doi:10.1144/gsjgs.148.5.0825. S2CID 28548230.
  3. Amos, Jonathan (17 October 2012). "Cosmic coincidence on the road to Glenelg". BBC News. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
  4. Williamson, I. T.; Bell, B. R. (1994). "The Palaeocene lava field of west-central Skye, Scotland: Stratigraphy, palaeogeography and structure". Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh: Earth Sciences. 85 (1): 39–75. doi:10.1017/S0263593300006301. S2CID 131299688.
  5. Stolper, E.M.; Baker, M.B.; Newcombe, M.E.; Schmidt, M.E.; Treiman, A.H.; Cousin, A.; Dyar, M.D.; Fisk, M.R.; Gellert, R.; King, P.L.; Leshin, L.; Maurice, S.; McLennan, S.M.; Minitti, M.E.; Perrett, G.; Rowland, S.; Sautter, V.; Wiens, R.C.; MSL ScienceTeam (2013). "The Petrochemistry of Jake_M: A Martian Mugearite" (PDF). Science. 341 (6153). AAAS: 1239463. Bibcode:2013Sci...341E...4S. doi:10.1126/science.1239463. PMID 24072927. S2CID 16515295.
  6. Webster, Guy; Brown, Dwayne (September 26, 2013). "Science Gains From Diverse Landing Area of Curiosity". NASA. Retrieved September 27, 2013.



Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Mugearite, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.