The branch of geology that studies rocks: their mineralogy, composition, texture, structure and the conditions under which they form. Its three subdivisions, igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary petrology, divide the work along the same lines as the rock cycle itself; the first two lean heavily on chemistry and phase diagrams, while sedimentary petrology is usually taught with stratigraphy because it deals with the processes that form sedimentary rock. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Central QuestionHow do rocks form, and what do their mineralogy, composition, texture and structure record about the conditions that made them? 1 ScopePetrology studies the origin, composition, distribution and structure of rocks, classifying them into igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic families. 1 SignificancePetrology reconstructs the pressure, temperature and chemical history that formed a rock, which in turn reveals the tectonic setting it formed in. 1 Petrology
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Petrology reads the mineralogy of rocks; the two disciplines share their subject at different scales.
Source Petrology (Wikipedia)
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Includes
Source Wikipedia: Batholith
Source Bowen's Reaction Series (Wikipedia)
Metamorphic petrology is the study of metamorphism.
Source Metamorphism (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Petrology (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationLead sectionQuote, Lead section
the branch of geology that studies rocks, their mineralogy, composition, texture, structure and the conditions under which they form
Wikipedia: Batholith
WikipediaIncludes: Batholith, Lead section (in-discipline Petrology)Quote, Includes: Batholith, Lead section (in-discipline Petrology)
A batholith (from Ancient Greek βαθύς (bathús), meaning "deep", and λίθος (líthos), meaning "stone") is a large mass of intrusive igneous rock (also called plutonic rock), larger than 100 km2 (40 sq mi) in area, that forms from cooled magma deep in the Earth's crust.
Bowen's Reaction Series (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Bowen's Reaction Series, Lead section (in-discipline Petrology)Quote, Includes: Bowen's Reaction Series, Lead section (in-discipline Petrology)
Bowen, who summarized, based on experiments and observations of natural rocks, the sequence of crystallization of common silicate minerals from typical basaltic magma undergoing fractional crystallization (i.e. crystallization wherein early-formed crystals are removed from the magma by crystal settling, leaving behind
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