Earth materials

The objective of this course is to introduce the concepts and tools necessary to observe and describe minerals and magmatic and metamorphic rocks and to understand their genesis. The course will begin with an introduction to the concepts of mineralogy (crystallography, crystallochemistry) and the tools needed to identify the minerals that make up magmatic and metamorphic rocks. You will then study the structure and nature of the mantle as well as the processes involved from the formation of magmas to the eruption of magmatic rocks: partial melting processes, crystallization, crustal assimilation, magmatic mixing. You will learn to distinguish the different magmatic series by their chemical compositions and physical properties. The link between eruptive processes, hazards and volcanic risks will also be discussed. In a third part, we will introduce the main variables (pressure, temperature, time) and the different geodynamic contexts of metamorphism. We will see the different metamorphic facies, structures and textures of metamorphic rocks, and you will learn to recognize mineral reactions and interpret them in terms of metamorphic evolution.

The coupled study of magmatic and metamorphic rocks will provide the basis for understanding issues related to the geodynamics of the inner Earth, geochemical cycles, mineral resources ...

- Know the tools for describing minerals, magmatic and metamorphic rocks (chemistry, mineralogy, texture...).

- Know how to identify minerals, magmatic and metamorphic rocks through macroscopic and microscopic observation.

- Relate a magmatic or metamorphic rock to its formation process and interpret the associated geodynamic context.

- Know how to work independently, describe, write and synthesize.