texture
texture, in rocks, the size, shape, and arrangement (or fabric) of the mineral grains and crystals. Also important in rock texture are the extent of homogeneity (i.e., uniformity of composition throughout) and the degree of isotropy (i.e., uniformity in all directions of such properties as structure, chemical composition, or the velocity at which light can pass through). Texture can be described independently of a rock’s entire mass, and an analysis of the rock’s texture can yield information about the rock’s source material, its geologic history, and its deposition conditions and environment (for a sedimentary rock) or its crystallization and recrystallization (for an igneous rock and a metamorphic rock, respectively).
Igneous rock texture
The texture of an igneous rock is determined primarily by its cooling rate during the rock’s formation. However, the rock’s diffusion rate (how fast the molecules spread throughout a liquid), the rate of crystal nucleation (how fast the crystal’s components come together), and the growth rate of the crystals may also play roles. Igneous texture is normally defined by the size and form of the rock’s constituent mineral grains and by the spatial relationships of individual grains with one another and with any glass (that is, material that cools too fast to crystallize) that may be present.
Igneous rock texture is often described in terms of its degree of crystallinity (which ranges from entirely crystalline to entirely glassy) and its granularity (grain size). Geologists have classified the texture of igneous rocks into several categories, including phaneritic, aphantic, holohyaline, and porphyritic. Phaneritic rocks are entirely crystalline (holocrystalline), having mineral grains that can be observed without the aid of a hand lens or microscope, whereas aphantic rocks have mineral grains that cannot be observed with the unaided eye. Holohyaline rocks are entirely glassy, whereas porphyritic rocks have two or more sizes of grains within a finer-grained mass. (See also igneous rock: textural features.)
Sedimentary rock texture
Sedimentary rock texture is determined by the size, shape, and fabric (grain packing and orientation) of the discrete grains or particles in the rock. It affects such derived properties of these rocks as porosity, permeability, bulk density, electrical conductivity, and sound transmissibility. Two main natural textural groupings exist for sedimentary rocks: clastic (or fragmental) and nonclastic (essentially crystalline). By and large, noncarbonate chemical sedimentary rocks exhibit crystalline texture, the individual mineral grains forming an interlocking arrangement. The crystals’ size is controlled largely by the rate of precipitation, and their texture is modified by recrystallization after deposition takes place. The recrystallization is driven by compaction (which is caused by the stacking of layers of sediment over time) and chemical reactions between mineral components. (See also sedimentary rock: texture.)
Metamorphic rock textures
Texture in metamorphic rocks is typically described in terms of the qualities of the material’s fabric, which results from the combined effects of chemical reactions involving the rock’s minerals and deformation. Metamorphic rocks are altered to different degrees by a variety of changing environmental conditions, including temperature, pressure, mechanical stress, and the addition or subtraction of chemical components. One of the principal characteristics of most metamorphic rocks is an arrangement of crystals that is not isotropic, or random, but rather has a strong preferred orientation related to the direction of stress components of pressure. Such a preferred orientation of crystals and mineral grains is perhaps the most striking difference between metamorphic rocks and other rock types.
The texture of a metamorphic rock is often generally classified in terms of its foliation. Metamorphic rocks with a foliated texture display parallel mineral grains or straight or wavy banding, whereas those with a nonfoliated texture do not. Each of these categories may be further divided into phaneritic or aphantic textures, depending upon how visible the mineral grain is to the unaided eye. (See also metamorphic rock: textural features.)