Nepheline analcime syenite
Collection:
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Microscope
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Microscope

Fact sheet

Nepheline analcime syenite

This nepheline syenite is part of a dolerite intrusion at Cnoc Rhaonastil, Isle of Islay, Scotland that formed in the Paleogene period as part of the North Atlantic volcanic province. The rock is unusual in that the magma evolved from alkali olivine-dolerite by crystal fractionation at low pressure. The intrusion is an example of an upper-crustal magma chamber, in which the alkali olivine-basalt magma crystallised in situ. Research has shown that this represents the distended head of a large dyke in which a single pulse of magma was emplaced and subsequently crystallised without significant interaction with the local country rock.

The thin section contains green-coloured aegirine pyroxene with characteristic patchy colour variations, biotite mica, and large grains of nepheline that have undergone alteration and exsolution to plagioclase. Patches of analcime zeolite are present, exhibiting characteristic radial growth patterns.

Additional images
  • nepheline syenite - width 2.7 cm
Map
55.7526, -6.0893
Description:
Cnoc Rhaonastil, Isle of Islay, Scotland
Precision:
Moderate
About this collection

The United Kingdom Virtual Microscope (UKVM) collection consists of igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks from around the UK.

It is intended as a teaching resource, helping to tell the story of the common rock types and how they form, and reflecting the history of the UK at the margins of the continent of Europe. The collection is a series of teaching sets, for example igneous rocks from the North Atlantic Igneous Province and SW England; high-temperature metamorphic rocks from Scotland and low-temperature metamorphic rocks from Wales; and sedimentary rocks, including English limestones and sandstones.

Sample details

Type
igneous
Category
syenite
Rock-forming mineral
aegirine
pyroxene
biotite
mica
nepheline
analcime
plagioclase
feldspar
Accessory minerals
iron oxide
Category guide  
Category Guide
Title
Refers to any word or phrase that appears in the individual rock names. Names are generally descriptive; they allow users to search for broad terms like ‘granite’ as well as more specific names such as ‘breccia’. However, the adjacent descriptions of the specimens captures a wider range of general words and phrases and is a more powerful search tool.
Description
Refers to any word or phrase that appears anywhere in the descriptions of the specimens
Accessory minerals
Minerals that occur in very low abundance in a rock. They are usually not visible with the naked eye and contribute perhapssver, they often dominate the rare elements such as platinum group metals.
Rock-forming minerals
Minerals that make up the bulk of all rock samples and are also the ones used in rock classi?cation.
Timescale
Selecting one or more period, for example 'Jurassic'.
Theme
A term used to group together related samples that are not already gathered into a single Collection. For instance, there is a ‘SW England granites’ theme that includes such rock types as granite, hydrothermal breccia, skarn and vein samples.
Category
A general term used to label a rock sample. It is a useful way of grouping similar samples throughout a collection. Category names are often, but not exclusively, common rock names (e.g. granite, basalt, dolerite, gabbro, greisen, skarn, gneiss, amphibolite, limestone, sandstone).
Owner
The owner of the sample that appears in the collection. For example, NASA owns all the samples that appear in the Moon Rocks collection
We would like to thank the following for the use of this sample: