Questions that igneous rocks can answer

  1. Was a silicate melt involved?
  2. What was the composition (or compositions) of the melt?
  3. Where and by what process(es) did the melt originate?
  4. How did the magma(s) reach their present site?
  5. What chemical fractionation processes occurred?
  6. What were the intensive parameters involved in steps #3, #4 and #5?
  7. What were the thermal histories for steps #3, #4 and #5?