Bowen’s Reaction Series Essay Example

Mineral occurrence in igneous rock is most simply explained by Bowen’s reaction series. Norman Levi Bowen discovered the series of reactions while studying the process of crystallizing minerals in Washington, D. C. in 1928. In order to best express his findings to his scientific brethren, Bowen created a visual display based on when and under what conditions each silicate mineral crystallized. This is extremely important to geologists because it helps them to easily understand the order that specific minerals were created.

Bowen’s reaction series is broken down into five main parts. First, is the Temperature scale ranging between 800 and 1600 degree Celsius. Next, the minerals themselves; the minerals are shown to us in a tripod display, each of which is a separate, yet integrated, part of the series. These consist of a discontinuous branch, a continuous branch, and a main branch