Microanalytical Characterization and Application in Magmatic Rocks Naresh C. Pant Abstract Chemical characterization of magmatic rocks is a primary requirement in interpreting their evolutionary history. Magmatic rocks are nearly always het- erogeneous and thus require micro-scale chemical characterization. Two of the main micro-characterization techniques are Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Electron Probe Micro Analysis (EPMA). Both are near surface characteriza- tion techniques and utilize the effects of interaction of an electron beam with the targeted sample. Back Scattered Electrons (BSE) represent an atomic number dependent elastic scattering effect which provides high resolution petrographic information of heterogeneities while generation of characteristic X-rays from inner shell energy-level transitions of different atoms, a type of inelastic scattering effect, provides quantitative chemical characterization at micron scale. Both are highly useful for describing magmatic rocks as well as inferring the operative magmatic processes. 1 Introduction Chemical characterization of magmatic rocks is an important parameter in understanding and modelling magmatic processes. Bulk rock characterization is commonly carried out to describe the attributes of parent magma. In many ways it is an artificial homogenization of an essentially heterogeneous product. The evolution of a magmatic rock is a complex process and often the bulk charac- terization attributes oversimplify this process. Magmatic rocks generally form by partial melting of silicates mainly in the mantle. The crystallization of these melts is often in the magma reservoirs within the crust. The phenocrysts form, enlarge N. C. Pant (&) Department of Geology, University of Delhi, Delhi, India e-mail: pantnc@gmail.com S. Kumar and R. N. Singh (eds.), Modelling of Magmatic and Allied Processes, Society of Earth Scientists Series, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-06471-0_8, Ó Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014 167