earth science

Muskox intrusion

Muskox intrusion is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Muskox intrusion rather than just read about it. In short: The Muskox intrusion is a layered intrusion in Nunavut, Canada. It is located 144 km (89 mi) northeast of Great Bear Lake and 90 km (56 mi) south of Kugluktuk on Coronation Gulf.

Key takeaways

Muskox intrusion belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Muskox intrusion to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Muskox intrusion from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Muskox intrusion is a layered intrusion in Nunavut, Canada. It is located 144 km (89 mi) northeast of Great Bear Lake and 90 km (56 mi) south of Kugluktuk on Coronation Gulf. It was formed during a large magmatic event during the Proterozoic by hotspot or mantle plume volcanism that emplaced the widespread Coppermine River Group flood basalts. The intrusion is a tilted trough shaped body with an exposed length of 120 km (75 mi) and a thickness or original vertical dimension of over 6 km (3.7 mi). Rock types include picrite, peridotite, dunite, pyroxenite, gabbro and granophyre. A feeder dike of olivine gabbro is exposed "below" the now tilted sequence. Potassium argon dating in the region provides an age of 1095 - 1155 Ma for the Muskox intrusion, 1100 - 1200 Ma for the Mackenzie dike swarm and 740 - 1200 Ma for the Coppermine basalt flows (younger dates are interpreted as having been reset by later intrusion of gabbro sills at 604 - 718 Ma). Further stratigraphic and structural evidence provides further support that the Muskox, the MacKenzie dikes and the Coppermine flows are of the same magmatic event that formed the Mackenzie Large Igneous Province and the Muskox is interpreted as occupying the magma chamber which fed the volcanism.

See also Volcanism of Canada Volcanism of Northern Canada Mackenzie hotspot

References

Re-Os isotopic study of the Muskox intrusion, NWT, Canada

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Muskox intrusion

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Muskox intrusion claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Muskox intrusion before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Muskox intrusion ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Muskox intrusion

In research: Muskox intrusion appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Muskox intrusion in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Muskox intrusion is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Economic geology, Hotspot volcanism, Layered intrusions, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Muskox intrusion outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Muskox intrusion in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Muskox intrusion means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Muskox intrusion out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Muskox intrusion in simple terms?

The Muskox intrusion is a layered intrusion in Nunavut, Canada. It is located 144 km (89 mi) northeast of Great Bear Lake and 90 km (56 mi) south of Kugluktuk on Coronation Gulf.

Why does Muskox intrusion matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Muskox intrusion?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Muskox intrusion.