Crystallization kinetics of alkali feldspars in cooling and decompression-induced crystallization experiments in trachytic melt

Abstract

Cooling and decompression experiments have been carried out on trachytic melts in order to investigate crystallization kinetics of alkali feldspar, the effect of the degree of undercooling (ΔT = T liquidus − T experimental) and time on nucleation and crystal growth process. This experimental work gives us new data about crystallization kinetics of trachytic melts, and it that will be useful to better understand the natural system of Campi Flegrei volcanoes. Experiments have been conducted using cold seal pressure vessel apparatus, at pressure between 30 and 200 MPa, temperature between 750 and 855 °C, time between 7,200 and 57,600 s and redox condition close to the NNO +0.8 buffer. These conditions are ideal to reproducing pre- and syn-eruptive conditions of the Campi Flegrei volcanoes, where the “conditions” pertain to the complete range of pressures, temperatures and time at which the experiments were performed. Alkali feldspar is the main phase present in this trachyte, and its abundance can strongly vary with small changes in pressure, temperature and water content in the melt, implying appreciable variations in the textures and in the crystallization kinetics. The obtained results show that crystallization kinetics are strictly related to ΔT, time, final pressure, superheating (−ΔT) and water content in the melt. ΔT is the driving force of the crystallization, and it has a strong influence on nucleation and growth processes. In fact, the growth process dominates crystallization at small ΔT, whereas the nucleation dominates crystallization at large ΔT. Time also is an important variable during crystallization process, because long experiment durations involve more nucleation events of alkali feldspar than short experiment durations. This is an important aspect to understand magma evolution in the magma chamber and in the conduit, which in turn has strong effects on magma rheology.