Formation of dykes, feeder-dykes, and the intrusion of dykes from magma Chambers

Abstract

The paper discussed the formation of dykes, and applies the results to Iceland. It is postulated that dykes follow the pathway of least work and of least tensile strength and thereby intrude the subvertical joints in lava flows. It is suggested that dykes form in magma pulses, where each dyke is split in two by the next magma pulse and so on. In Iceland the estimated time between successive magma pulses is of the order of several hundred days. Statistical considerations indicate that in Iceland the probability of seeing dykes end upwards is only 1–2%, which agrees with observations. It is concluded that many and probably the majority of dykes are non-feeders. This, together with the low probability of finding the connection between feeder and lava flow, explains the scarcity of observed feeder-dykes. It is concluded that overpressure in shallow magma chambers needed to drive magma through crustal fractures in Iceland is usually smaller than the tensile strength of the host rock (several MPa), which thereby is the critical factor in dyke intrusion.