Quantifying dendritic crystallization in hydrous basaltic magmas through 4D experiments with in situ view: implications for magma mobility within the Earth’s crust

Abstract

The mobility and the rheological behaviour of magma within the Earth’s crust is controlled by magma viscosity. Crystallization and crystal morphology strongly affect viscosity, and thus mobility and eruptibility of magma, by locking it at depth or enabling its ascent towards the surface. However, the relationships between crystallinity, rheology and eruptibility remain uncertain because it is difficult to observe dynamic magma crystallization in real time. Here we show the results of in situ 3D time-dependent, high temperature, moderate pressure experiments performed under water-saturated conditions to investigate crystallization kinetics in a basaltic magma. 4D crystallization experiments with in situ view were performed using synchrotron X-ray microtomography, which provides unique quantitative information on the growth kinetics and textural evolution of pyroxene crystallization in basaltic magmas.  Crystallization kinetics obtained with 4D experiments were combined with a numerical model to investigate the impact of rapid dendritic crystallization on basaltic dike propagation, and demonstrate its dramatic effect on magma mobility and eruptibility. We observe dendritic growth of pyroxene on initially euhedral cores, and a sur- prisingly rapid increase in crystal fraction and aspect ratio at undercooling ≥30 °C. Rapid dendritic crystallization favours a rheological transition from Newtonian to non-Newtonian behaviour within minutes. Modelling results show that dendritic crystallization at moderate undercooling (30-50 °C) can strongly affect magma rheology during magma ascent within a dike with important implications for the mobility of basaltic magmas within the crust. Our results provide insights into the processes that control whether magma ascent within the crust leads to eruption or not.