The fluid dynamics of evolving magma chambers

Abstract

Recent developments in petrology indicate that fluid dynamic effects are of fundamental importance in controlling magma genesis. The forms of convection in magma chambers arise from compositional variations caused by processes such as fractional crystallization, partial melting and contamination, as well as from thermal effects. These processes, together with phase changes such as volatile exsolution, generally cause much larger density changes in magmas than the thermal effects arising from associated temperature changes. Magmas exhibit a wide range of convective phenomena not encountered in one-component fluids that are due to these compositional changes and to the differences between the diffusivities of chemical components and heat. When crystallization occurs in such multi-component systems, fluid immediately adjacent to the growing crystals is generally either depleted or enriched in heavy components and can convect away from its point of origin. Experimental studies of convection in crystallizing systems together with theoretical analyses suggest that convective separation of liquid from crystals is the dominant process of fractionation in magmas. This paper provides a synopsis of these new ideas on convection in magmas and their application to the interpretation of igneous rocks. Crystal settling is shown to be an inadequate and, in many situations, improbable mechanism for fractional crystallization. The convective motions in chambers are usually sufficiently vigorous to keep crystals in suspension, although settling can occur from thin fluid layers and within the boundary layers at the margins of a magma chamber. We propose that convective fraction , a term introduced to embrace a wide variety of convective phenomena caused by crystallization, is the dominant mechanism for crystal fractionation. The process enables compositional and thermal gradients to be formed in magma chambers both by closed-system crystallization and by repeated replenishment in open systems. During crystallization along the margins of a chamber, highly fractionated magmas can be generated without requiring large amounts of crystallization, because the removal and concentration of chemical components affects only a small fraction of the total magma. These convective effects also give insights into many features observed in layered intrusions, including the various types of layering and the formation of different kinds of cumulate rock.