Magma mixing in a squeezed conduit

The mixing of mafic and silicic magmas in a squeezed conduit is simulated by fluid dynamics experiments using glue and dilute glycerin in a squeezed vinyl tube. Lighter and more viscous glue initially stably overlies dilute glycerin in a tube. As the tube is squeezed downward by a roller, the glue and dilute glycerin axisymmetrically circulate in the tube. The stable density stratification overturns due to the circulative motion. Because of viscosity contrast between the two liquids, the convective motion becomes unsteady and chaotic, which leads to efficient mixing of two liquids, even when the tube is squeezed very slowly. It is suggested that magma mixing in a squeezed conduit may explain some occurrences of natural mixed lavas with nearly homogeneous groundmass.     

Magma mixing: petrological process and volcanological tool

Magma mixing is a widespread, if not universal igneous phenomenon of variable importance. The evidence for magma mixing is found primarily in glassy tephra; the consolidation of lava obscures the evidence. Inclusions of glass in big crystals in tephra, because of their greater range in composition compared to the whole rock and the residual glass, indicate that the big crystals were derived from separate systems which mixed together prior to and during eruption. The observed or reconstructed concentration of K₂O in inclusions of glass in large crystals represent the composition of the contaminant and host systems. Selective enrichment in K₂O during entrapment of melt by growing crystals is shown to be negligible. The weight percents of K₂O in host, contaminant and residual glass and bulk rock determine the proportions of contaminant and host required to yield either the residual glass or bulk rock. In several cases the proportion of contaminant required is substantially larger than the proportion of crystals in the hybrid magma; therefore, by heat budget argument, the contaminant was partly liquid when contamination began. In some tephra individual phenocrysts contain glasses which are more silicic toward the center of the crystal indicating that the crystal grew from a melt whose composition changed in the opposite sense to that expected for progressive solidification of a closed system. Space time associations of compositionally distinct glassy tephra with contaminated magmas suggest coexistence of basaltic and silicic melts within magma systems. Evidence of contamination is present in most tephra studied so far. Magma mixing appears to be the prevalent process whereby contamination occurs. Magma mixing seems to be particularly evident in systems where there is independent evidence for a vapor-saturated magma reservoir. Probably vapor saturation promotes mixing in magma systems. Magma mixing probably is an important mechanism of compositional diversification (differentiation) of volcanic rocks from continental margin and possibly other environments.Textural evidence of the onset of magma mixing can be related to disturbance of a complex reservoir immediately before ascent and eruption. Thus, conditions before mixing can be ascribed to the reservoir. In this way it is possible to learn about the reservoir: its composition, its diversity, its depth, its walls. It is also possible to learn about the causes of eruption: whether by increase in gas pressure due to either progressive consolidation, or heating from below by an injection of hot magma, or by encounter with ground water; whether by buoyant rise. Evaluation of these problems requires also a thorough knowledge of the chronology of particular eruptions. Thus, magma mixing is a useful volcanological tool.     

Magma mixing and magma plumbing systems in island arcs

Petrographic features of mixed rocks in island arcs, especially those originating by the mixing of magmas with a large compositional and temperature difference, such as basalt and dacite, suggest that the whole mixing process from their first contact to the final cooling (= eruption) has occurred continuously and in a relatively short time period. This period is probably less than several months, considerably shorter than the whole volcanic history. There may also be a prolonged quiescent interval, lasting longer than several days, between the magmas' contact and the mechanical mixing. This interval will allow the basic magma to cool and produce a semi-solidified boundary which is later disrupted by flow movements to produce basic inclusions.Mixing of magmas of contrasting chemical composition need not be the inevitable consequence of the contact of the magmas. It is, however, made more probable by forced convection caused by motive force such as the injection of a basic magma into an acidic magma chamber. A short interval between their initial contact and the final eruption requires that the acid magma chamber has a small volume, of the same order or less than that the introduced basic magma.The volcanic activity of Myoko volcano, central Japan, of the last 100,000 years shows alternate eruptions of hybrid andesite by mixing of basaltic and dacitic magmas, and non-mixed basalt to basaltic andesite. There was a repose period of 20,000 to 30,000 years between eruptions. The acidic chamber, eventually producing the mixed andesite activity, is formed during the repose period by the « in situ » solidification of the original basic magma against its wall. The volume of the chamber is very small, probably about 10^–2 km³. Basaltic magma with constant chemical composition is supplied to the shallow chamber from another deep seated basaltic chamber. The volume of the shallow magma chamber may be critical to the characteristics of volcanic activity and its products.     

Magma mixing during the 2001 event at Mount Etna (Italy): Effects on the eruptive dynamics

During the 2001 eruptive episode three different magmas were erupted on the southern flank of Mount Etna volcano from distinct vent systems. Major and minor element chemistry of rocks and minerals shows that mixing occurred, and that the mixed magma was erupted during the last eruptive phases.The space–time integrated analysis of the eruption, supported by geophysical data, together with major and trace element bulk chemistry (XRF, ICP-MS) and major and trace mineral chemistry (EPMA, LAM ICP-MS), support the following model: 1) trachybasaltic magma rises through a NNW–SSE trending structure, connected to the main open conduit system; 2) ascent of an amphibole-bearing trachybasaltic magma from a 6 km deep eccentric reservoir through newly open N–S trending fractures; 3) just a few days following the eruption onset the two tectonic systems intersect at the Laghetto area; 4) at the Laghetto vent a mixed magma is erupted.Mixing occurred between the amphibole-bearing trachybasaltic magma and an inferred deep more basic end-member. The most relevant aspect in the eruptive dynamics is that the eruption of the mixed magma at the Laghetto vent was highly explosive due to volatile content in the magma. The gas phase formed, mainly because of the decreased volatile solubility due to rapid fractures opening and increased T, related to mixing, and partially because of the amphibole breakdown.     

Magma mixing and convective compositional layering within the Vesuvius magma chamber

The pumice-fall deposits of the last two Plinian eruptions of Vesuvius-a.d. 79 Pompei and 3700 b.p. Avellino-show a marked vertical compositional variation from white phonolite at the base to grey tephritic phonolite at the top. In both Avellino and Pompei sequences a compositional gap separates white from grey pumice. Grey and white pumice have distinct Sr and Nd isotopic compositions (grey pumice: ⁸⁷Sr/³⁶Sr=0.70749-56, ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd=0.512507 for Pompei; 0.70760-69, 0.512504 for Avellino; white pumice: 0.70757-78 for Pompei; 0.70729-42 for Avellino). K-feldspar separated from both grey and white pumice has, in all cases, a white ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio (0.70766-79 for Pompei, 0.70728-33 for Avellino). The observed variations are interpreted as reflecting a pre-eruptive zonation of the magma chamber. Although mineralogical evidence of interaction between magma and calcareous country rocks exists in both eruptions, crustal contamination has not significantly modified the isotopic signatures of the erupted products. Petrographic and isotopic evidence of syneruptive magma mingling occur in Pompei grey pumice as well as in Avellino white and grey pumice, but they do not fully explain all the observed geochemical and isotopic variations. These variations are related to the complex refilling history of the magmatic system and result by fractional crystallization and mixing processes acting within the magma chamber. Preliminary data from other Plinian and subplinian sruptions of the Somma-Vesuvius point out the repeticive behaviour of ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr variation in the last 25 000 years, hence suggesting a single magma chamber and continuity of the feeding system.     

Magma mixing in granitic rocks of the central Sierra Nevada,California

The El Capitan alaskite exposed in the North American Wall, Yosemite National Park, was intruded by two sets of mafic dikes that interacted thermally and chemically with the host alaskite. Comparisons of petrographic and compositional data for these dikes and alaskite with published data for Sierra Nevada plutons lead us to suggest that mafic magmas were important in the generation of the Sierra Nevada batholith. Specifically, we conclude that: (1) intrusion of mafic magmas in the lower crust caused partial melting and generation of alaskite (rhyolitic) magmas; (2) interaction between the mafic and felsic magmas lead to the observed linear variation diagrams for major elements; (3) most mafic inclusions in Sierra Nevada plutons represent chilled pillows of mafic magmas, related by fractional crystallization and granitoid assimilation, that dissolve into their felsic host and contaminate it to intermediate (granodioritic) compositions; (4) vesiculation of hydrous mafic magma upon chilling may allow buoyant mafic inclusions and their disaggregation products to collect beneath a pluton's domed ceiling causing the zoning (mafic margins-to-felsic core) that these plutons exhibit.     

Magma mixing in the Aleutian arc: evidence from cognate inclusions and composite xenoliths

The complexity of igneous processes in the Aleutian calc-alkaline magma series can be inferred from study of xenolithic fragments. Composite xenoliths and cognate inclusions provide direct evidence for magma—magma and wall-rock—magma mixing processes. Using distributions of Cr in clinopyroxene, compositional endmembers involved in mixing are identified within the xenoliths. The basaltic mixing endmember is more mafic than calc-alkaline lavas in the arc. Magma mixing and wall-rock assimilation within calc-alkaline basaltic to andesitic magmas is identified in phenocrystic assemblages as well as in xenoliths, and appears to be a widespread phenomenon in Aleutian calc-alkaline magmas.     

Magma dynamics beneath Kameni volcano, Thera, Greece, as revealed by crystal size and shape measurements

Size distributions of plagioclase crystals in series of recent porphyritic dacite lavas from Kameni volcano, Greece, can be modelled by mixing two populations of crystals, each with overlapping linear crystal size distributions (CSD)—termed microlites and megacrysts. The magmas bearing the microlites and megacrysts started to crystallise 6–13 and 24–96 years, respectively, before each eruption. The dates of initiation of crystallisation of the megacrysts indicate that they are left-overs of earlier injections of new magma into a shallow chamber: some magma remains after each eruption and continues to crystallise. New magma with few or no crystals is then introduced and the microlites crystallise from the mixed magma. Eruption followed 6–13 years after mixing. Such a model would suggest that some porphyritic magmas are products of a shallow magma chamber that is never completely emptied, just topped up from time to time.     

The dynamics of magma mixing in a rising magma batch

The conditions under which two magmas can become mixed within a rising magma batch are investigated by scaling analyses and fluid-dynamical experiments. The results of scaling analyses show that the fluid behaviours in a squeezed conduit are determined mainly by the dimensionless number where ₁ is the viscosity of the fluid, U is the velocity, g is the acceleration due to gravity, is the density difference between the two fluids, and R is the radius of the tube. The parameter I represents a balance between the viscous effects in the uppermost magma which prevent it from being moved off the conduit walls, and the buoyancy forces which tend to keep the interface horizontal. The experiments are carried out using fluid pairs of various density and viscosity contrasts in a squeezed vinyl tube. They show that overturning of the initial density stratification and mixing occur when I>order 10^-1; the two fluids remain stratified when I 10^-3. Transitional states are observed when 10^-3<I<10^-1. These results are nearly independent of Reynolds number and viscosity ratio in the range of and Re ₁<300. Applying these results to magmas shows that silicic to intermediate magmas overlying mafic magma will be prone to mixing in a rising magma batch. This mechanism can explain some occurrences of small-volume mixed lava flows.     

Nonlinear dynamics of boussinesq convection in a deep rotating spherical shell-i

Abstract

Convection in a rotating spherical shell has wide application for understanding the dynamics of the atmospheres and interiors of many celestial bodies. In this paper we review linear results for convection in a shell of finite depth at substantial but not asymptotically large Taylor numbers, present nonlinear multimode calculations for similar conditions, and discuss the model and results in the context of the problem of solar convection and differential rotation. Detailed nonlinear calculations are presented for Taylor number T = 10⁵, Prandtl number P = 1, and Rayleigh number R between 1 |MX 10⁴ and 4 |MX 10⁴ (which is between about 4 and 16 times critical) for a shell of depth 20% of the outer radius. Sixteen longitudinal wave numbers are usually included (all even wave numbers m between 0 and 30) the amplitudes of which are computed on a staggered grid in the meridian plane.

The kinetic energy spectrum shows a peak in the wave number range m = 12–18 at R = 10⁴, which straddles the critical wave number m = 14 predicted by linear theory. These are modes which peak near the equator. The spectrum shows a second strong peak at m = 0, which represents the differential rotation driven by the peak convective modes. As R is increased, the amplitude of low wave numbers increases relative to high wave numbers as convection fills in in high and middle latitudes, and as the longitudinal scale of equatorial convection grows. By R = 3 |MX 10⁴, m = 8 is the peak convective mode. There is a clear minimum in the total kinetic energy at middle latitudes relative to low and high, well into the nonlinear regime, representing the continued dominance of equatorial and polar modes found in the linear case. The kinetic energy spectrum for m > 0 is maintained primarily by buoyancy work in each mode, but with substantial nonlinear transfer of kinetic energy from the peak modes to both lower and higher wave numbers.

For R = 1 to 2 |MX 10⁴, the differential rotation takes the form of an equatorial acceleration, with angular velocity generally decreasing with latitude away from the equator (as on the sun) and decreasing inwards. By R = 4 |MX 10⁴, this equatorial profile has completely reversed, with angular velocity increasing with depth and latitude. Also, a polar vortex which has positive rotation relative to the reference frame (no evidence of which has been seen on the sun) builds up as soon as polar modes become important. Meridional circulation is quite weak relative to differential rotation at R = 10⁴, but grows relative to it as R is increased. This circulation takes the farm of a single cell of large latitudinal extent in equatorial regions, with upward flow near the equator, together with a series of narrower cells in high latitudes. It is maintained primarily by axisymmetric buoyancy forces. The differential rotation is maintained at all R primarily by Reynolds stresses, rather than meridional circulation. Angular momentum transport toward the equator for R = 1–2 |MX 10⁴ maintains the equatorial acceleration while radially inward transport maintains the opposite profile at R = 4 |MX 10⁴.

The total heat flux out the top of the convective shell always shows two peaks for the range of R studied, one at the equator and the other near the poles (no significant variation with latitude is seen on the sun), while heat flux in at the bottom shows only a polar peak at large R. The meridional circulation and convective cells transport heat toward the equator to maintain this difference.

The helicity of the convection plus the differential rotation produced by it suggest the system may be capable of driving a field reversing dynamo, but the toroidal field may migrate with lime in each cycle toward the poles and equator, rather than just toward the equator as apparently occurs on the sun.

We finally outline additions to the physics of the model to make it more realistic for solar application.     

The Madinah eruption,Saudi Arabia: Magma mixing and simultaneous extrusion of three basaltic chemical types

During a 52-day eruption in 1256 A.D., 0.5 km³ of alkali-olivine basalt was extruded from a 2.25-km-long fissure at the north end of the Harrat Rahat lava field, Saudi Arabia. The eruption produced 6 scoria cones and a lava flow 23 km long that approached the ancient and holy city of Madinah to within 8 km. Three chemical types of basalt are defined by data point clusters on variation diagrams, i.e. the low-K, high-K, and hybrid types. All three erupted simultaneously. Their distribution is delineated in both scoria cones and lava flow units from detailed mapping and a petrochemical study of 135 samples. Six flow units, defined by distinct flow fronts, represent extrusive pulses. The high-K type erupted during all six pulses, the low-K type during the first three, and the hybrid type during the first two.Three mineral assemblages occur out of equilibrium in all three chemical types.Assemblage 1 contains resorbed olivine and clinopyroxene megacrysts and ultramafic microxenoliths (Fo₉₀ + Cr spinel + Cr endiopside) which fractionated within the spinel zone of the mantle.Assemblage 2 contains resorbed plagioclase megacrysts (An₆₀) with olivine inclusions (Fo₇₈) which fractionated in the crust.Assemblage 3 contains microphenocrysts of plagioclase and olivine in a groundmass of the same minerals with late-crystallizing titansalite and titanomagnetite; assemblage 3 crystallized at the surface and/or in the upper crust. Each assemblage represents a distinct range in PTX environment, suggesting that their coexistence in each chemical type may be a function of magma mixing. Such a process is confirmed by variable ratios of incompatible element pairs in a range of analyses.All three chemical types are products of mixing. Some of the hybrid types may have developed from surface mixing of the low-K and high-K lavas; however, the occurrence of all three types at the vent system suggests that subsurface mixing was the dominant process. We suggest that the Madinah flow was extruded from a heterogeneous magma chamber containing vertically stacked sections equivalent to the six eruptive pulses. This chamber may have developed contemporaneously with magma mixing when a crustal reservoir containing a magma in equilibrium with assemblage 2 was invaded by a more primitive magma containing cognate microxenoliths and megacrysts of assemblage 1.     

Tidal-driven dynamics and mixing processes in a coastal ocean model with wetting and drying

A three-dimensional sigma coordinate numerical model with wetting and drying (WAD) and a Mellor–Yamada turbulence closure scheme has been used in an idealized island configuration to evaluate how tidally driven dynamics and mixing are affected by inundation processes. Comprehensive sensitivity experiments evaluate the influence of various factors, including tidal amplitudes (from 1- to 9-m range), model grid size (from 2 to 16 km), stratification, wind, rotation, and the impact of WAD on the mixing. The dynamics of the system involves tidally driven basin-scale waves (propagating anticlockwise in the northern hemisphere) and coastally trapped waves propagating around the island in an opposite direction. The evolutions of the surface mixed layer (SML) and the bottom boundary layer (BBL) under different forcing have been studied. With small amplitude tides, wind-driven mixing dominates and the thickness of the SML increases with time, while with large-amplitude tides, tidal mixing dominates and the thickness of the BBL increases with time. The inclusion of WAD in the simulations increases bottom stress and impacts the velocities, the coastal waves, and the mixing. However, the impact of WAD is complex and non-linear. For example, WAD reduces near-coast currents during flood but increases currents during ebb as water drains from the island back to the sea. The impacts of WAD, forcing, and model parameters on the dynamics are summarized by an analysis of the vorticity balance for the different sensitivity experiments.     

Magma mixing in mafic alkaline volcanic rocks: the evidence from relict phenocryst phases and other inclusions

Green clinopyroxenes, commonly rounded and anhedral and richer in Fe, Na and Mn than the pyroxenes of the surrounding groundmass are a common feature of mafic alkaline volcanic rocks (e.g. basanites, monchiquites, leucitites). Some are accompanied by one or more of the following phases: Fe-rich kaersutite and biotite, anorthoclase, sodic plagioclase, apatite, magnetite, sphene, which are believed to be cognate with the green pyroxenes. We review evidence that these minerals have crystallized from mugearite, trachyte or phonolite magmas, and their presence in mafic alkaline rocks is due to magma mixing. The intermediate and salic magmas may sometimes be generated at mantle depths, possibly by melting of mantle material enriched in Fe, Na and volatiles.     

Turbulence,entrainment, and mixing in cloud dynamics

The various models that have been proposed for describing the dynamical development of small cumuli are discussed in terms of how well they predict the observed distribution of liquid water. The entrainment concept is examined and shown to involve contradictions when applied to growing blobs. An alternative process is offered in which the dominating factor in the cloud dynamics is the mixing in of drier overlying air down through the cloud until temporary static equilibrium is established. Consideration of the mixing process and calculations of the required dilution show this process can lead to the observed liquid water distributions.     

Combining CSD and isotopic microanalysis: Magma supply and mixing processes at Stromboli Volcano, Aeolian Islands, Italy

Integrating isotopic microanalysis with other analytical techniques creates powerful new methodologies for understanding the evolution of rock samples at the sub-grain scale. Here we present Crystal Size Distribution (CSD) data for a 26,000 year old sample from Stromboli Volcano and accompanying isotopic microanalysis of the phenocrysts. A technique, called the ICSD plot, is introduced which given stated assumptions allows the integration of both sets of data to generate timelines of isotopic evolution through the volcanic system. The combined approach is powerful, allowing investigation of the magma supply, mixing, crystallisation and contamination processes prior to eruption of a volcanic sample. For Stromboli Volcano, the combined analysis suggests that the change in magma type following a cone collapse took roughly five years to complete, similar to the timescale of changes seen in recent decades.     

Conduit convection,magma mixing,and melt inclusion trends at persistently degassing volcanoes

Magmas progressively exsolve volatiles as they ascend towards the Earth's surface, such that their volatile content is a function of pressure. Water and carbon dioxide concentrations measured in melt inclusions from degassing volcanoes rarely coincide with modelled degassing trends. I show that observed melt inclusion trends can be reproduced through mixing of magmas, either during convection within the volcanic conduit, or within a subterranean magma reservoir. No fluxing gas phase or post-entrapment loss of water need be invoked. A permeable network allowing gas transport is still required to avoid fragmentation of magma at shallow depths.     

Magma expansion and fragmentation in a propagating dyke

The influence of magma expansion due to volatile exsolution and gas dilation on dyke propagation is studied using a new numerical code. Many natural magmas contain sufficient amounts of volatiles for fragmentation to occur well below Earth's surface. Magma fragmentation has been studied for volcanic flows through open conduits but it should also occur within dykes that rise towards Earth's surface. The characteristics of volatile-rich magma flow within a hydraulic fracture are studied numerically. The mixture of melt and gas is treated as a compressible viscous fluid below the fragmentation level and as a gas phase carrying melt droplets above it. The numerical code solves for elastic deformation of host rocks, the flow of the magmatic mixture and fracturing at the dyke tip. With volatile-free magma, a dyke fed at a constant rate in a uniform medium adopts a constant shape and width and rises at a constant velocity. With volatiles involved, magma expands and hence the volume flux of magma increases. With no fragmentation, this enhanced flux leads to acceleration and thinning of the dyke. Simple scaling laws allow accurate predictions of dyke width and ascent rate for a wide range of conditions. With fragmentation, dyke behaviour is markedly different. Due to the sharp drop of head loss that occurs in gas-rich fragmented material, large internal overpressures develop below the dyke tip and induce swelling of the nose region, leading to deceleration of the dyke. These results are applied to the two-month long period of volcanic unrest that preceded the May 1980 eruption of Mount St Helens. An initial phase of rapid earthquake migration from the 7–8 km deep reservoir to shallow levels was followed by very slow progression of magma within the edifice. Such behaviour can be accounted for by magma fragmentation at the top of a dyke.     

Interpretation of spectra of geomagnetic pulsations as a spectrum of modulated oscillations

Summary The analysis of spectra of modulated oscillations is used to show how these oscillations are distorted when recorded by an instrument whose characteristics depend on frequency, and under what conditions the parameters of the original modulated oscillations can be derived directly from the record. Geomagnetic Pc3 and Pi2 pulsations, recorded at the Budkov Observatory, are discussed; these can be interpreted as amplitude or frequency modulated oscillations.

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