Composition gaps,critical crystallinity,and fractional crystallization in orogenic (calc-alkaline) magmatic systems

The recognition of a three-way correlation between magmatic SiO₂ content, critical crystallinity, and the size (magnitude) of crystal fractionation-generated composition gaps in calc-alkaline magmatic systems suggests an important control of magmatic critical crystallinity on the formation of such composition gaps. To explain this correlation, it is proposed that fractionation-generated composition gaps are caused by: (1) simultaneous interior (i.e. non-substrate) crystallization and vigorous chamberwide convection which leads to progessive crystal suspension; (2) cessation of convection when the percentage of suspended crystals reaches the critical crystallinity of the magma, and; (3) eventual buoyancy-driven crystal-liquid segregation producing a discrete body of fractionated magma which is separated from the initial magma by a composition gap. This mechanism implies that many, if not most magma bodies are characterized by interior crystallization and vigorous convection, conditions which are not universally agreed upon at present. Given that such conditions characterize natural magma bodies, fractional crystallization through crystal settling in low-velocity boundary layers should be an important mechanism of fractional crystallization. In a crystallizing and convecting body of magma, composition gap formation should represent one endmember of a complete spectrum of possible evolutionary paths governed by the relative rates of crystal settling and crystal retention. As a given volcanic plumbing system matures with time, average settling/retention ratios within individual magma bodies should increase due to higher average wall-rock temperatures. It follows that, within a given volcanic center, early-stage volcanism should be more likely to display fractionation-generated composition gaps than later-stage volcanism. Such a temporal evolution has been documented at at least two Aleutian calc-alkaline volcanic centers.     

Layered intrusions – a fluid situation?

Recent research into layered intrusions (intrusive bodies in which there are layers of different mineralogical composition) provides an interesting example of 'role–reversal'. Traditionally, crystal settling has been regarded as the main agent of differentiation, with magma convection as a useful subsidiary factor. Now the behaviour of the fluid phase – before, during and after the main crystallisation period – is assuming increasing importance, even to the extent of eliminating the need for crystal settling altogether. The 'new wave' of ideas is stimulating and challenging, but by no means sounds the death–knell of conventional magmatic sedimentation.     

Efficiency of compaction and compositional convection during mafic crystal mush solidification: the Sept Iles layered intrusion,Canada

Adcumulate formation in mafic layered intrusions is attributed either to gravity-driven compaction, which expels the intercumulus melt out of the crystal matrix, or to compositional convection, which maintains the intercumulus liquid at a constant composition through liquid exchange with the main magma body. These processes are length-scale and time-scale dependent, and application of experimentally derived theoretical formulations to magma chambers is not straightforward. New data from the Sept Iles layered intrusion are presented and constrain the relative efficiency of these processes during solidification of the mafic crystal mush. Troctolites with meso- to ortho-cumulate texture are stratigraphically followed by Fe–Ti oxide-bearing gabbros with adcumulate texture. Calculations of intercumulus liquid fractions based on whole-rock P, Zr, V and Cr contents and detailed plagioclase compositional profiles show that both compaction and compositional convection operate, but their efficiency changes with liquid differentiation. Before saturation of Fe–Ti oxides in the intercumulus liquid, convection is not active due to the stable liquid density distribution within the crystal mush. At this stage, compaction and minor intercumulus liquid crystallization reduce the porosity to 30%. The velocity of liquid expulsion is then too slow compared with the rate of crystal accumulation. Compositional convection starts at Fe–Ti oxide-saturation in the pore melt due to its decreasing density. This process occurs together with crystallization of the intercumulus melt until the residual porosity is less than 10%. Compositional convection is evidenced by external plagioclase rims buffered at An₆₁ owing to continuous exchange between the intercumulus melt and the main liquid body. The change from a channel flow regime that dominates in troctolites to a porous flow regime in gabbros results from the increasing efficiency of compaction with differentiation due to higher density contrast between the cumulus crystal matrix and the equilibrium melts and to the bottom-up decreasing rate of crystal accumulation in the magma chamber.     

Convection and crystal settling in sills

It has been advocated that convective and crystal settling processes play significant, and perhaps crucial, roles in magmatic differentiation. The fluid dynamics of magma chambers have been extensively studied in recent years, both theoretically and experimentally, but there is disagreement over the nature and scale of the convection, over its bearing on fractionation and possibly over whether it occurs at all. The differential distribution of modal olivine with height in differentiated alkaline basic sills provides critical evidence to resolve this controversy, at least for small to medium-large magma chambers. Our own and others' published data for such sills show that, irrespective of overall olivine content, modal olivine contents tend to increase in a roughly symmetrical manner inwards from the upper and lower margins of the sill, i.e. the distribution patterns are more often approximately D-shaped rather than the classic S-shape generally ascribed to gravity settling. We concur with the majority of other authors that this is an original feature of the filling process which has survived more or less unchanged since emplacement. We therefore conclude that the magmas have not undergone turbulent convection and that gravity settling has usually played only a minor modifying role since the intrusion of these sills. We offer a possible explanation for the apparent contradiction between fluid dynamical theory and the petrological evidence by suggesting that such sills rarely fill by the rapid injection of a single pulse of magma. Rather, they form from a series of pulses or a continuous pulsed influx over a protracted interval during which marginal cooling severely limits the potential for thermal convection.     

花岗岩浆形成定位机制的思考与研究进展

花岗岩(广义)是陆壳的标志,也是地球岩石圈区别于其它行星岩石圈的标志。文章介绍了行星探测和大洋调查等方面的成果对花岗岩形成的地质约束:行星从岩浆表壳向岩石表壳转换过程以及现代地幔过程,均没有产生有规模意义的花岗岩;花岗岩及其所标志的陆壳,应是星球出现水圈和沉积岩之后的产物;花岗岩在地球岩石圈二维空间上的平均生长速率,大约为485×10~3km~2/Myr;岩浆主要来自地壳岩石的部分熔融(深熔)。在此基础上,文章介绍了深熔作用方面的研究进展,讨论了部分熔融岩石的流变行为与其内熔体比的关系,并比较了岩浆侵入模型与岩浆对流模型在解释花岗岩形成定位机制方面的异同。侵入模型的困难之一来自岩体与源区分离。由于源区位于岩体下方且远离岩体,因而是不可观察的,除非岩体及其与源区之间的岩石因风化或构造被剥蚀殆尽。文章最后介绍了"深熔-对流"模型的研究进展。该模型认为"源区"与"定位区间"是统一的,当"源区"岩石的熔体比例超过流变学的临界熔体比,岩石转变为"脏"岩浆;"脏"岩浆层内的重力分异诱发热对流,后者引起"顶蚀作用",导致重熔界面(MI)或固-液转换界面(SLT)不断向上移动和岩浆层的逐渐增厚。基本认识是:熔区内的热对流是深熔作用能够形成大规模花岗岩浆的必要条件;没有对流,陆壳岩石的部分熔融只能产生混合岩,不能产生岩基规模的花岗岩。     

Styles of mantle convection and their influence on planetary evolution

Mantle convection is the method of heat elimination for silicate mantles in terrestrial bodies, provided they are not too small or too hot. Bodies that are small (～Moon or smaller, possibly even Mercury) may rely largely on conduction or melt migration, and bodies that are very hot (Io, very early Earth) may use massive melt migration (magma oceans) and heat pipes. In the standard, simple picture, we can use scaling laws to determine the secular cooling of a planet, likelihood and form of volcanism, and the possibility of a core dynamo. Contrary to popular belief, small planets do not cool faster than larger planets (provided they convect) but they do tend to have a slightly lower internal temperature at all times and thus may cease to be volcanically active at an earlier epoch. On the other hand, a larger volume fraction of a small planet may be involved in melt generation. However, our understanding of heat transfer by mantle convection is limited by three very important, largely unsolved problems: The complexities of rheology, the effects of compositional gradients, and the effects of phase transitions, especially melting. The most striking manifestation of the role of rheology lies in the difference between a mobile lid mode (plate tectonics for Earth) and a stagnant lid mode (other large terrestrial bodies). This difference may arise because of the role of water, but perhaps also because of melting, or size (gravity), or the vagaries of history. It has profound effects for the differences in history of Earth, Venus and Mars, including their surface geology, volatile reservoirs and magnetic fields. Since thermal convection is driven by small density differences, it can also be greatly altered or limited by compositional or phase effects. Melt migration introduces additional complications to the heat transport as well as being a source for the irreversible differentiation that might promote layering. Our limited understanding and ability to model these processes continues to limit the development of a predictive framework for the differences among the terrestrial planets.     

Evolution of Bishop Tuff Rhyolitic Magma Based on Melt and Magnetite Inclusions and Zoned Phenocrysts

The evolution of large bodies of silicic magma is an importantaspect of planetary differentiation. Melt and mineral inclusionsin phenocrysts and zoned phenocrysts can help reveal the processesof differentiation such as magma mixing and crystal settling,because they record a history of changing environmental conditions.Similar major element compositions and unusually low concentrationsof compatible elements (e.g. 0·45–4·6 ppmBa) in early-erupted melt inclusions, matrix glasses and bulkpumice from the Bishop Tuff, California, USA, suggest eutectoidfractional crystallization. On the other hand, late-eruptedsanidine phenocrysts have rims rich in Ba, and late-eruptedquartz phenocrysts have CO₂-rich melt inclusions closest tocrystal rims. Both features are the reverse of in situ crystallizationdifferentiation, and they might be explained by magma mixingor crystal sinking. Log(Ba/Rb) correlates linearly with log(Sr/Rb)in melt inclusions, and this is inconsistent with magma mixing.Melt inclusion gas-saturation pressure increases with CO₂ fromphenocryst core to rim and suggests crystal sinking. Some inclusionsof magnetite in late-erupted quartz are similar to early-eruptedmagnetite phenocrysts, and this too is consistent with crystalsinking. We argue that some large phenocrysts of late-eruptedquartz and sanidine continued to crystallize as they sank severalkilometers through progressively less differentiated melts.Probable diffusive modification of Sr in sanidine phenocrystsand the duration of crystal sinking are consistent with an evolutionaryinterval of some 100 ky or more. Crystal sinking enhanced thedegree of differentiation of the early-erupted magma and pointsto the importance of H₂O (to diminish viscosity and enhancethe rate of crystal sinking) in the evolution of silicic magmas. KEY WORDS: crystal settling; differentiation; melt inclusions; rhyolite; trace elements     

岩浆补给作用对硅质火山岩浆系统演化的制约

硅质火山喷发作为大陆地壳岩浆活动的重要表现，在研究大陆地壳形成与演化、探讨岩浆过程与动力学机制等方面具有重要的价值，其通常所表现的强烈爆炸式喷发，甚至可以导致全球性的环境和气候变迁。硅质岩浆系统在开放体系中不同来源岩浆的贡献和相互作用是目前研究的热点问题。持续的岩浆补给可以延长岩浆存储的时间，促进岩浆房的对流、岩浆的分异演化以及晶体 熔体的分离和晶粥的再活化，同时也是触发火山喷发的重要机制之一。此外，岩浆补给以及硅质岩浆的晶体 熔体演化过程也是火山喷发产物多样性的原因，导致同一火山在其活动过程中喷发产物规律性的变化，如富晶体火山岩、贫晶体火山岩、火山岩成分分层、以及复活岩穹和中央侵入体等。因此，岩浆补给作用是制约硅质火山岩浆系统演化和火山岩成分多样性的重要因素，也是活动火山监测和灾害评估的重要依据。岩石学、岩石地球化学、矿物(长石、石英、石榴子石、锆石等)同位素及成分变化，以及模拟实验、地震层析成像等研究为揭示硅质岩浆系统中的岩浆补给作用和复杂岩浆过程提供了多种视角。     

Timescales of convection in magma chambers below the Mid-Atlantic ridge from melt inclusions investigations

Closed hopper and complex swallowtail morphologies of olivine microcrysts have been described in the past in both mid-oceanic ridge basalts and subaerial tholeitic volcanoes and indicate fluctuations in magma undercooling. We describe similar morphologies in a Mid-Atlantic ridge pillow basalt (sample RD87DR10), and in addition we estimate the duration of temperature fluctuations required to produce these textures as follows: (1) Pairs of melt inclusions are arranged symmetrically around the centre of hopper crystals and each pair represents a heating–cooling cycle. Using the literature olivine growth rates relevant to the observed morphologies, and measuring the distance between two successive inclusions, we estimate the minimum time elapsed during one convection cycle. (2) The major element composition of melt inclusions (analysed by electron microprobe) was found to be in the range of the boundary layer measured in the glass surrounding the olivines, irrespective of their size. Several major elements demonstrate that this boundary layer results from rapid quenching on the seafloor, and not from crystal growth at depth, implying the inclusions had the same composition as the surrounding magma when they were sealed. Using diffusivity of slow diffusing elements such as Al₂O₃, we estimate the minimum time required for inclusion formation. These two independent approaches give concordant results: each cooling–heating cycle lasted between a few minutes and 1 h minimum. Thus, these crystals probably recorded thermal convection in small magmatic bodies (a dyke or shallow magma chamber) during the last hour or hours before eruption.     

晶粥储存、侵入体累积组装与花岗岩成因

花岗质岩浆在地壳内的储存、迁移和分异,是导致大陆地壳生长演化的基本过程.有关地壳岩浆冷储存的新发现,挑战了数十年来深部存在以熔融体为主要组成的大岩浆房的观点.对活火山区的地球物理探测、岩石矿物学研究以及热历史模拟都一致证明,岩浆储库中的物质以晶粥为主,它们长时间处于固相线下的温度条件,属于冷储存状态.今天出露地表的大型侵入岩体,是古岩浆储库的代表,它们大都是在数百万年甚至更长的时间跨度内,多幕式的岩浆输运、累积侵位和多次添加组装而成的.侵入体的累积组装,可以通过岩石单元间接触关系的观察、岩石和矿物成分的不均一性研究以及侵入体内大的结晶时间跨度来证明.地壳浅部大型侵入体的形成,大体积的火山喷发,都要求存在穿地壳的岩浆通道系统,该系统中岩浆主要以岩墙形式将不同深度的岩浆储库串联起来,并通过无数岩床的堆垛而形成巨大的岩株或岩基等侵入体.高分异花岗岩和高硅流纹岩的存在,尤其是火山的超级喷发现象,要求岩浆储库的晶粥体发生活化和分异,而晶粥的解体往往是由于从下部侵入的新岩浆注入了额外的热和流体.保留在岩石中的晶体种群蕴含了侵入体累积组装、晶粥活化和岩浆分异的线索.尤其是再循环晶可以提供岩浆通道系统结构和演变的新信息.未来,在花岗岩成因研究中,重点要从晶粥活化与岩浆分异演化过程、岩浆上升和组装机制、火山岩与侵入岩的成因联系等方面入手,开展岩浆通道系统的跨学科研究,构建花岗岩岩浆过程研究的新范式,深入认识大陆地壳的生长和演化机理.      

Minor- and trace-element zoning in plagioclase: implications for magma chamber processes at Parinacota volcano, northern Chile

Textural and compositional zoning in plagioclase phenocrysts in a sample from Parinacota volcano (Chile) was investigated using backscattered electron images and electron microprobe analysis of major and trace elements. Large (2 mm) oscillatory zoned crystals (type I) with resorption surfaces of moderate An discontinuities (Ⲓ% An) and decreasing trace-element contents (Sr, Mg, Ti) towards the rim reflect melt differentiation and turbulent convection in the main magma body. Early recharge with a low-Sr mafic magma is seen in the core. Small-scale Sr variations in the core indicate limited diffusion and thus residence and differentiation times of the magma shorter than a few thousand years. Smaller crystals (type II) with low trace-element/An ratio reflect the influence of an H₂O-rich melt probably from a differentiated boundary layer. Closed-system in-situ crystallisation, mafic magma recharge and the role of a water-rich differentiated boundary layer can be distinguished from the An-trace element relationships. Crystals apparently move relatively freely between different parts and regimes in the magma chamber, evidence for "convective crystal dispersion". High-Sr type II crystals indicate an earlier input of Sr-rich mafic magma. Recharge of two distinct mafic magma types is thus identified (high-Sr and low-Sr), which must have been present - at increasing recharge rates with time - in the plumbing system throughout the volcano's history.     

Diffusive crystal dissolution

Crystal dissolution may include three component processes: interface reaction, diffusion and complications due to convection. We report here a theoretical and experimental study of crystal dissolution in silicate melt without convection. A reaction-diffusion equation is developed and numerically solved. The results show that during non-convective crystal dissolution in silicate melt, the interface melt composition reaches a constant or stationary saturation composition in less than a second, hence interface reaction is not the rate-determining step and crystal dissolution in silicate melt is usually diffusion-controlled. Crystal dissolution experiments (designed to suppress convection) show that the concentration profiles of all components propagate into the melt according to the square root of run duration, and that the dissolution distance is also proportional to the square root of run duration. Thus our experiments confirm that the dissolution is diffusion controlled, which is consistent with our numerical calculations. For some principal equilibrium-determining components, concentration profiles conform approximately to the analytical solution of the diffusion equation with a constant effective binary diffusion coefficient. Diffusive dissolution rates (which are inversely proportional to square root of time) can thus be predicted from the phase equilibria and the effective binary diffusion coefficients. To predict steady-state convective dissolution rates, the thickness of the boundary layer must be known. If the convective compositional boundary layer thickness around a dissolving crystal aggregate or near the wall of a magma chamber during convection is about 2 cm or larger, then convective dissolution would rarely result in any significant alteration of original melt. Our dissolution experiments also illustrate the complexity of the diffusion process. Uphill diffusion is common, especially during olivine dissolution into andesitic melt where a majority of the components show the effect of diffusion up their own concentration gradients. Uphill diffusion has implications to the understanding of crystal zoning, and suggests caution is required in applying least squares mass balance analysis to magmatic rocks affected by processes involving diffusion.     

A Fluid-Dynamical Study of Crystal Settling in Convecting Magmas

Thermal convection in magma chambers is believed to be almostalways highly time-dependent, or ‘turbulent’, andpredicted convective velocities are commonly orders of magnitudelarger than settling velocities for typical crystals calculatedfrom Stokes' Law. To understand crystal settling in magma chamberswe have therefore undertaken a theoretical and experimentalstudy of particle settling in a turbulently convecting fluid. The regime of interest is where the ratio, S, of the Stokes'Law settling velocity, v_s, to the root mean square verticalcomponent of convective velocity, W, at mid-depth in the fluidis less than unity. Although v_s < W, settling is still possiblebecause convective velocities are height-dependent and mustdecrease to zero at the boundaries of the fluid. Particles immediatelyadjacent to the bottom boundary settle out with their full Stokes'settling velocities. At the same time, convection is vigorousenough to ensure that the distribution of particles in the fluidis uniform. It follows that the number of particles in suspensiondecays with time according to an exponential law, and the decayconstant is simply the ratio of v_s to h, the depth of the fluid.Experiments confirm this relationship, at least for low particleconcentrations, provided S < 0.5 and there is no re-entrainmentof particles from the floor of the tank. We apply this relationship to crystals in magma chambers andso calculate residence times for typical crystals. We find thatfor basaltic magmas the predicted residence times are smallcompared with the many thousands of years that a chamber takesto solidify if cooling is dominated by conduction through thecountry rock. We therefore conclude that crystal settling maybe an efficient differentiation mechanism. Significant magmaticevolution may, however, take place on time-scales that are competitivewith these residence times. If the settling of crystals is the rate-limiting step duringthe crystallization of a magma chamber it is expected that asteady state will be achieved at which the rate of supply ofcrystals into the convecting magma by crystallization balancesthe rate at which crystals settle out. We show how this ideacan explain both the lack of hydraulic equivalence in cumulaterocks and the commonly observed discrepancy between the relativeproportions of phenocrysts of various phases in fractionatedbasaltic lavas and the calculated relative proportions of thesemineral phases in the fractionating assemblage. Finally, anattempt is made to calculate the steady-state crystal contentof convecting magma chambers. Comparison of the predicted crystalcontents with the observed phenocryst contents of typical basalticlavas suggests that magma chambers may often cool more rapidlythan would be expected for conduction through the country rockalone.     

Petrogenesis of the Greenhills Complex,Southland, New Zealand: magmatic differentiation and cumulate formation at the roots of a Permian island-arc volcano

A Permian (~265 Ma) intrusive complex which formed as a magmatic feeder reservoir to an immature island-arc volcano is fortuitously exposed in southern New Zealand. Known as the Greenhills Complex, this intrusion was emplaced at shallow crustal levels and consists of two layered bodies which were later intruded by a variety of dykes. Cumulates, which include dunite, olivine clinopyroxenite, olivine gabbro, and hornblende gabbro-norite, are related products of parent-magma fractionation. Both primary (magmatic) and secondary platinum-group minerals occur within dunite at one locality. Using the composition of cumulus minerals, mafic dykes and melt inclusions, we have determined that the parent magmas of the complex were hydrous, low-K island-arc tholeiites of ankaramitic affinities. Progressive magmatic differentiation of this parent magma generated fractionated melt of high-alumina basalt composition which is now preserved only as dykes which cut the Complex. Field evidence and cumulus mineral profiles reveal that the magma chambers experienced turbulent magmatic conditions during cumulate-rock formation. Recharge of the chambers by primitive magma is likely to have coincided with eruption of residual melt at the surface. Similar processes are inferred to account for volcanic-rock compositions in other parts of this arc terrane and in modern island-arc systems.     

加勒比海小安德列斯岛弧Kick’emJenny海底火山岩的斜长石成分环带:示踪大洋岛弧岩浆房的演化

我们对采自于加勒比海地区小安德列斯岛弧(Lesser Antilles Arc)Kick’em Jenny(KEJ)海底火山玄武岩中的斜长石斑晶进行了矿物形态和成分分析。利用电子探针(EMPA)和LA-ICP-MS测定了具有环带结构的斜长石斑晶中主量元素的空间分布,同时也利用LA-ICP-MS分析了斜长石中Sr的分布。结果表明,在不同的矿物斑晶中,元素含量均表现出和环带结构相联系的空间分布变化。斜长石斑晶中最主要的结构为韵律环带以及熔蚀结构,所测定的矿物边缘都存在An值从由内向外迅速降低的致密韵律环带,可能反映了快速结晶时的不平衡;而晶体内部的稀疏韵律环带结构是由岩浆填充或对流活动导致的。部分斜长石的熔蚀层An值由内向外升高,反映了高Ca岩浆填充的过程。这说明斜长石斑晶的矿物形态和元素环带可以用来制约俯冲带海底火山岩浆从源区上升到岩浆房再到喷发的复杂过程,包括岩浆演化、熔体多次填充、熔体与结晶矿物之间的反应、以及矿物再熔融等。这对于理解海底火山的喷发以及岛弧岩浆岩的演化有重要意义。     

岩浆运移动力学及其研究进展

岩浆运移动力学是岩浆动力学的重要分支领域,研究内容包括5个方面：运移方式、运移通道、运移途径、运移动力与运移过程的成矿作用。就这5方面的研究进展进行了系统回顾,对尚待进一步研究的科学问题进行了归纳与总结,指出浮力不是弹性岩石圈岩浆运移上升的驱动力,而上地幔岩浆运移方式、弹性岩石圈岩浆往上运移驱动力、岩浆自主破裂形成的动力学机制、中途停歇岩浆重起动再运移的驱动机制、岩浆再停歇和运移过程的结晶与分异及其与围岩相互作用和伴生的元素富集与成矿作用等问题是岩浆运移动力学是尚待进一步攻关与研究的关键性科学问题。     

The permeability controlled accumulation of primary magma

The initial accumulation of primary magma occurs just after the mantle has become permeable. The accumulation is caused by the compaction of the residuum, which either may be controlled by the rate of creep, or by the rate of flow of the interstitial melt. Experimental results suggest that the rate of compaction is controlled by the permeability, and a model for the accumulation process is worked out on this basis. The compaction causes the formation of a lower compaction boundary and an upper layer of melt. The ascending mantle of plumes and convection currents will form layers of melt situated 20–100 m apart. The type of partial melting for this accumulation is critical melting.     

The fluid dynamics of a basaltic magma chamber replenished by influx of hot,dense ultrabasic magma

This paper describes a fluid dynamical investigation of the influx of hot, dense ultrabasic magma into a reservoir containing lighter, fractionated basaltic magma. This situation is compared with that which develops when hot salty water is introduced under cold fresh water. Theoretical and empirical models for salt/water systems are adapted to develop a model for magmatic systems. A feature of the model is that the ultrabasic melt does not immediately mix with the basalt, but spreads out over the floor of the chamber, forming an independent layer. A non-turbulent interface forms between this layer and the overlying magma layer across which heat and mass are transferred by the process of molecular diffusion. Both layers convect vigorously as heat is transferred to the upper layer at a rate which greatly exceeds the heat lost to the surrounding country rock. The convection continues until the two layers have almost the same temperature. The compositions of the layers remain distinct due to the low diffusivity of mass compared to heat. The temperatures of the layers as functions of time and their cooling rate depend on their viscosities, their thermal properties, the density difference between the layers and their thicknesses. For a layer of ultrabasic melt (18% MgO) a few tens of metres thick at the base of a basaltic (10% MgO) magma chamber a few kilometres thick, the temperature of the layers will become nearly identical over a period of between a few months and a few years. During this time the turbulent convective velocities in the ultrabasic layer are far larger than the settling velocity of olivines which crystallise within the layer during cooling. Olivines only settle after the two layers have nearly reached thermal equilibrium. At this stage residual basaltic melt segregates as the olivines sediment in the lower layer. Depending on its density, the released basalt can either mix convectively with the overlying basalt layer, or can continue as a separate layer. The model provides an explanation for large-scale cyclic layering in basic and ultrabasic intrusions. The model also suggests reasons for the restriction of erupted basaltic liquids to compositions with MgO<10% and the formation of some quench textures in layered igneous rocks.     

The fluid dynamics of a basaltic magma chamber replenished by influx of hot,dense ultrabasic magma

This paper describes a fluid dynamical investigation of the influx of hot, dense ultrabasic magma into a reservoir containing lighter, fractionated basaltic magma. This situation is compared with that which develops when hot salty water is introduced under cold fresh water. Theoretical and empirical models for salt/water systems are adapted to develop a model for magmatic systems. A feature of the model is that the ultrabasic melt does not immediately mix with the basalt, but spreads out over the floor of the chamber, forming an independent layer. A non-turbulent interface forms between this layer and the overlying magma layer across which heat and mass are transferred by the process of molecular diffusion. Both layers convect vigorously as heat is transferred to the upper layer at a rate which greatly exceeds the heat lost to the surrounding country rock. The convection continues until the two layers have almost the same temperature. The compositions of the layers remain distinct due to the low diffusivity of mass compared to heat. The temperatures of the layers as functions of time and their cooling rate depend on their viscosities, their thermal properties, the density difference between the layers and their thicknesses. For a layer of ultrabasic melt (18% MgO) a few tens of metres thick at the base of a basaltic (10% MgO) magma chamber a few kilometres thick, the temperature of the layers will become nearly identical over a period of between a few months and a few years. During this time the turbulent convective velocities in the ultrabasic layer are far larger than the settling velocity of olivines which crystallise within the layer during cooling. Olivines only settle after the two layers have nearly reached thermal equilibrium. At this stage residual basaltic melt segregates as the olivines sediment in the lower layer. Depending on its density, the released basalt can either mix convectively with the overlying basalt layer, or can continue as a separate layer. The model provides an explanation for large-scale cyclic layering in basic and ultrabasic intrusions. The model also suggests reasons for the restriction of erupted basaltic liquids to compositions with MgO<10% and the formation of some quench textures in layered igneous rocks.     

花岗岩体的累积生长与高结晶度岩浆的分异

花岗岩成因研究是认识大陆地壳形成和分异的有效方式。野外地质和地球物理观测、岩石学和地质年代学研究以及热演化模拟证明,很多花岗岩体是在数百万年甚至更长的时间跨度内、由多次岩浆累积添加侵位而成的。地壳内可能不存在岩基尺度的大岩浆房,具有流动能力的岩浆体一般规模很小(宽度1000m)。1000m宽的岩浆体冷凝到固相线只需要数千年时间。复式岩体的形成一般要经历三个阶段,即源区岩浆沿岩墙的上升、在脆-韧性地层界面处岩墙转化为岩床以及无数的岩床的垂向堆垛导致侵入体长大。存在于上地壳的岩浆储库,特别是多次先后侵位产生的岩浆体,主体上是晶粥体,其晶体含量高,粘度大,活动性弱,不利于发生对流、分异和混合。当幔源镁铁质岩浆大规模注入到地壳时,使粘稠的晶粥状岩浆受到加热,熔体含量增大,岩浆的粘度降低,引起岩浆体内部的成分分异和不同成分的岩浆之间的混合;当逐渐加厚的熔体层产生了足够大的浮力后,特别是有挥发份加入后,就会快速上升,甚至穿透上部的晶粥体,触发大规模的火山喷发。幔源岩浆的通量越大,地壳岩浆的活动性也越强,大规模的长英质岩浆聚集就可能发生大喷发,形成超级火山。本文提出,只有将侵入岩与火山岩相结合、长英质岩石与镁铁质岩石相结合,重点从侵入体形成的时间长短、岩浆相互作用的规模和频率、岩浆通量的演变、高结晶度的岩浆分异机理、侵入岩与火山岩的关系、地幔热和物质的贡献、挥发份在岩浆分异和火山喷发中的作用等方面入手,开展野外地质、岩石学、地球化学、同位素年代学及岩浆动力学的综合研究,才能深入认识花岗岩的成因机制,深化对大陆地壳形成和演化过程的理解。