Komatiites II: Experimental and Theoretical Investigations of Post-emplacement Cooling and Crystallization

When komatiite lavas are emplaced on the sea floor most of theheat transfer occurs through the upper lava-seawater boundary.We have investigated the cooling and crystallization of komatiitesusing a series of analogue laboratory experiments with aqueoussolutions and by theoretical analysis. In komatiites the viscosityis sufficiently low that convection occurs in the interior ofthe flow and these motions, due both to thermal and compositionalvariations, have an important influence on the characteristicfeatures of komatiites such as the strong compositional andtextural layering. The experiments have been conducted with crystallizing aqueoussolutions which display the same overall dynamical processesas solidifying komatiites. The solutions used are simple eutecticsystems having the property that crystallization from a solutionwhich is substantially more concentrated than the eutectic compositionleaves behind residual fluid which is less dense than the originalfluid. This models the decrease in density of komatiite meltson cooling, due to the crystallization of olivine. Such solutionshave been cooled strongly through the metal roof of an otherwiseinsulated container, using a typical fluid depth of 80 mm. Dendriticcrystals grew down vertically from the roof and released lightfluid, depleted in solute, which rose to form a zone of stagnantfluid at the top of the container, while the tips of the crystalsextended just below the bottom of this light layer. A layerof solid eutectic, with a horizontal front, grew more slowlyand filled in the space between the vertically oriented crystals. The growth of the crystals and the eutectic layer were monitoredvisually, and in some experiments the temperatures at the topand in the fluid were recorded, until solidification throughoutthe layer was complete. The solid block was sampled, and themelted products analysed to give vertical concentration profiles.Both the texture and composition are strongly influenced bythe fluid conditions during crystal growth. The top concentrationis that of the original solution, rapidly quenched against theroof, and the mean concentration through the region influencedby the stable fluid layer is also close to the original. Atthe bottom the concentration is high, reflecting the in situgrowth of close-packed crystals, and there is a sharp decreasein concentration at an intermediate level, between the upperand lower crystal layers. The experiments and associated theory shed new light on theconsolidation of komatiites and the development of their characteristictextures and compositions. Since the lava is convecting withinthe interior, the early stages of cooling are characterizedby a rapid decrease in temperature. Initial cooling rates of1 to 100 °C h^–1 are calculated. At this stage thecrust remains thin, but as the spinifex zone develops, convectionprogressively decreases in vigour and the cooling rate decreases.Spinifex texture is considered to form by constitutional supercoolingwhich is controlled by compositional convection. As the spinifextexture develops, the olivine dendrites form a layer of depletedfluid. The tips of the crystals extend beyond this differentiatedlayer into a convecting lower region and grow preferentiallyto produce the characteristic vertically oriented spinifex texture.The composition of spinifex zones is shown to be close, butnot identical, to the initial liquid composition. The compositionalprofiles of the solid products of the experiments are similarto those found in komatiites, with the most evolved rock compositionsbeing found just above the cumulate zone. The experiments alsosuggest an alternative explanation to crystal settling for thecumulate zone, in which growth of the spinifex zone by compositionalconvection concentrates crystals suspended within the turbulentlyconvecting lower layer.