Bruce D. Marsh

On the crystallinity, probability of occurrence, and rheology of lava and magma

Given a set of comagmatic lavas of similar composition but varying crystallinity, a diagram can be constructed using only the modes of the phenocrysts that quantitively shows the sequence of crystallization. This is done by plotting the amount of each phenocryst against the total crystallinity or percentage of melt of the lava itself. A histogram of the total phenocryst content measures the probability of the magma to be erupted as lava. This eruption probability (PE) is the product of the probability of finding the magma at any state of crystallinity (thermal probability, PT) and the rheological probability (PR) of the magma being physically able to erupt (i.e. PE=PTPR). It is shown that PE is given by dX/dT, where X is the crystallinity of the magma as a function of temperature (T). Because crystal production is generally nonlinear—in most rocks it is step-like—PE is a bellshaped curve stradling the temperature at which the magma is one half crystallized. Near the liquidus it is most favorable rheologically for the magma to erupt. But the probability is small of sampling a magma near its liquidus, because it cools quickly there. It is maximum when there are high rates of crystal production, because it then cools slowly. As the crystallinity increases, it reaches a critical point of maximum packing (i.e. lowest porosity) around 50–60% crystals where it becomes rheologically impossible to erupt. The magma looses its potential to become a lava and it becomes a pluton. From a histogram of crystallinity and PT,PR can be found. This technique, as well as the construction of the mode-crystallization (M-C) diagram, is illustrated using a set of Aleutian lavas. These lavas also show that the point of critical crystallinity decreases with increasing silica content of the lava. Because this critical crystallinity is much lower for granitic magmas, they are much more probable than basaltic magmas to become plutons. Beyond this point, granitic magmas can only erupt as ash flows. This correlation of critical crystallinity and silica content is used to show a method by which the viscosity of the magma can be estimated as a function of crystallinity. This variation is found to compare favorably with Roscoes equation of the dependence of viscosity on the concentration of suspended solids. These results show that differentiation probably can not normally take place beyond this critical crystallinity. The extraction of melt beyond this critical point by filter pressing is unlikely because the assemblage dilates upon stressing. Only if the phenocrysts deform viscously can additional melt be extracted, and this can probably only occur with large (−30km) bodies.

Crystal size distribution (CSD) in rocks and the kinetics and dynamics of crystallization

Crystal-size in crystalline rocks is a fundamental measure of growth rate and age. And if nucleation spawns crystals over a span of time, a broad range of crystal sizes is possible during crystallization. A population balance based on the number density of crystals of each size generally predicts a log-linear distribution with increasing size. The negative slope of such a distribution is a measure of the product of overall population growth rate and mean age and the zero size intercept is nucleation density. Crystal size distributions (CSDs) observed for many lavas are smooth and regular, if not actually linear, when so plotted and can be interpreted using the theory of CSDs developed in chemical engineering by Randolph and Larson (1971). Nucleation density, nucleation and growth rates, and orders of kinetic reactions can be estimated from such data, and physical processes affecting the CSD (e.g. crystal fractionation and accumulation, mixing of populations, annealing in metamorphic and plutonic rocks, and nuclei destruction) can be gauged through analytical modeling. CSD theory provides a formalism for the macroscopic study of kinetic and physical processes affecting crystallization, within which the explicit affect of chemical and physical processes on the CSD can be analytically tested. It is a means by which petrographic information can be quantitatively linked to the kinetics of crystallization, and on these grounds CSDs furnish essential information supplemental to laboratory kinetic studies. In this three part series of papers, Part I provides the general CSD theory in a geological context, while applications to igneous and metamorphic rocks are given, respectively, in Parts II and III.

Crystal size distribution (CSD) in rocks and the kinetics and dynamics of crystallization II: Makaopuhi lava lake

Crystal size distribution (CSD) theory has been applied to drill core samples from Makaopuhi lava lake, Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii. Plagioclase and Fe-Ti oxide size distribution spectra were measured and population densities (n)were calculated and analyzed using a steady state crystal population balance equation: n=n0 exp(-L/Gτ). Slopes on ln(n) versus crystal size (L) plots determine the parameter Gτ, a. product of average crystal growth rate (G) and average crystal growth time (τ). The intercept is J/G where J is nucleation rate. Known temperature-depth distributions for the lava lake provide an estimate of effective growth time (τ), allowing nucleation and growth rates to be determined that are independent of any kinetic model. Plagioclase growth rates decrease with increasing crystallinity (9.9−5.4×10−11 cm/s), as do plagioclase nucleation rates (33.9−1.6×10−3/cm3 s). Ilmenite growth and nucleation rates also decrease with increasing crystallinity (4.9−3.4 ×10−10 cm/s and 15−2.2×10−3/cm3 s, respectively). Magnetite growth and nucleation rates are also estimated from the one sample collected below the magnetite liquidus (G =2.9×10−10 cm/s, J=7.6×10−2/cm3 s). Moments of the population density function were used to examine the change in crystallization rates with time. Preliminary results suggest that total crystal volume increases approximately linearly with time after ∼50% crystallization; a more complete set of samples is needed for material with <50% crystals to define the entire crystallization history. Comparisons of calculated crystallization rates with experimental data suggests that crystallization in the lava lake occurred at very small values of undercooling. This interpretation is consistent with proposed thermal models of magmatic cooling, where heat loss is balanced by latent heat production to maintain equilibrium cooling.

Some Aleutian Andesites: Their Nature and Source

Selected Late Tertiary and Quaternary lavas from the Aleutian localities of Adak, Great Sitkin, Cold Bay, and Amak have been studied. Bulk rock analyses as well as electron probe analyses of the major phases are presented. The lavas, basaltic andesites, and andesites are characterized by high

On the distribution and separation of crystals in convecting magma

SiO_{2}, Al_{2}O_{3}, K_{2}O, Sr

On the Cooling of Ascending Andesitic Magma

, and Ba and low MgO, Ni, Cr, Co, and Yb (relative to ocean ridge tholeiites). Anorthite-rich plagioclase, magnetite, and large clinopyroxenes typify the phenocryst assemblage, while, in general, orthopyroxene occurs in those lavas possessing more than about 51.5 wt %

The Sudbury Igneous Complex: Viscous emulsion differentiation of a superheated impact melt sheet

SiO_{2}