Projects per year
Abstract
The majority of basaltic magmas stall in the Earth’s crust as a result of the rheological evolution caused by crystallization during transport. However, the relationships between crystallinity, rheology and eruptibility remain uncertain because it is difficult to observe dynamic magma crystallization in real time. Here, we present the first in-situ 4D data for crystal growth kinetics and the textural evolution of pyroxene during crystallization of trachybasaltic magmas in high-temperature experiments under water-saturated conditions at crustal pressures. We observe dendritic growth of pyroxene on initially euhedral cores, and a surprisingly rapid increase in crystal fraction and aspect ratio at undercooling ≥30 °C. Rapid dendritic crystallization favours a rheological transition from Newtonian to non-Newtonian behaviour within minutes. We use a numerical model to quantify the impact of rapid dendritic crystallization on basaltic dike propagation, and demonstrate its dramatic effect on magma mobility and eruptibility. Our results provide new insights into the processes that control whether intrusions lead to eruption or not.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Nature Communications |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 10 Jun 2022 |
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Petrology and volcanology
Burton, M., Hartley, M., Mccormick Kilbride, B., Neave, D., Pawley, A., Polacci, M., Biagioli, E., Bonechi, B., Esse, B., Delbrel, J., Höhn, M., Pardo Cofrades, A., Romero Moyano, J., Stewart, A. & Subbaraman, R.
Project: Research
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Quantifying disequilbrium processes in basaltic volcanism
Burton, M., Hartley, M. & Lee, P.
1/09/16 → 31/08/21
Project: Research
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Shedding New Light on Volcanoes: Real Time Synchroton X-Ray Tomography of Magmatic Phenomena
Lee, P.
1/06/15 → 31/05/18
Project: Research