Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-mkpzs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T10:55:21.486Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The production of chemically stratified and adcumulate plutonic igneous rocks

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 July 2018

Stephen R. Tait  and
Claude Jaupart
Stephen R. Tait
Affiliation:
Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, 4, Place Jussieu, 75252 Paris, France
Claude Jaupart
Affiliation:
Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, 4, Place Jussieu, 75252 Paris, France
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

We review recent advances on the physical principles of crystallization in multicomponent systems, and use them to provide a framework for interpreting petrological and geochemical observations from igneous intrusions. The thermal structure of crystallizing boundary layers imposes strong constraints on the chemical and mineralogical compositions of the solid that can form from a given melt. The thermal problem is largely independent of the chemical composition of the melt, and sets the course of crystallization. A key problem to understand is the temperature of the solidification front (which we take to mean that point at which the last drop of liquid solidifies) particularly in the geologically relevant case in which the temperature at the cold boundary is below the eutectic temperature. Focussing on the solidification front rather than on the liquidus is a valuable perspective. Adcumulus growth requires specific conditions and much can be learned from trying to understand how these can develop from given starting conditions. We discuss the physical reasons and field evidence for the existence of mushy layers, where solid fraction and temperature vary by large amounts. In such regions of the magma chamber, thermodynamic equilibrium is nearly achieved locally and, for a given temperature, this specifies the composition of the interstitial melt. Thus, in a magma chamber, the whole liquid line of descent is present simultaneously. Compositional convection is likely to set in, and this exchange between the interior of the mushy layer and the main reservoir leads to a chemically stratified solid, and to adcumulus growth. The contribution of crystal settling to the floor cumulates is evaluated as a function of the magnitude of convective heat flux through the roof. It is shown that crystal settling is unlikely to overwhelm in-situ nucleation and growth at the floor.

Keywords

Multi-component systemscrystallizing boundary layeradcumulus growth
Type
The 1995 Hallimond Lecture
Information
Mineralogical Magazine , Volume 60 , Issue 398 , February 1996 , pp. 99 - 114
Copyright
Copyright © The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 1996

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bowen, N.L. (1928) The evolution of igneous rocks. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey.Google Scholar
Brandeis, G., Jaupart, C. and Allegre, C.J. (1984) Nucleation, crystal growth and the thermal regime of cooling magmas. J. Geophys. Res., 89, 10161–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brandeis, G. and Jaupart, C. (1987) The kinetics of nucleation and growth and scaling laws for magmatic crystallization. Contrib. Mineral. Petrol., 96, 24–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, G.M. (1956) The layered ultrabasic rocks of Rhum, Inner Hebrides. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. London B240, 1–53.Google Scholar
Cawthorn, R.G. and McCarthy, T.S. (1980) Variations in Cr content of magnetite from the upper zone of the Bushveld Complex — evidence for heterogeneity and convection currents in magma chambers. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 46, 335–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cawthorn, R.G. and McCarthy, T.S. (1985) Incompatible trace element behaviour in the Bushveld Complex. Econ. GeoL, 80, 1016–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davaille, A. and Jaupart, C. (1993a) Transient high Rayleigh number thermal convection with large viscosity variations. J. Fluid Mech., 253, 141–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davaille, A. and Jaupart, C. (1993^) Thermal convection in lava lakes. Geophys. Res. Lett., 20, 1827–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elliott, R. (1977) Eutectic solidification. Intern. Metal Rev., 219, 161–86.Google Scholar
Helz, R.T. (1980) Crystallization history of Kilauea Iki lava lake as seen in drill core recovered in 1967-1979. Bull. Volcanol., 43-4, 675-701.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Helz, R.T. (1987) Differentiation behavior of Kilauea Iki lava lake, Kilauea volcano, Hawaii: an overview of past and current work. In: Magmatic processes: Physicochemical principles. (Mysen, B.O., ed.) Geochemical Society Special publication 1, 241—58.Google Scholar
Helz, R.T. and Thornber, C.R. (1987) Geothermometry of Kilauea Iki lva lake, Hawaii. Bull. Volcanol., 49, 651 —68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Helz, R.T., Kirschenbaum, H. and Marinenko, J.W. (1989) Diapiric transfer of melt in Kilauea Iki lava lake, Hawaii: A quick, efficient process of igneous differentiation. Geol Soc. Amer. Bull., 101, 578–94.2.3.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hess, G.B. (1972) Heat and mass transport during crystallization of the Stillwater Igneous Complex. Geol. Soc. Amer. Mem., 132, 503–20.Google Scholar
Hess, H.H. (1960) Stillwater Igneous Complex. Geol. Soc. Mem., 80, 230 pp.Google Scholar
Hunter, R.H. (1987) Textural equilibrium in layered igneous rocks. In: Origins of Igneous Layering. (Parsons, I., ed.) NATO ASI Series 196, 473—501.Google Scholar
Huppert, H.E. and Sparks, R.S.J. (1980) The fluid dynamics of a basaltic magma chamber, replenished by an influx of hot, dense ultrabasic magma. Contrib. Mineral. Petrol., 75, 279–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huppert, H.E. and Worster, M.G. (1985) Dynamic solidification of a binary alloy. Nature, 314, 703.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Irvine, T.N. and Sharpe, M.R. (1986) Magma mixing and the origin of stratiform oxide ore zones in the Bushveld and Stillwater complexes. In: Metallurgy of Basic and Ultrabasic Rocks. (Gallagher, M.J. Ixer, R.A. Neary, C.R. and Prichard, H.M., eds.) Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, London. 183—98.Google Scholar
Irvine, T.N. and Smith, C.H. (1967) The ultramafic rocks of the Muskox Intrusion. In: Ultramafic and related rocks.(Wyllie, P.J., ed.) John Wiley & Sons, N. York, pp. 38–49.Google Scholar
Jarvis, R.A. and Woods, A.W. (1994) The nucleation, growth and settling of crystals from a turbulently convecting fluid.J. Fluid Mech., 273, 83 — 107.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koyaguchi, T., Hallworth, M.A. and Huppert, H.E. (1993) An experimental study on the effects of phenocrysts on convection in magmas. J. Volcanol. and Geotherm. Res., 55, 15–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Langmuir, C.H. (1989) Geochemical consequences of in-situ crystallization. Nature, 340, 199–205.Google Scholar
Marsh, B.D. and Maxey, M.R. (1985) On the distribution and separation of crystals in convecting magma. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res., 24, 95–150.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martin, D. and Nokes, R. (1988) A fluid dynamical study of crystal settling in convecting magmas. J. Petrol., 30, 1471–500.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McBirney, A.R. and Noyes, R.M. (1979) Crystallization and layering of the Skaergaard Intrusion. J. Petrol, 20, 487–554.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morse, S. A. (1982) Adcumulus growth of anorthosite at the base of the lunar crust. Proc. 13th Lunar and Planet. Sci. Conf. J. Geophys. Res. Suppl to vols. 87 and 88.Google Scholar
Mullins, W.W. and Sekerka, R.F. (1964). Stability of a planar interface during the solidification of a binary alloy. J. Appl. Phys., 35, 444–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Page, N.J. (1979) Stillwater complex, Montana — Structure, mineralogy, and petrology of the Basal Zone with emphasis on the occurrence of sulphides. U.S. Geol. Surv. Prof. Paper, 1038, 69 pp.Google Scholar
Richter, D.H. and Moore, J.G. (1966) Petrology of the Kilauea Iki lava lake, Hawaii. U.S. Geol Surv. Prof, paper, 537-E, 73 pp.Google Scholar
Roberts, P. H. and Loper, D.E. (1983) Towards a theory of the structure and evolution of a dendrite layer. In: Stellar and Planetary Magnetism. (Soward, A., ed.) Gordon and Breach, London pp. 329—49.Google Scholar
Shirley, D.N. (1987) Differentiation and compaction in the Palisades sill, New Jersey. J. Petrol., 28, 835–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, V.G., Tiller, W.A. and Rutter, J.W. (1955) A mathematical analysis of solute redistribution during solidification. Canad. J. Phys., 33, 723–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sparks, R.S.J., Huppert, H.E. and Turner, J.S. (1984) The fluid dynamics of evolving magma chambers. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. A310, 511—34.Google Scholar
Sparks, R.S.J., Huppert, H.E., Koyaguchi, T. and Hallworth, M.A. (1993) Origin of modal and rhythmic igneous layering by sedimentation in a convecting magma chamber. Nature, 361, 246–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tait, S.R., Huppert, H.E. and Sparks, R.S.J. (1984) The role of compositional convection in the formation of adcumulate rocks. Lithos, 17, 139–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tait, S.R. and Jaupart, C. (1989) Compositional convection in viscous melts. Nature, 338, 571–4.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tait, S.R. and Jaupart, C. (1992a) Compositional convection in a reactive crystalline mush and melt differentiation. J. Geophys. Res., 97, 6735–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tait, S.R. and Jaupart, C. (1992b) Convection and macrosegregation in magma chambers. In: Interactive Dynamics of Convection and Solidification.(Davis, S.H. et aieds.) Kluwer, 241–60.Google Scholar
Wager, L.R. (1963) The mechanism of adcumulus growth in the layered series of the Skaergaard Intrusion. Min. Soc. of America Special Paper, 1, 1–9.Google Scholar
Wager, L.R. and Brown, G.M. (1968) Layered Igneous Rocks. Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh, 588 pp.Google Scholar
Woods, A.W. and Huppert, H.E. (1989) The growth of a compositionally stratified solid above a horizontal boundary. J. Fluid Mech., 199, 29–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Worster, M.G. (1983) Convective flow problems in geological fluid mechanics. PhD Thesis (University of Cambridge).Google Scholar
Worster, M.G. (1986) Solidification of an alloy from a cooled boundary. J. Fluid Mech., 167, 481.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Worster, M.G. (1992) Instabilities of the liquid and mushy regions during solidification of alloys. J. Fluid Mech., 237, 649–69.Google Scholar
Wright, T.L., Peck, D.L. and Shaw, H.R. (1976) Kilauea lava lakes: natural laboratories for study of cooling, crystallization and differentiation of basaltic magma. In: The Geophysics of the Pacific Ocean Basin and its Margin.(Sutton, G.H. Manghnani, M.H. and Moberly, R., eds.) American Geophysical Union Monograph 19, 375—90.Google Scholar