Convective Regimes in Crystallizing Basaltic Magma Chambers

Abstract:

Cooling through the chamber walls drives crystallisation in crustal magma chambers, resulting in a cumulate pile on the floor and mushy regions at the walls and roof. The liquid in many magma chambers, either the bulk magma or the interstitial liquid in the mushy regions, may convect, driven either thermally, due to cooling, or compositionally, due to fractional crystallization.

We have constructed a regime diagram of the possible convective modes in a system containing a basal mushy layer. These modes depend on the large-scale buoyancy forcing characterised by a global Rayleigh number and the proportion of the chamber height constituting the basal mushy region. We have tested this regime diagram using an analogue experimental system composed of a fluid layer overlying a pile of almost neutrally buoyant inert particles. Convection in this system is driven thermally, simulating magma convection above and within a porous cumulate pile. We observe a range of possible convective regimes, enabling us to produce a regime diagram. In addition to modes characterised by convection of the bulk and interstitial fluid, we also observe a series of regimes where the crystal pile is mobilised by fluid motions. These regimes feature saltation and scouring of the crystal pile by convection in the bulk fluid at moderate Rayleigh numbers, and large crystal-rich fountains at high Rayleigh numbers. For even larger Rayleigh numbers the entire crystal pile is mobilised in what we call the snowglobe regime.

The observed mobilisation regimes may be applicable to basaltic magma chambers. Plagioclase in basal cumulates crystallised from a dense magma may be a result of crystal mobilisation from a plagioclase-rich roof mush. Compositional convection within such a mush could result in disaggregation, enabling the buoyant plagioclase to be entrained in relatively dense descending liquid plumes and brought to the floor. The phenocryst load in porphyritic lavas is often interpreted as a disaggregated crystal mush. Such disaggregation may be caused by magma chamber replenishment, depending on the relative densities and temperatures of the resident and replenishing magma. If the new magma increases the Rayleigh number of either the bulk fluid or the fluid in the mushy layer, the resultant increased convective vigour may disaggregate the crystal pile.