Abstract
The intimate mixing between different magmas of disparate densities, characteristic of some calc-alkaline magma systems, is explained by a new mechanism involving the emplacement of a layer of wet undersaturated mafic magma at the base of a magma chamber containing more differentiated magma. Turbulent transfer of heat between the mafic magma and the overlying magma leads to crystallization and exsolution of volatiles in the lower layer. For an initial water content of a few per cent the bulk density of the mafic magma can become equal to that of the overlying magma causing overturning and intimate mixing of the magmas. The mechanism is most probable in the low pressure environment of a high level magma chamber.
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Huppert, H., Sparks, R. & Turner, J. Effects of volatiles on mixing in calc-alkaline magma systems. Nature 297, 554–557 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1038/297554a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/297554a0
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