Viscosity of crystal-bearing melts and its implication for magma ascent

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer review

Authors

  • Francesco Vetere
  • Harald Behrens
  • Francois Holtz
  • Giuseppe Vilardo
  • Guido Ventura

Research Organisations

External Research Organisations

  • University of Calabria
  • Istituto Nazionale Di Geofisica E Vulcanologia, Rome
View graph of relations

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)151-163
Number of pages13
JournalJournal of Mineralogical and Petrological Sciences
Volume105
Issue number3
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2010

Abstract

Experiments were performed at high temperature and pressure to determine the effective viscosity of a crystalbearing andesite using the falling sphere method. Because viscosity experiments with partly crystallized samples are difficult to realize (i.e., due to high sensitivity of phase equilibria to P, T and water content), we have added zircon crystals to adjust precisely the volume fraction and the size of crystals in a magma. Using this approach, the anhydrous melt composition does not vary significantly with temperature and water content of the melt and, hence, the effects of crystals on effective viscosity can be worked out accurately. The investigated systems (magma analogue) were composed of an andesitic melt containing 0.5 wt% to 4.1 wt% H2O and 15 vol% to 40 vol% of zircon crystals with grain size <100 μm. Most experiments were performed at 300 MPa and 1523 K. The ZrO2 content dissolved in the melt under these conditions is 1.61 wt% ± 0.16 wt% (0.5-4.0 wt% H2O in melt) with no significant dependence on water content, which is about twice the value predicted by the model of Watson and Harrison (1983). The falling velocity of large platinum spheres was measured in the experimental magmas. The radius of the spheres (between 130 μm and 510 μm) was always much larger than the crystal sizes and the inter-grain distances, implying that the falling velocity of the spheres can be used to calculate the effective viscosity of the magmas. For magmas containing 15 vol% zircon, the measured viscosity was 0.7 log to 1.6 log units higher than the melt viscosity. The effective magma viscosity is higher than expected from literature models. The spheres did not move in systems containing 30 vol% to 40 vol% of crystals, even after 16 h at 1523 K. We attribute this observation to the presence of yield strength of more than 100 Pa, i.e., a threshold of accelerating force needs to be passed before the sphere can move in the magma.

Keywords

    Crystal-bearing andesite, Falling sphere method, Magma, Viscosity, ZrO solubility

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Cite this

Viscosity of crystal-bearing melts and its implication for magma ascent. / Vetere, Francesco; Behrens, Harald; Holtz, Francois et al.
In: Journal of Mineralogical and Petrological Sciences, Vol. 105, No. 3, 06.2010, p. 151-163.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer review

Vetere F, Behrens H, Holtz F, Vilardo G, Ventura G. Viscosity of crystal-bearing melts and its implication for magma ascent. Journal of Mineralogical and Petrological Sciences. 2010 Jun;105(3):151-163. doi: 10.2465/jmps.090402
Download
@article{08a53a5b46864203b4dea98d1bc3006b,
title = "Viscosity of crystal-bearing melts and its implication for magma ascent",
abstract = "Experiments were performed at high temperature and pressure to determine the effective viscosity of a crystalbearing andesite using the falling sphere method. Because viscosity experiments with partly crystallized samples are difficult to realize (i.e., due to high sensitivity of phase equilibria to P, T and water content), we have added zircon crystals to adjust precisely the volume fraction and the size of crystals in a magma. Using this approach, the anhydrous melt composition does not vary significantly with temperature and water content of the melt and, hence, the effects of crystals on effective viscosity can be worked out accurately. The investigated systems (magma analogue) were composed of an andesitic melt containing 0.5 wt% to 4.1 wt% H2O and 15 vol% to 40 vol% of zircon crystals with grain size <100 μm. Most experiments were performed at 300 MPa and 1523 K. The ZrO2 content dissolved in the melt under these conditions is 1.61 wt% ± 0.16 wt% (0.5-4.0 wt% H2O in melt) with no significant dependence on water content, which is about twice the value predicted by the model of Watson and Harrison (1983). The falling velocity of large platinum spheres was measured in the experimental magmas. The radius of the spheres (between 130 μm and 510 μm) was always much larger than the crystal sizes and the inter-grain distances, implying that the falling velocity of the spheres can be used to calculate the effective viscosity of the magmas. For magmas containing 15 vol% zircon, the measured viscosity was 0.7 log to 1.6 log units higher than the melt viscosity. The effective magma viscosity is higher than expected from literature models. The spheres did not move in systems containing 30 vol% to 40 vol% of crystals, even after 16 h at 1523 K. We attribute this observation to the presence of yield strength of more than 100 Pa, i.e., a threshold of accelerating force needs to be passed before the sphere can move in the magma.",
keywords = "Crystal-bearing andesite, Falling sphere method, Magma, Viscosity, ZrO solubility",
author = "Francesco Vetere and Harald Behrens and Francois Holtz and Giuseppe Vilardo and Guido Ventura",
note = "Copyright: Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.",
year = "2010",
month = jun,
doi = "10.2465/jmps.090402",
language = "English",
volume = "105",
pages = "151--163",
journal = "Journal of Mineralogical and Petrological Sciences",
issn = "1345-6296",
publisher = "Tohoku University",
number = "3",

}

Download

TY - JOUR

T1 - Viscosity of crystal-bearing melts and its implication for magma ascent

AU - Vetere, Francesco

AU - Behrens, Harald

AU - Holtz, Francois

AU - Vilardo, Giuseppe

AU - Ventura, Guido

N1 - Copyright: Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

PY - 2010/6

Y1 - 2010/6

N2 - Experiments were performed at high temperature and pressure to determine the effective viscosity of a crystalbearing andesite using the falling sphere method. Because viscosity experiments with partly crystallized samples are difficult to realize (i.e., due to high sensitivity of phase equilibria to P, T and water content), we have added zircon crystals to adjust precisely the volume fraction and the size of crystals in a magma. Using this approach, the anhydrous melt composition does not vary significantly with temperature and water content of the melt and, hence, the effects of crystals on effective viscosity can be worked out accurately. The investigated systems (magma analogue) were composed of an andesitic melt containing 0.5 wt% to 4.1 wt% H2O and 15 vol% to 40 vol% of zircon crystals with grain size <100 μm. Most experiments were performed at 300 MPa and 1523 K. The ZrO2 content dissolved in the melt under these conditions is 1.61 wt% ± 0.16 wt% (0.5-4.0 wt% H2O in melt) with no significant dependence on water content, which is about twice the value predicted by the model of Watson and Harrison (1983). The falling velocity of large platinum spheres was measured in the experimental magmas. The radius of the spheres (between 130 μm and 510 μm) was always much larger than the crystal sizes and the inter-grain distances, implying that the falling velocity of the spheres can be used to calculate the effective viscosity of the magmas. For magmas containing 15 vol% zircon, the measured viscosity was 0.7 log to 1.6 log units higher than the melt viscosity. The effective magma viscosity is higher than expected from literature models. The spheres did not move in systems containing 30 vol% to 40 vol% of crystals, even after 16 h at 1523 K. We attribute this observation to the presence of yield strength of more than 100 Pa, i.e., a threshold of accelerating force needs to be passed before the sphere can move in the magma.

AB - Experiments were performed at high temperature and pressure to determine the effective viscosity of a crystalbearing andesite using the falling sphere method. Because viscosity experiments with partly crystallized samples are difficult to realize (i.e., due to high sensitivity of phase equilibria to P, T and water content), we have added zircon crystals to adjust precisely the volume fraction and the size of crystals in a magma. Using this approach, the anhydrous melt composition does not vary significantly with temperature and water content of the melt and, hence, the effects of crystals on effective viscosity can be worked out accurately. The investigated systems (magma analogue) were composed of an andesitic melt containing 0.5 wt% to 4.1 wt% H2O and 15 vol% to 40 vol% of zircon crystals with grain size <100 μm. Most experiments were performed at 300 MPa and 1523 K. The ZrO2 content dissolved in the melt under these conditions is 1.61 wt% ± 0.16 wt% (0.5-4.0 wt% H2O in melt) with no significant dependence on water content, which is about twice the value predicted by the model of Watson and Harrison (1983). The falling velocity of large platinum spheres was measured in the experimental magmas. The radius of the spheres (between 130 μm and 510 μm) was always much larger than the crystal sizes and the inter-grain distances, implying that the falling velocity of the spheres can be used to calculate the effective viscosity of the magmas. For magmas containing 15 vol% zircon, the measured viscosity was 0.7 log to 1.6 log units higher than the melt viscosity. The effective magma viscosity is higher than expected from literature models. The spheres did not move in systems containing 30 vol% to 40 vol% of crystals, even after 16 h at 1523 K. We attribute this observation to the presence of yield strength of more than 100 Pa, i.e., a threshold of accelerating force needs to be passed before the sphere can move in the magma.

KW - Crystal-bearing andesite

KW - Falling sphere method

KW - Magma

KW - Viscosity

KW - ZrO solubility

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=77956634170&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.2465/jmps.090402

DO - 10.2465/jmps.090402

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:77956634170

VL - 105

SP - 151

EP - 163

JO - Journal of Mineralogical and Petrological Sciences

JF - Journal of Mineralogical and Petrological Sciences

SN - 1345-6296

IS - 3

ER -

By the same author(s)