Magma Transport

Abstract

Chapter 9 begins with an extended but condensed discussion of igneous petrology, involving detailed discussion of phase diagrams and the difference between the various basaltic lavas which occur. The remainder of the chapter considers in sequence the path of magma from its genesis deep in the mantle to its eruption at the surface. First the creeping transport in the asthenosphere is described, then magmafracturing in the lithosphere, then crystallisation in magma chambers, and finally volcanic eruptions.