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TEXTURAL AND MICROANALYSIS OF IGNEOUS ROCKS: TOOLS ...

TEXTURAL AND MICROANALYSIS OF IGNEOUS ROCKS: TOOLS ...

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1.1 Introduction<br />

CHAPTER 1<br />

INTRODUCTION<br />

Mantle source characterization is vital for understanding the origins of mag-<br />

matism on planetary bodies within our solar system and to achieve a more com-<br />

plete understanding of Earth’s geologic history. To accurately characterize mantle<br />

source regions it is necessary to understand the extent to which magma compo-<br />

sition changes between partial melting of the mantle and eruption at the surface.<br />

The notion that source characteristics are preserved transparently in primitive<br />

magmas from mantle source to eruption can be misleading. Indeed, O’Hara and<br />

Herzberg [113] suggested that truly primitive basaltic magmas rarely escape to<br />

the Earth’s surface, since the crust acts as a cool density filter to primitive mag-<br />

mas ascending from hotter mantle source regions. Ponding, cooling, and partial<br />

crystallization is favored as ascending magmas reach horizons of neutral buoyancy<br />

within the shallow crust, which commonly occurs at depths of 4-8 km [97, 122].<br />

Magma differentiation within the shallow crust may involve a combination of par-<br />

tial crystallization (i.e., fractional, equilibrium, or in-situ), assimilation, and/or<br />

magma mixing. A wide range of studies (e.g., [16, 38, 113]) have highlighted the<br />

significance of shallow magma evolution in basaltic to rhyolitic magmatic systems.<br />

Magma evolution in the shallow crust is complex. The details of this evo-<br />

lution are seldom completely born out by whole-rock geochemistry. There has<br />

1

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