Crystallization of magma:

Magmatic Differentiation

IFTIKHAR AHMAD
Department of Geology, A.M.U., Aligarh
(India) Email: iftikhar.gl@amu.ac.in
 Magma Crystallization
o In magma crystallization, cooling is the reverse process of melting
(i.e., transformation of hot liquid magma to cool solid rock)

o As temperature of the magma drops, ions pack more closely

together as their rate of movement slows down

o When magma cools, generally the silicon (Si) and oxygen (O) atoms
link together first to form Si-O tetrahedra (SiO4), the basic building
blocks of the silicate minerals

o When they are cooled sufficiently, the forces of the chemical bonds
again confine the ions in an orderly crystalline arrangement
 Magma Crystallization…
o As magma continues to lose heat, the tetrahedra join with each
other and with other ions to form embryonic crystal nuclei

o Slowly each nucleus grows as ions lose their mobility and join the
crystalline network

o The earliest formed minerals have space to grow and tend to have
better-developed crystal faces than do the ones that form later and
occupy the remaining spaces

o Eventually all of the melt is transformed into a solid mass of

interlocking silicate minerals that we call an igneous rock!
Magmatic Differentiation
o Magmatic Differentiation: Processes by which magma
evolves to give rise to a variety of magmas and rock types
that have different compositions

Magmatic Differentiation…
o Certain physical processes are required to cause the chemical
differentiation (i.e., diversification) of a magma which
include:

▪ Fractional crystallization
▪ Crystal Settling

▪ Liquid immiscibility
▪ Magma mixing

▪ Assimilation
Magmatic Differentiation
Fractional Crystallization
o The separation of crystals from the melt, either during or after
their crystallization is called as fractional crystallization or
crystal fractionation

o Fractional crystallization is the continuous removal of crystals

from the melt while they are forming

o Crystals formed in a magma chamber may settle to the floor

of the magma chamber and are thus removed from further
reaction with the remaining liquid → Crystal Settling
Magmatic Differentiation
Fractional Crystallization…
Bowen’s reaction series provides a model of fractional crystallization
Magmatic Differentiation
 Fractional Crystallization

Olivine crystals
settle to the base
of the magma
chamber, leaving
Olivine crystals form
the upper part of
the chamber
richer in silica
Magmatic Differentiation
 Crystal Settling
o Minerals crystallizing from a melt may sink to the bottom of
magma chambers under the influence of their own weight (if
they are denser than the melt)

o For the minerals to sink, they must overcome the yield

strength of the magma

o Yield strength is defined as the stress that must be applied to

a substance before it starts to flow

o Many fluids (such as toothpastes, emulsions, etc.) do not flow

until the applied stress exceeds yield strength (or yield stress)
Magmatic Differentiation
Crystal Settling
o As the magma becomes more acidic, its viscosity (and
therefore yield strength) increases, and crystal settling
becomes more difficult and unlikely (even though the density
of the liquid remaining has decreased)

o Crystal settling is an effective way of fractionation in the case

of large mafic intrusions that cool slowly
Magmatic Differentiation
Liquid Immiscibility
o Liquid immiscibility is a state in which two liquids with
different compositions coexist in equilibrium with each
other

o Immiscible liquids do not mix and form an emulsion of

 droplets or networks of one liquid within the other (e.g., oil
and water)

o Liquids can become immiscible on cooling and unmix into two

liquids

o Liquid immiscibility occurs only rarely within magmas

Magmatic Processes
Liquid Immiscibility…

OIL and WATER do not

 mix (An example of immiscible
liquids)
Magmatic Processes
Liquid Immiscibility…
o As immiscible magmas cool, they split into two liquids of
different composition and density:
▪ One of these liquids is a silica-rich melt → It has higher volume

▪ The other, typically much smaller in volume, can be rich in metal

oxides, sulfides or carbonates

At high temperature At low temperature

Ores are preferentially

 Silica-rich volume melt
concentrated into low
Magmatic Differentiation
Liquid Immiscibility…Types of Immiscible Melts
o Three important examples of liquid immiscibility in natural
magmas:

▪ Silicate melt – Iron oxide melt → occurs in basaltic magmas

that display tholeiitic fractionation – important in the genesis
of peralkaline granitic magmas
Magmatic Differentiation
Liquid Immiscibility…Types of Immiscible Melts
 Tholeiitic

fractionation trend
 Magmatic Differentiation
Liquid Immiscibility…Types of Immiscible Melts
o Three important examples of liquid immiscibility in natural
magmas:

▪ Silicate melt – Iron oxide melt → occurs in basaltic magmas

that display tholeiitic fractionation – important in the genesis
of peralkaline granitic magmas

▪ Silicate melt – Sulfide melt → occurs in mafic magmas with

0.1% or more content of sulfur – important for the genesis of
magmatic sulfide ore deposits

▪ Silicate melt – Carbonatite melt → occurs in alkaline silicate

(silica-undersaturated alkaline) and carbonate-rich magmas →
thought to result in the generation of carbonatite magmas
 Magmatic Differentiation
Magma Mixing
o Mixing two magmas that are compositionally different will
produce a magma of intermediate composition

o For magma mixing to occur, both magmas have to

overcome their density contrasts

o Magma mixing is more common at the sites of mid-oceanic

ridges, where pulses of less differentiated magmas are
frequently injected into a fractionated magma in the chamber
beneath the ridge
Magmatic Differentiation
Magma Mixing…
 Mixing two compositionally
different magma produces
a magma of intermediate
composition between them
Magmatic Differentiation
Assimilation
Magmatic Differentiation
 Assimilation…
o It is the reaction of the magma with the country rocks,
whereby these country rocks are incorporated in the magma
and eventually melt

o For this process to become an efficient mechanism of

differentiation, relatively large amounts of the country rocks
have to be assimilated by the magma, and/or the
compositions of these country rocks have to be drastically
different from that of the magma
Magmatic Differentiation
Assimilation…
o As in the case of magma mixing, assimilation will produce a
magma intermediate in composition between the original
 magma and the country rock

o Assimilation requires thermal energy to heat and possibly

melt or partially melt the country rocks, and becomes easier if
the assimilated rock is more acidic than the assimilating
magma. Otherwise, melting of the “assimilated” rocks will not
occur, and the magma will end up with many “xenoliths”