Abstract
Recent research on the mechanism of differentiation of magmas has seriously challenged the idea of crystal settling, and invited alternative interpretation in terms of convective f ractionation. Here we present data for basalts that suggest that the older hypothesis should still be regarded as significant in the evolution of this magma type. We describe mixed sequences of aphyric and porphyritic eruptions among which only the denser liquids have brought suspended crystals to the surface, discriminating strongly in favour of plagioclase, the least dense solid phase. By implication, ferromagnesian minerals have been selectively lost by crystal set-tling from the porphyritic magmas, and all crystallizing phases have been lost from the less dense aphyric magmas.
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Cox, K., Mitchell, C. Importance of crystal settling in the differentiation of Deccan Trap basaltic magmas. Nature 333, 447–449 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1038/333447a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/333447a0
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