A 5-km-thick reservoir with > 380,000 km³ of magma within the ancient Earth's crust.

ABSTRACT: Several recent studies have argued that large, long-lived and molten magma chambers may not occur in the shallow Earth's crust. Here we present, however, field-based observations from the Bushveld Complex that provide evidence to the contrary. In the eastern part of the complex, the magmatic layering continuously drapes across a ~ 4-km-high sloping step in the chamber floor. Such deposition of magmatic layering implies that the resident melt column was thicker than the stepped relief of the chamber floor. Prolonged internal differentiation within this thick magma column is further supported by evolutionary trends in crystallization sequence and mineral compositions through the sequence. The resident melt column in the Bushveld chamber during this period is estimated at > 5-km in thickness

SUBMITTER: Latypov R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9485162 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature