Abstract

Co-authors: Tobias Keller (University of Oxford), Andrew Turner (University of Oxford), Samuel Weatherley (Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland)

There are relatively few theoretical studies of magma/mantle dynamics that incorporate conservation of energy and species mass in a consistent way. Doing so remains a challenge, both technically in terms of solving the equations, and scientifically in terms of formulating them in a way that is both physically reasonable and sufficiently simple. In this talk I review previous and current approaches to this problem. I highlight the importance of this treatment by discussing the question of reactive channelisation of magma. Reactive channelisation is thought to be an important process in melt transport, helping to explain some observed geochemical signals. It turns out that the behaviour of reactive-flow models depends in important ways on the way that energy and composition are treated. I discuss how mantle heterogeneity and the presence of volatile elements may be essential for channelised flow.

Related Links

• http://www.foalab.earth.ox.ac.uk – My research group's home page.