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TECHNOLOGY AND CODE article

Front. Earth Sci.
Sec. Petrology
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/feart.2024.1431516

DiffSim: A user-friendly tool for precise magmatic timescale determination and error propagation via major element diffusion chronometry in magmatic phases

Provisionally accepted
Eduardo Morgado Eduardo Morgado 1*Daniel J. Morgan Daniel J. Morgan 2
  • 1 Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Mayor, Santiago, Santiago Metropolitan Region (RM), Chile
  • 2 Institute of Geophysics and Tectonics, School of Earth and Environment, Faculty of Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, England, United Kingdom

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Diffusion chronometry is a technique gaining interest in the scientific community related to volcanology and petrology; however, modelling can be challenging for non-expert users.Here, we present DiffSim, a user-friendly standalone freeware that allows users to calculate magmatic timescales simulating 1D diffusion of major elements in olivine, orthopyroxene, titanomagnetite, and melt (inclusions). The freeware works solving the Fick's second law equation (for both Cartesian and spherical polar coordinates, depending on the phase) using finite differences through the Crank-Nicolson method. Users must specify the initial composition versus distance profile, the time resolution, and the intensive conditions (such as temperature, pressure, and oxygen fugacity). For orthorhombic phases, such as olivine and orthopyroxene, users must also specify the plunge and the trend of the [001]-axis and the angle traverse of the 2D section being studied. The best-fitting profile, comparing the natural (measured) and the modelled (calculated) profiles, is obtained using the least-squares fitting method in accordance with the total time specified by the user for performing the diffusion modelling. To determine the uncertainties of the timescale calculation, DiffSim propagates errors based on the uncertainties associated with each intensive condition and the experimental diffusivity measurements. DiffSim is available as executable freeware, allowing researchers and students to use diffusion chronometry to elucidate information about crustal processes with ease and precision.

    Keywords: Diffusion chronometry, magmatic timescales, standalone software, olivine, Orthopyroxene, Titanomagnetite, error propagation, melt

    Received: 12 May 2024; Accepted: 26 Jun 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Morgado and Morgan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Eduardo Morgado, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Mayor, Santiago, 7550223, Santiago Metropolitan Region (RM), Chile

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.