About this Research Topic
Magmatic crystals provide detailed records of the inner workings of volcanoes and improve our understanding of the depths, processes and timescales of magma transport, storage and eruption. The growth stratigraphy of minerals sampled by erupted magmas and preserved in plutonic bodies provides unique archives of mixing, replenishment, differentiation and mobilisation of mantle-to-crustal reservoirs. Thermodynamic and timescale modelling provide spatial and temporal constraints on the processes that modulate the evolution and behaviour of magma plumbing systems.
Outstanding challenges in the study of crystal records include evaluating the sensitivity of different minerals to changes in the magmatic environment, quantifying the diffusive overprint of chemical zonation as a function of storage conditions, critically appraising the uncertainties associated with petrological modelling, and establishing the influence of kinetic effects on crystal growth. New Frontiers in the investigation of crystal cargoes include:
• employing large datasets and quantitative approaches;
• using crystals as links between volcanic and plutonic archives;
• evaluating methods used to investigate magmatic processes critically;
• contrasting mineral and melt inclusion records;
• exploring thermodynamic vs. kinetic effects on crystal growth and zonation;
• revisiting ‘old’ problems with new geochemical and experimental approaches.
Addressing these topics requires integrated textural, geochemical, experimental, thermodynamic and timescale research. We encourage contributions that interrogate magmatic systems from a crystal perspective, interpreting the petrologic record in a plutonic and/or volcanic context. We will focus on Original Research articles, whilst also welcoming suggestions for Reviews and Perspectives.
This collection welcomes (and is not limited to) contributions and discussions at related 2019 conference sessions such as ‘Rates and timescales of magma transport and storage from mantle source to emplacement or eruption’ jointly organised at EGU-AGU, ‘The nature and tempo of magma reservoir processes and their evolution in space and time’ at Goldschmidt, and ‘Generation, storage and transport of magma in plutonic and volcanic environments’ at IUGG/IAVCEI, among others.
Outstanding challenges in the study of crystal records include evaluating the sensitivity of different minerals to changes in the magmatic environment, quantifying the diffusive overprint of chemical zonation as a function of storage conditions, critically appraising the uncertainties associated with petrological modelling, and establishing the influence of kinetic effects on crystal growth. New Frontiers in the investigation of crystal cargoes include:
• employing large datasets and quantitative approaches;
• using crystals as links between volcanic and plutonic archives;
• evaluating methods used to investigate magmatic processes critically;
• contrasting mineral and melt inclusion records;
• exploring thermodynamic vs. kinetic effects on crystal growth and zonation;
• revisiting ‘old’ problems with new geochemical and experimental approaches.
Addressing these topics requires integrated textural, geochemical, experimental, thermodynamic and timescale research. We encourage contributions that interrogate magmatic systems from a crystal perspective, interpreting the petrologic record in a plutonic and/or volcanic context. We will focus on Original Research articles, whilst also welcoming suggestions for Reviews and Perspectives.
This collection welcomes (and is not limited to) contributions and discussions at related 2019 conference sessions such as ‘Rates and timescales of magma transport and storage from mantle source to emplacement or eruption’ jointly organised at EGU-AGU, ‘The nature and tempo of magma reservoir processes and their evolution in space and time’ at Goldschmidt, and ‘Generation, storage and transport of magma in plutonic and volcanic environments’ at IUGG/IAVCEI, among others.
Keywords: Igneous minerals, magmatic histories, magma mixing, storage conditions, magmatic timescales
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
