Why and how magma rises up.

Density contrast: magma is less dense than the surrounding country rock. Magma rises faster when the
difference in density between the magma and the surrounding rock is greater.

 At deeper levels, magma passes through mineral grain boundaries and cracks in the surrounding
rock. When enough mass and buoyancy is attained, the overlying surrounding rock is pushed
aside as the magma rises. Depending on surrounding pressure and other factors, the magma can
be ejected to the Earth’s surface or rise at shallower levels underneath
 At shallower levels, magma may no longer rise because its density is almost the same as that of
the country rock. The magma starts to accumulate and slowly solidifies

Viscosity: a measure of a fluid’s resistance to flow. Magmas with low viscosity flow more easily than
those with high viscosity. Temperature, silica content and volatile content control the viscosity of
magma. Use the table below to clarify the effects of different factors on magma viscosity.

Factor Effect to Viscosity

↑ temperature, ↓ viscosity

↑ Silica content(SiO2), ↑ viscosity

↑ dissolved water(H2O), ↓ viscosity

Certain minerals are stable at higher melting temperature and crystallize before those stable at lower
temperatures.

• Crystallization in the continuous and discontinuous branches takes place at the same time.

• Continuous branch: contains only plagioclase feldspar, with composition changing from calcium-rich to
sodium rich as temperature drops.

• Discontinuous branch describes how ferromagnesian minerals in the magma are transformed as
temperature changes. The early formed crystals, olivine in this case, reacts with the remaining melt as
the magma cools down, and recrystallizes into pyroxene. Further cooling will transform pyroxene into
amphibole. If all of the iron and magnesium in the melt is used up before all of the pyroxene
recrystallizes to amphibole, then the ferromagnesian minerals in the solid rock would be amphibole and
pyroxene and would not contain olivine or biotite.

Important concepts derived from the Bowen’s reaction series:

• A mafic magma will crystallize into pyroxene (with or without olivine) and calcium-rich plagioclase t̶ hat
is, basalt or gabbro i̶ f the early formed crystals are not removed from the remaining magma. Similarly,
an intermediate magma will crystallize into diorite or andesite, ifearly formed minerals are not removed

 If minerals are separated from magma, the remaining magma is more silicic than the original
magma. For example, if olivine and calcium-rich plagioclase are removed,the residual melt
would be richer in silicon and sodium and poorer in iron and magnesium. When rocks are
heated in high temperatures, minerals will melt in reverse order, going up the series in the
Bowen’s reaction series diagram. Quartz and potassium feldspar would melt first. If the
temperature is raised further, biotite and sodium-rich plagioclase would contribute to the melt.
Any minerals higher in the series would remain solid unless the temperature is raised further.