crystal reaming

Fun geology term of the day: crystal reaming

Recent research at the Aucanquilcha volcanic complex in northern Chile supports the idea that many volcanic eruptions do not simply represent a single batch of magma that rises to the surface, but a mixture of components that have stalled for various amounts of time in the Earth’s crust. Barry A. Walker Jr. and coauthors from Oregon State University introduce the term crystal reaming to illustrate this process. Crystal reaming refers to the process where the latest batch of hot, mafic magma incorporates numerous crystals from previous magmatic episodes as it passes its way through the crust to the surface. In this way, many plutonic bodies may be accumulated over time as magmas periodically pass through, carrying away some crystals, and leaving others behind. 

From figure 14. Walker et al. (2012).

 

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Source: Walker, B.A, Klemetti, E.W., Grunder, A.L.., Dilles, J.H., Tepley, F.J., Giles, D, 2012, Crystal reaming during the assembly, maturation, and waning of an eleven-million-year crustal magma cycle: thermobarometry of the Aucanquilcha Volcanic Cluster, Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, v. 165 (4), p. 663-682. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00410-012-0829-2