Abstract Understanding the textural cues hidden within cumulate rocks is a crucial component to decoding their formational processes and development throughout the active lifetime of their parental intrusions. However, given the complicated nature of field observations, often resulting in contrasting interpretations, the studies of cumulates benefit from an effective use of textural analysis utilizing parameters unaffected by alterations and equilibration. This study aims to contribute to the present knowledge of cumulate textural evolution and present its exploration through a set of textural parameters. With the main objective being to observe and analyze the textural development of an olivine cumulate, a special focus is paid to the behaviour of cumulate interface. The environment was simulated in high-temperature experimental conditions using a mixture of haplobasaltic glass with crushed forsterite crystals, forming a loose suspension capable of mechanical settling. The resulting cumulate layer was then subjected to T =-40 °C of undercooling to induce overgrowth and porosity reduction, for a duration between 2 and 48 h. Surprisingly, the cumulates experienced only a short period of kinetic growth, followed by gradual equilibration. For both of these processes, the system showed a contrasting behaviour of the interface and the deeper mush, observing prominent textural changes solely in the shallower layers. The results of textural analysis imply a strong effect of initial crystallinity on textural development, explore the evolution of skeletal morphologies, and point out the role of system’s heterogeneity on the process of equilibration.
Linzerová et al. (Sun,) studied this question.