Melt segregation in the continental crust

Research Article| November 01, 1994 Melt segregation in the continental crust E. W. Sawyer E. W. Sawyer 1Sciences de la Terre, Université du Québec, Chicoutimi, Québec G7H 2B1, Canada Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Geology (1994) 22 (11): 1019–1022. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1994)022<1019:MSITCC>2.3.CO;2 Article history first online: 02 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation E. W. Sawyer; Melt segregation in the continental crust. Geology 1994;; 22 (11): 1019–1022. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1994)022<1019:MSITCC>2.3.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Before melt will segregate from its restite and source, there must be both a driving force and space into which the melt can move. The continental crust is anisotropic and in most cases is subject to deviatoric stresses during melting. Under these conditions, melt segregation begins when an interconnected network of melt forms and the source becomes permeable. Melt is driven, by pressure gradients, from its restite toward dilatant sites set up in the heterogeneously deforming source. The source is continually drained of melt and so need never contain more melt than that required to maintain permeability (<5%). Thus, the source remains coherent and ductile even with large degrees of partial melting. Successive melt increments derived from the same source record progressively higher degrees of partial melting. Further geochemical complexity may arise if melt segregation occurs before chemical equilibrium is reached between melt and solid, and disequilibrium compositions are preserved. Special conditions of rapid melting, or the absence of applied stresses, are necessary in the continental crust for the volume of melt to accumulate in the source to the point (>26%) where the solid matrix breaks down and diapirism can occur. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.