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Partially Molten Plumes and Melt-Fingers: Two Modes of Magma-Transport through the Mantle in Terrestrial Bodies
Authors:
Ken'yo U,
Masanori Kameyama,
Takehiro Miyagoshi,
Takatoshi Yanagisawa,
Masaki Ogawa
Abstract:
To understand the dynamics of partially molten mantle in terrestrial bodies, we carried out a linear perturbation analysis and 2-D numerical simulations of magma-matrix flow in a horizontal layer, where decompression melting generates magma that percolates through the convecting matrix. Our study shows that there are two regimes for the upward migration of magma, depending on the melt-buoyancy par…
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To understand the dynamics of partially molten mantle in terrestrial bodies, we carried out a linear perturbation analysis and 2-D numerical simulations of magma-matrix flow in a horizontal layer, where decompression melting generates magma that percolates through the convecting matrix. Our study shows that there are two regimes for the upward migration of magma, depending on the melt-buoyancy parameter B_m, which is the ratio of the Stokes velocity of matrix to the percolation velocity of melt, both driven by the melt-buoyancy. At large B_m, the magmatism-mantle upwelling (MMUb) feedback dominates the convective flow in the layer: decompression melting during upwelling enhances magma buoyancy, which further strengthens the upwelling. When a solid layer is overlaid on the partially molten layer, the MMUb feedback induces partially molten plumes that ascend through the solid layer by their melt-buoyancy. At lower B_m, in contrast, a perturbation in the melt-content in the partially molten layer propagates upward as a porosity wave: the perturbation induces a spatial variation in the rate of expansion or contraction of matrix caused by magma migration, leading to an upward shift of the perturbation. When a solid layer is overlaid, the porosity wave develops also along the layer boundary to induce a finger-like magma structure, or melt-finger, that extends upward into the solid layer. The threshold value of B_m for MMUb feedback suggests that it can explain volcanism forming Large Igneous Provinces, but not hotspot volcanism on Earth. Since B_m increases with decreasing matrix viscosity, volcanism caused by the MMUb feedback is likely to have been more important in earlier terrestrial planets where the mantle was hotter and softer. Melt-fingers are, in contrast, expected to have developed in the lunar mantle if a partially molten layer has developed at its base in the history of the Moon.
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Submitted 19 September, 2025;
originally announced September 2025.
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Resurgence of Lunar Volcanism: Role of Localized Radioactive Enrichment in a Numerical Model of Magmatism and Mantle Convection
Authors:
Ken'yo Uh,
Masanori Kameyama,
Gaku Nishiyama,
Takehiro Miyagoshi,
Masaki Ogawa
Abstract:
We develop a 2-D numerical model of magmatism and mantle convection to understand the volcanism on the Procellarum KREEP terrane (PKT) of the Moon, which continued for billions of years with two peaks of activities at 3.5-4 Gyr ago and around 2 Gyr ago. In our model, the effects of the PKT on lunar evolution are considered by initially imposing a region of localized radioactive enrichment. The cal…
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We develop a 2-D numerical model of magmatism and mantle convection to understand the volcanism on the Procellarum KREEP terrane (PKT) of the Moon, which continued for billions of years with two peaks of activities at 3.5-4 Gyr ago and around 2 Gyr ago. In our model, the effects of the PKT on lunar evolution are considered by initially imposing a region of localized radioactive enrichment. The calculated volcanism has two peaks induced by different mechanisms. The first peak occurs at 3.5-4 Gyr ago when magma generated in the deep mantle by internal heating ascends to the surface as partially molten plumes. The basaltic blocks in the uppermost mantle formed by this magmatism, then, sink to the deep mantle, triggering further plumes that cause the resurgence of volcanism at $\sim$2 Gyr ago. Our model shows that localized radioactive enrichment is important for the long-lasting volcanism with a couple of peaks.
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Submitted 10 July, 2024;
originally announced July 2024.
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The volcanic and radial expansion/contraction history of the Moon simulated by numerical models of magmatism in the convective mantle
Authors:
Ken'yo U,
Masanori Kameyama,
Masaki Ogawa
Abstract:
To understand the evolution of the Moon, we numerically modeled mantle convection and magmatism in a two-dimensional polar rectangular mantle. Magmatism occurs as an upward permeable flow of magma generated by decompression melting through the convecting matrix. The mantle is assumed to be initially enriched in heat-producing elements (HPEs) and compositionally dense ilmenite-bearing cumulates (IB…
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To understand the evolution of the Moon, we numerically modeled mantle convection and magmatism in a two-dimensional polar rectangular mantle. Magmatism occurs as an upward permeable flow of magma generated by decompression melting through the convecting matrix. The mantle is assumed to be initially enriched in heat-producing elements (HPEs) and compositionally dense ilmenite-bearing cumulates (IBC) at its base. Here, we newly show that magma generation and migration play a crucial role in the calculated volcanic and radial expansion/contraction history. Magma is generated in the deep mantle by internal heating for the first several hundred million years. A large volume of the generated magma ascends to the surface as partially molten fingers and plumes driven by melt-buoyancy to cause a volcanic activity and radial expansion of the planet with the peak at 3.5-4 Gyr ago. Eventually, however, the planet begins to radially contract when the mantle solidifies by cooling from the surface boundary. As the mantle is cooled, the activity of partially molten plumes declines but continues for billions of years after the peak because some basal materials enriched in the dense IBC components hold HPEs. The calculated volcanic and radial expansion/contraction history is consistent with the observed history of the Moon. Our simulations suggest a substantial fraction of the mantle was solid, and there was a basal layer enriched in HPEs and the IBC components at the beginning of the history of the Moon.
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Submitted 29 March, 2023;
originally announced March 2023.
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Laboratory Studies on the Removal of Radon-Born Lead from KamLAND's Organic Liquid Scintillator
Authors:
G. Keefer,
C. Grant,
A. Piepke,
T. Ebihara,
H. Ikeda,
Y. Kishimoto,
Y. Kibe,
Y. Koseki,
M. Ogawa,
J. Shirai,
S. Takeuchi,
C. Mauger,
C. Zhang,
G. Schweitzer,
B. E. Berger,
S. Dazeley,
M. P. Decowski,
J. A. Detwiler,
Z. Djurcic,
D. A. Dwyer,
Y. Efremenko,
S. Enomoto,
S. J. Freedman,
B. K. Fujikawa,
K. Furuno
, et al. (43 additional authors not shown)
Abstract:
The removal of radioactivity from liquid scintillator has been studied in preparation of a low background phase of KamLAND. This paper describes the methods and techniques developed to measure and efficiently extract radon decay products from liquid scintillator. We report the radio-isotope reduction factors obtained when applying various extraction methods. During this study, distillation was ide…
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The removal of radioactivity from liquid scintillator has been studied in preparation of a low background phase of KamLAND. This paper describes the methods and techniques developed to measure and efficiently extract radon decay products from liquid scintillator. We report the radio-isotope reduction factors obtained when applying various extraction methods. During this study, distillation was identified as the most efficient method for removing radon daughters from liquid scintillator.
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Submitted 3 December, 2013;
originally announced December 2013.