Melt extraction and accumulation from partially molten rocks

Current models for melt segregation and ascent are not adequate to accurately describe transport and accumulation in combination. We propose that transport is discontinuous and in batches, and that accumulation occurs by stepwise merging of batches. A simple numerical model of jostling spheres that merge when they touch was used to represent stepwise accumulation and transport of batches by propagation of hydrofractures. Results of the numerical model indicate that such a system may quickly develop into a self-organised critical (SOC) state. In this state, the distribution of melt batch volumes can be described by a power law, with an exponent m that lies between 2/3 and 1. Once a self-orga…