Crystal Growth and Crystallization Time Scales of the Panzhihua Layered Intrusion:Constraint from Crystal Size Distribution

The Panzhihua layered intrusions is generated closely related to the Emeishan LIPs.This paper analyzes the spatial distribution of plagioclase and pyroxene.The quantitative texture analysis of 2209 plagioclase shows that the characteristic length of plagioclase is 0.54 to 0.96 mm,the intercept variation range is large,from-0.67 to 0.96,and the slope is-1.85 to-1.04,the Aspect Ratio shows from 1.84 to 2.59 and fractal dimension D is 1.908–1.933.The quantitative texture analysis of 2342 pyroxene shows that the characteristic length of pyroxene is 0.38–0.64 mm,the intercept shows from 0.46 to 2.26,The slope ranges from-2.6 to-1.47,the Aspect Ratio value varies from 1.53 to 1.71,the fractal dimension D is 0.93 to 1.13.All the CSDs results of the Panzhihua intrusions indicate that plagioclase and pyroxene form in an open magma system and undergo four replenishment of magma injection.The plagioclase crystals do not grow as the lathlike shape,and the fractal growth leads to complex crystal surface.The plagioclase undergoes deformation compaction during the crystal process,and then is oriented.The pyroxene crystals grow along an approximately triaxial ratio and undergo texture adjustment and small crystal dissolution reabsorption.When all crystals in magma system grows up to 2 mm,the pyroxene undergoes cumulation in the Panzhihua layered intrusions.The plagioclase crystallization time scale is 171.23–304.41 years,representing that the crystallization is the more uniform in central part of the melt.The nucleation density continuously increases during the crystallization process of the magma system.The time scale to reach the final maximum crystal nucleation density is 15.28–58.98 years.

Crystallization Conditions and Mineral Chemistry in the East of Tafresh, Central Iran, with Insights into Magmatic Processes

The Tafresh granitoids are located at the central part of the Urumieh-Dokhtar Magmatic Arc(UDMA)in Iran.These rocks,mainly consisting of diorite and granodiorite,were emplaced during the Early Miocene.They are composed of varying proportions of plagioclase+K-feldspar+hornblende±quartz±biotite.Discrimination diagrams and chemical indices of amphibole phases reveal a calc-alkaline affinity and fall clearly in the crust-mantle mixed source field.The estimated pressure,derived from Al in amphibole barometry,is approximately 3 Kb.The granitoids are I-type,metaluminous and belong to the calc-alkaline series.They are all enriched in light rare earth elements and large ion lithophile elements,depleted in high field strength elements and display geochemical features typical of subduction-related calc-alkaline arc magmas.Most crystal size distribution(CSD)line patterns from the granitoids show a non-straight trend which points to the effect of physical processes during petrogenesis.The presence of numerous mafic enclaves,sieve texture and oscillatory zoning along with the CSD results show that magma mixing in the magma chamber had an important role in the petrogenesis of Tafresh granitoids.Moreover,the CSD analysis suggests that the plagioclase crystals were crystallized in a time span of less than 1000 years,which is indicative of shallow depth magma crystallization.

Magmatic Processes of Ashi Volcano, Western Kunlun Mountains, China

The Ashikule volcanic cluster （AVC） in western Kunlun Mountains is located in a graben region at the convergence of the Altun and Kangxiwa fault zones,and consists of more than 10 main volcanoes and dozens of volcanelloes.The Ashi volcano lies in the central part of the volcanic cluster.The lithology,chemical composition and texture of Ashi volcanic rocks were studied in detail,and their implication in magmatic processes was discussed.The phenocrysts in Ashi volcanic rocks consist mainly of plagioclase and pyroxene,and the statistical results of phenocryst contents show that the rocks can be subdivided into two groups.In group A,the content of pyroxene phenocrysts is generally higher than that of plagioclase phenocrysts,but an inverse relation occurs in group B.In TAS diagram,the compositions of both groups fall into the trachyandensite field,but they are obviously concentrated into two clusters.The two clusters exist also in the oxide diagrams.The pyroxene phenocrysts comprise augite,bronzite and hypersthene,and their Mg# histogram shows two peaks.Plagioclase phenocrysts with reaction rim are observed in rocks of both groups.The An values of the core are generally 30-40,and those of the rim are 44-48,which are closer to those of euhedral plagioclases.The bronzites are in equilibrium with the melt,and two sets of magma depths,i.e.,18-25 km and 13-18 km,can be estimated by using thermobarometer proposed by Putirka.The hypersthenes are not in equilibrium with the melt,and can be assigned to xenocrysts.The crystal size distribution （CSD） curves of plagioclase appear as kinked lines indicative of magma mixing.The above analyses show that two magma pockets might exist beneath the Ashi volcano.It is likely that they are connected with each other.The one has more evolved and contains more acidic magma,and the other is a trachyandensite magma pocket characterized by layering.The magma from the upper part of the trachyandensite magma pocket might mix with more acidic magma,resulting in a magma that is more acidic than the magma from the lower part.

A method for analyzing on-line video images of crystallization at high-solid concentrations

Recent research has demonstrated that on-line video imaging is a very promising technique for monitoring crystallization processes. The bottleneck in applying the technique for real-time closed-loop control is considered as image analysis that needs to be robust, fast and able to handle varied image qualities due to temporal variations of operating conditions such as mixing and solid concentrations. Image analysis at highsolid concentrations turns out to be extremely challenging because crystals tend to overlap or attach to each other and the boundaries between the crystals are usually ambiguous. This paper presents an image segmentation algorithm that can effectively deal with images taken at high-solid concentrations. The method segments crystals attached to each other along the mostly related concave points on the contours of crystal blocks. The detailed procedure is introduced with application to crystallization of L-glutamic acid in a hot-stage reactor.