Dissolving driven by vigorous compositional convection

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Abstract
The one-dimensional dissolution that occurs when a binary melt is placed above or below a solid of a different composition is examined both theoretically and experimentally. In the case considered, the dissolution is driven by vigorous compositional convection that results from a Rayleigh-Bénard instability of the compositional boundary layer in the vicinity of the dissolving solid. A scaling analysis is used to derive theoretical expressions for both the dissolving velocity and the interfacial fluid concentration. Laboratory experiments are also described in which ice is dissolved when it is overlain or underlain by aqueous solutions. The measured dissolving velocities are consistent with the theoretical expressions, and yield estimates of the critical Rayleigh number for boundary-layer instability. The results of this study are then applied to predict the rate at which dissolution will occur when undersaturated mixed magmas are generated during the periodic replenishment of large basaltic magma chambers in the Earth's crust.