The settling of olivine in Kilauean magma as shown by lavas of the 1959 eruption

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Abstract
Compositions of lavas of the 1959 Kilauea eruption in Kilauea Iki crater characterize the first stage of fractional crystallization of tholeiitic magma with unusual precision and completeness. Gravitative settling of olivine (Fa (sub 12.5) ) produces a series of lava types ranging from picrite-basalt to olivine-poor basalt. Variation of lava temperature with olivine content suggests zoning of the subterranean magma body into a cooler, olivine-depleted upper part and a hotter, olivine-enriched lower part. The most picritic lavas were erupted during periods of high rates of lava discharge; unusually strong magma currents may have mobilized the sludge of sedimented olivines at the bottom of the magma chamber to produce picritic magma.

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