GEOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Magma originates in the lower part of the Earth’s crust and in the upper portion of the mantle. Most of the mantle and crust are solid, so the presence of magma is crucial to understanding the geology and morphology of the mantle.

Detailed explanation-2: -Magma forms above the subducting slab of oceanic crust and accumulates at the base of Earth’s rigid crust before collecting in a storage zone 13 km (8 mi) beneath the volcano prior to eruption.

Detailed explanation-3: -Most igneous rock in Earth’s crust comes from magmas that formed through partial melting of existing rock, either in the upper mantle or the crust. During partial melting, only some of the minerals within a rock melt. This happens because different minerals have different melting temperatures.

Detailed explanation-4: -Magma forms from partial melting of mantle rocks. As the rocks move upward (or have water added to them), they start to melt a little bit. These little blebs of melt migrate upward and coalesce into larger volumes that continue to move upward. They may collect in a magma chamber or they may just come straight up.

Detailed explanation-5: -As summarized in Chapter 3, magma is formed at three main plate-tectonic settings: divergent boundaries (decompression melting), convergent boundaries (flux melting), and mantle plumes (decompression melting). The mantle and crustal processes that take place in areas of volcanism are illustrated in Figure 4.4.