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Encyclopedia of Geochemistry pp 1–6Cite as

Partial Melting

Part of the Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series book series (EESS)

Synonyms

Fusion; Magma genesis

Definition

Partial meltingis the transformation of some fraction of the mass of a solid rock into a liquid as a result of decompression, heat input, or addition of a flux. The resulting liquid is called magma and becomes lava if it erupts from a volcano. The understanding that partial, rather than complete, melting is the norm in natural systems is essential to appreciating the geochemical importance of melting in the Earth and planets. During partial melting, the liquid differs from the source rock and from coexisting residual minerals in composition and in physical properties such as density and viscosity. The low viscosity, low density (usually), and interconnected texture of the liquid during partial melting allow the melt to migrate from the source and thereby trigger physical phenomena like volcanism as well as chemical segregation...

Keywords

  • Source Rock
  • Partial Melting
  • Subduction Zone
  • Oceanic Crust
  • Mantle Wedge

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA

    Paul D. Asimow

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  1. Paul D. Asimow
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Correspondence to Paul D. Asimow .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth, Cornell University Department of Earth, Ithaca, New York, USA

    William M. White

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Asimow, P.D. (2016). Partial Melting. In: White, W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Geochemistry. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39193-9_218-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39193-9_218-1

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