Digital Concentration-Distribution Models – tools for a describing heterogeneity of the hybridized magmatic mass as reflected in elemental concentration of growing crystal

Abstract

Raster digital models (digital concentration-distribution models – DC-DMs) as interpolations of geochemical data are proposed as a new tool to depict the crystal growth mechanism in a magmatic environment. The Natural Neighbour method is proposed for interpolation of Electron Microprobe Analysis (EMPA) data; the Natural Neighbour method and Kriging method are proposed for interpolating data collected by the LA-ICP-MS method. The crystal growth texture was analysed with the application of DC-DM derivatives: 3D surface models, shaded relief images, aspect and slope maps. The magmatic mass properties were depicted with the application of solid models. Correlation between the distributions of two elements on a single crystal transect was made by operations on the obtained raster DC-DMs. The methodology presented is a universal one but it seems to be significant for the depiction of magma mixing processes and the heterogeneity of the magmatic mass.