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  2. Fractional crystallization (geology) - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fractional_crystallization...

    Fractional crystallization, or crystal fractionation, is one of the most important geochemical and physical processes operating within crust and mantle of a rocky planetary body, such as the Earth. It is important in the formation of igneous rocks because it is one of the main processes of magmatic differentiation . [ 1 ]

  3. Earth's crustal evolution - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth's_crustal_evolution

    The formation of a thin 'chill-crust' at the extreme surface would provide thermal insulation to the shallow sub surface, keeping it warm enough to maintain the mechanism of crystallisation from the deep magma ocean. [4] The composition of the crystals produced during the crystallisation of the magma ocean varied with depth.

  4. Crust (geology) - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crust_(geology)

    The internal structure of Earth. In geology, the crust is the outermost solid shell of a planet, dwarf planet, or natural satellite.It is usually distinguished from the underlying mantle by its chemical makeup; however, in the case of icy satellites, it may be defined based on its phase (solid crust vs. liquid mantle).

  5. Igneous rock - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igneous_rock

    Igneous rock may form with crystallization to form granular, crystalline rocks, or without crystallization to form natural glasses. Igneous rocks occur in a wide range of geological settings: shields, platforms, orogens, basins, large igneous provinces, extended crust and oceanic crust. Volcanic eruptions of lava are major sources of igneous rocks.

  6. Crystal mush - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_mush

    Crystal mushes form at various depths in the Earth's crust. [4] They result from fractional crystallization of a fluid. Fractional crystallization is a physical and chemical process that generates a liquid and a solid phase from a specific initial chemical solution. Depending on the initial chemical composition of the liquid, the melt is going ...

  7. Silicate mineral - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicate_mineral

    On Earth, a wide variety of silicate minerals occur in an even wider range of combinations as a result of the processes that have been forming and re-working the crust for billions of years. These processes include partial melting, crystallization, fractionation, metamorphism, weathering, and diagenesis.

  8. Igneous differentiation - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igneous_differentiation

    Assimilation is a popular mechanism to partly explain the felsification of ultramafic and mafic magmas as they rise through the crust: a hot primitive melt intruding into a cooler, felsic crust will melt the crust and mix with the resulting melt. [2] This then alters the composition of the primitive magma.

  9. Earth's crust - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth's_crust

    Plates in the crust of Earth. Earth's crust is its thick outer shell of rock, referring to less than one percent of the planet's radius and volume.It is the top component of the lithosphere, a solidified division of Earth's layers that includes the crust and the upper part of the mantle. [1]