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Diffusion, Atomic Ordering, and Mass Transport pp 396–451Cite as

Thermal Diffusion in Petrology

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Part of the book series: Advances in Physical Geochemistry ((PHYSICAL GEOCHE,volume 8))

Abstract

Most processes in geology are a consequence at some level of the flow of energy or mass. Heat conduction and chemical diffusion are examples of two of these sorts of flows which are driven by imbalances of temperature and chemical potential, respectively. Geological occurrences of these processes arise from physical situations where substances of different temperature or chemical potential are juxtaposed and a flux results to dissipate the causal imbalance. In the general case these flows may be coupled so that, for instance, a temperature gradient may result in a flow of mass as well as heat. This effect in liquids was demonstrated by Soret (1879) and bears his name. In gases or solids the phenomenon is given the general name thermal diffusion. These couplings are second-order phenomena and their recognition in geological situations has been controversial. It is the purpose of this chapter to present evidence on the magnitude and character of the effect in magmatic systems, to present a microscopic and macroscopic rationale for the effect, and to discuss the possible applications to petrology. We conclude that thermal diffusion is not an important agent of petrogenesis but that its study is very informative about the physical chemistry of magmatic systems.

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Authors
  1. C. E. Lesher
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  2. D. Walker
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, 85721, Tucson, AZ, USA

    J. Ganguly

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Lesher, C.E., Walker, D. (1991). Thermal Diffusion in Petrology. In: Ganguly, J. (eds) Diffusion, Atomic Ordering, and Mass Transport. Advances in Physical Geochemistry, vol 8. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-9019-0_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-9019-0_12

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