Experimental phase petrology of mid-ocean ridge basalts

Abstract

Experimental studies of the phase petrology of mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORBs) have focused principally on the determination of mineral compositions in equilibrium with basaltic liquids under a variety of magmatic conditions. These experimental studies generally fall into two major groups, those at low pressures (generally at 1 atm (1 atm = 101 325 N m ^-2), but sometimes 2-3 kbar (1 bar = 10⁵ N m ^-2)) and those at high pressures (generally about 8-30 kbar).