Viscosity of evolving magmas: a case study of the Glass House Mountains, Australia

Abstract

Abstract The viscosity of the remelted rock compositions of the Glass House Mountains, SE Queensland, Australia, has been determined via micro-penetration in the high-viscosity regime (108–1013 Pa s). The heat capacity of these melts has also been determined from room temperature to above the glass transition. The combination of these two data sets allows the fitting of the viscosity data by the Adam-Gibbs equation using the configurational heat capacity Cpconf(Tg12) and configurational entropy Sconf(Tg12). The resulting fit parameters allow the robust extrapolation of the viscosity data to higher temperature and viscosities of 10–4 Pa s. This data can now be used in the discussion of the emplacement of the magmas of the plugs, laccoliths, sills and dykes that form the Glass House Mountains complex and the plate motion and the plume responsible for the volcano plugs. The large increase in viscosity of the evolving magma and the resulting decrease in discharge rate of the volcanic vents suggest that very little magma appeared as extrusive lavas or pyroclastic material and that the Glass House Mountains are mainly remnants of intrusive bodies exposed by erosion.