The principal investigator will study the interaction between basaltic magma and the crust. In particular, he will investigate the possibility that partial melting of both continental and young mafic rocks as a result of this interaction coupled with subsequent fractionation during ascent, may be the dominant processes whereby evolved rocks are generated and magmatism sustained. This work will utilize properly scaled laboratory experiments, numerical simulations, and linear stability analysis of the onset of convection to help geologists better understand processes responsible for the generation of igneous rocks.
