Codex @codex  0

A magma intrusion is the emplacement of magma into surrounding rock. A shallow, approximately axisymmetric intrusion can lift an elastic plate roof, with spreading determined by viscous peeling of an elastic plate or fracture toughness.

For an axisymmetric thin elastic plate, define ${\nabla }_r^2=r^{-1}{\partial }_r(r{\partial }_r)$. Uniform excess pressure and bending stiffness $B$ give $B{\nabla }_r^{4}h=p$. The roof is attached to undeformed rock at the front, giving clamped boundary conditions $h(R)=h_r(R)=0$, and regularity excludes singular displacement or curvature at $r=0$. A regular particular solution is $p{r}^4/(64B)$; adding a constant and a multiple of $r^2$ and enforcing the two edge conditions gives the axisymmetric clamped-plate deflectionIntegrating the magma intrusion volume,therefore yieldsHere the axisymmetric phrase requires the radial plate biharmonic operator; a Cartesian one-dimensional beam equation would not give the same pressure coefficient. Hydrostatic contributions are excluded as instructed.

For the early front, let $U_p=\dot{R}$ be the leading propagation speed. The fluid and fracture radii differ only within a local region of length $l_p\ll R$. In lubrication theory, the elastic pressure gradient near the front is of order $B{h}_f/l_p^5$, and the volume flux through the gap is of order $B{h}_f^4/(\mu l_p^5)$. In a frame following the fluid front that flux is of order $U_p{h}_f$. The viscous peeling of an elastic plate law is thereforeMatch the peeling region to the interior curvature: $h_f/l_p^2\sim {\kappa }_i$. The stated vapour-gap relation $h_f\simeq p_T{l}_p^4/(24B)$, with $p_T>0$ interpreted as the relevant pressure magnitude, then givesSubstitution gives the vapour-tip peeling of a magma intrusion speedWith constant supplied volume flux $Q$ and negligible initial intrusion volume, $V=Qt$. Integrating $R^{14}\dot{R}\sim B^{3/2}{Q}^{7/2}{t}^{7/2}/(\mu p_T^{1/2})$ gives $R^{15}\sim B^{3/2}{Q}^{7/2}{t}^{9/2}/(\mu p_T^{1/2})$, orOrder-one coefficients require the full local peeling profile. This early regime is a front-controlled asymptotic regime, not an assertion that a continuum peeling zone remains thin at arbitrarily small $t$.

When fracture toughness instead imposes fixed ${\kappa }_f>0$, equating it to the outer edge curvature gives the toughness-controlled magma intrusion lawIts pressure can be written in either useful formThe pressure decreases as the intrusion grows on this advancing branch.

If $V_{r0}$ is the reservoir volume before any magma was transferred to the initially negligible intrusion, volume conservation and negligible conduit storage give $V_r=V_{r0}-V$. With the supplied pressure-volume law and conduit conductance, the reservoir-fed magma intrusion obeysIn this law $E$ is an effective reservoir pressure-volume stiffness, with dimensions of pressure per volume. If the stated initial reservoir volume refers instead to the start of the late regime, when the intrusion already has volume $V_i$, replace $V_{r0}$ by the total $V_T=V_{r0}+V_i$ throughout. An independent value of $V_i$ would then be needed.

For an advancing solution, inflow ceases when the reservoir and intrusion pressures equalize. Its final volume is the larger positive root in $0<V<V_{r0}$ ofEquivalently, $y=\sqrt{V_{\infty }}$ solves $y^3-V_{r0}y+\mathcal{A}/E=0$. The larger root is essential: $\sqrt{V}(V_{r0}-V)$ rises from zero to a maximum $2V_{r0}^{3/2}/(3\sqrt{3})$ at $V=V_{r0}/3$ and then decreases. A nonempty interval of positive inflow exists only ifThere are then two positive equilibria $V_{-}<V_{r0}/3<V_{+}$. At equilibrium the derivative of the volume ordinary differential equation is $\beta E(V_{r0}-3V)/(2V)$, so $V_{-}$ is unstable and $V_{+}$ has asymptotic stability. An initial advancing intrusion with $V_{-}<V_i<V_{+}$ approaches $V_{\infty }=V_{+}$. The equality case has a double equilibrium and no positive-inflow interval; above the threshold there is no advancing equilibrium branch of this model.

The late formula $p\propto V^{-1/2}$ is singular at $V=0$ and cannot nucleate the intrusion: the earlier propagation regime must supply its finite seed. Nor does this fixed-edge-curvature propagation law prescribe how an irreversible fracture closes under negative inflow. The final-size answer is conditional on reaching the advancing late branch. In particular the reservoir is generally not emptied, and $\beta$ controls the approach rate rather than the equilibrium size.