= Instantaneous stationary lava-crust thickness
{title2=$h_e(\tau)=1/[B\theta(\tau)]$}
In the <radiogenically heated lava-lake crust model>, the thickness <derivative> vanishes at $h_e=1/(B\theta)$ when the liquid superheat $\theta$ is positive. This moving curve balances <thermal conduction> and convective <heat flux>; it is not itself the evolving crust. Cooling raises the curve and keeps an initially absent crust below it. Warming lowers the curve, allowing <lava-crust overshoot under warming>. At zero superheat the stationary thickness is infinite, so its finite formula applies only after positive superheat develops.
Back to article page
