partial melting
Selective rock liquefaction
Partial melting is the incomplete melting of rock, where some minerals liquefy while others remain solid.
This occurs because different minerals in a rock have different melting points.
The process is fundamental to geology—magma generated by partial melting has a different composition than its source rock, which explains how diverse igneous rocks form from similar starting materials.
- magmaMolten rock underground
- mantleCovering or wrap
- basaltFine-grained volcanic stone
- liquid phaseMatter that flows
- fractionalDescribing incomplete portions
asthenosphere · volcanism · granite · solidus · differentiation · upwelling · flux · decompression · pressure release · mid-ocean ridge · source rock · hotspot · subduction · intrusion · segregation · viscous · residue · equilibrium
- petrologypetrology, igneous rocks, metamorphic rocks, sedimentary rocks, rock cycle
- Volcanismmagma, eruption, lava flow, volcanic eruption, magma chamber
- igneous geologymagma, lava, basalt, granite, rhyolite
- rock processesmineralization, albitization, contact metamorphism, metamorphism, recrystallization
- rock formationcrystallization, solidification, cooling, compaction, cementation
partial meltingcrystallization
Forming ordered solid structure
solidification · freezing · recrystallization · cooling · consolidation
partial, part, partially, partiality, impartial, impartially, impartiality, partake, particle