Partial melting is the phenomenon that occurs when a rock is subjected to temperatures high enough to melt some of its minerals but not all of them. It is an important part of the formation of all igneous rocks and of some metamorphic rocks, such as migmatites. The amount and kind of melt depend on the composition of the source rock, the pressure and temperature, and the availability of water or other fluids. The main mechanisms are decompression melting, when rock rises to lower pressure and its minerals begin to melt, and flux melting, when water and other volatiles reach hot rock and lower the melting point of its minerals. Partial melting of the mantle at mid-ocean ridges produces oceanic crust, and at subduction zones it helps create continental crust.
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1. Partial melting (Wikipedia)
Subduction zones
On the Earth, partial melting of the mantle at mid-ocean ridges produces oceanic crust, and partial melting of the mantle and oceanic crust at subduction zones creates continental crust.
In Discipline: Geology, Lead
Partial melting is an important process in geology with respect to the chemical differentiation of crustal rocks.
Associated With: Mid-ocean ridge, Decompression melting
At seafloor spreading zones (mid-ocean ridges), hot peridotite ascending from the mantle undergoes partial melting due to a decrease in pressure, generating a basaltic melt and a solid phase.
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