EGU 2026 – Call for Abstracts Session 'TS1.11 - How magmatic processes shape the Earth: magma storage, transport and associated deformation'

See the session description below for more details.

Uddalak Biswas, Daniele Maestrelli, Domenico Montanari
 
"TS1.11 - How magmatic processes shape the Earth: magma storage, transport and associated deformation"
Magmatic processes play a primary role in shaping the Earth's outermost layer. These processes include the formation of magma storage zones, involving crystal mush, and their subsequent magmatic out-flux driven host-rock deformations. A rigorous understanding of melt transport mechanisms has stimulated a substantial body of research focused on elucidating how the coupled rheologies of magma and host rocks control the geometry and evolution of magmatic pathways. Traditional models have often represented magma as a Newtonian fluid. However, recent studies demonstrate that magmas commonly exhibit non-Newtonian behavior, where strain rate, crystal fraction, bubble content, and shear localization critically influence the effective viscosity. Similarly, host rocks respond to magma emplacement through complex viscoelastic to viscoelasto-plastic processes, incorporating creep, fracturing, and progressive damage accumulation. Interplay between these contrasting rheological regimes produces a wide spectrum of intrusive geometries, ranging from tabular to irregular, non-tabular conduits and batholiths. Theoretical and experimental prediction of these geometries under specific magma–wall-rock rheological combinations, coupled with the understanding of magma storage and transport mechanisms remain a central challenge. Therefore, the field is moving toward a comprehensive understanding of magma transport from source to surface, with particular emphasis on the role of crustal rheology in controlling emplacement patterns, influencing the resulting surface deformation. This session seeks to highlight innovative approaches and advanced modeling strategies that can be employed to investigate magmatic systems, with particular emphasis on the fundamental processes governing magma storage, melt transport, emplacement mechanisms, host-rock response and associated surface deformation. We invite contributions from a broad spectrum of disciplines, encompassing field-based investigations, InSAR and remote-sensing techniques, seismicity and seismic imaging, gravity and electromagnetic studies, as well as analogue, numerical, and thermal modeling. In addition, we welcome studies focusing on the applications of AI and machine learning in understanding magmatic processes. Our final goal is to foster an integrated discussion about magma dynamics and related processes by bridging field and remote-sensing observations with theoretical frameworks and experimental constraints.