Slumping slurries and kinetic sieving: An experimental study on the chromite cumulate formation

A series of analogue experiments was conducted to simulate the slumping of semi-consolidated cumulates in an unstable magmatic chamber. The starting material was a mixture of particles with different size and density immersed in a box fully filled with glycerin. Experiments were conducted at different inclination angles with two different proportions of particles. During the run, particles became segregated with larger less dense particles at the top of the flow and smaller denser ones at the bottom. Moreover, levees and flow fronts typically found in granular flows are observed in deposits and a particle velocity gradient is observable. The morphology of deposits was then compared to several naturally occurring analogues found in layered intrusions.