Abstract
It is increasingly recognised that most sheet-like igneous intrusions
such as sills and dykes have segmented, rather than planar margins. The
geometry of these segments and their connectors can provide insights
into magma propagation pathways and host-rock deformation mechanisms
during their emplacement. Here we report the results of scaled
laboratory experiments on the emplacement of shallow-crustal,
saucer-shaped sills with a focus on their propagation and segmentation.
Visco-elasto-plastic Laponite RD® (LRD) and Newtonian
paraffin oil were used as analogues for layered upper crust rocks and
magma, respectively. Our results indicate that: 1) experimental
saucer-shaped intrusions are highly segmented with marginal lobes and
fingers; 2) the evolution and geometry of marginal segments and their
connectors are different within the horizontal inner sill and the
inclined outer sill; and 3) the bimodal nature of segment aspect ratios
is linked to propagation of the inner sill along a horizontal host-rock
interface versus interaction of the inclined outer sill with a
homogenous upper layer. Measurements of inlet magma pressure and
structural analysis suggest that marginal finger and lobe segments
propagate in a repetitive sequence that starts with segmentation,
followed by merging of segments and new growth of fingers/lobes. Based
on the 3D geometry of segments, we suggest that sill segmentation is
linked to smaller scale visco-plastic instabilities that occur within
the inner sill and large scale mixed mode (I+III) fracturing during the
inclined sheet propagations.