A virtual voyage through 3D structures generated by chaotic mixing of magmas and numerical simulations: a new approach for understanding spatial and temporal complexity of magma dynamics

In this contribution, we present a virtual voyage through 3D structures generated by chaotic mixing of magmas and numerical simulations with the aim to highlight the power of 3D representations in the understanding of this geological phenomenon. In particular, samples of mixed juveniles from Salina island (Southern Italy) are reconstructed in 3D by serial lapping and digital montage and numerical simulations are performed by using a 3D chaotic dynamical system. Natural and simulated magma mixing structures are visualized by using several multimedia tools including animations and “virtual reality” models. It is shown that magma interaction processes can generate large spatial and temporal compositional heterogeneities in magmatic systems. The same topological structures are observed in both 3D reconstructed rock samples and chaotic numerical simulations, indicating that the mixing of magmas is governed by chaotic dynamics. The use of 3D multimedia models gives the opportunity to penetrate into magma mixing structures and to understand their significance in the context of magma dynamics. Such an approach is very powerful since multimedia tools can strongly capture the attention of the reader bringing him/her into an interactive and memorable geological experience.