Transport of melt and volatiles in magmas inferred from kinetic experiments on the partial melting of granitic rocks

Our experimental results indicate that partial melting could be extremely common in granitic bodies and yield no traces in the residual rock after segregation of the interstitial melt. In contrast, core-to-rim profiles of feldspars may preserve a record of the interaction between residual minerals and the extracted melt. Fast segregation of melts enriched in volatiles and incompatible trace elements, produced by breakdown of hydrous minerals, may represent a possible mechanism for generation of pegmatites.