A Reexamination of the Ballooning Plutons Hypothesis

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Emplacement of magmas represents one of the major processes in orogenic belts for transferring heat and materials from mantle and lower crustal levels. One of the accepted models for the forceful emplacement of plutons is that of "ballooning" or in situ inflation of a diapir. However, many of the features used to support ballooning can also develop during other types of emplacement. This project will re-examine several classic plutons thought to have formed by ballooning using modern micro- structural analysis and porphyroblast-matrix relationships to develop and constrain thermo-mechanical models for each. The results from this study will have important implications for the emplacement of granitoids, particularly the nature and timing of deformation/metamorphism in orogenic belts, and for the process of transferring heat and magma in the crust.