Plagioclase chains in partially melted basalt (3D recon)

(Top left) Three-dimensional pseudocolored reconstruction of a 1 cm core of Holyoke basalt, 50%-melted. Plagioclase is rendered yellow, pyroxene blue-to-white, glass green, and bubbles black. (Top right) Digital slab from center of the core with all minerals but plagioclase rendered transparent. The plagioclase crystals are linked together into chains that provide the partly melted cylinder with its strength. (Bottom left) A sub-volume of the basalt core. (Bottom right) Subvolume as left, in which the glass and plagioclase has been rendered transparent showing the granular appearance of the pyroxene. Throughout the core, the plagioclase crystals are linked to form chains that are continuous; pyroxene crystals tend to occur separately. (Sample courtesy of Dr. Tony Philpotts, University of Connecticut.)

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