Pele's hair as a liquid of Hawaiian tholeiitic basalts

Abstract

The chemical composition of Pele's hair seems to be important for illustrating the variations in chemical compositions of the Hawaiian tholeiitic basalts including the iron-rich members. The tholeiites in Hawaii are divided into two groups: One includes a series of rocks whose compositions can be explained by mixing of the magma of Pele's hair and olivine, and the other includes those whose compositions can be explained by subtracting plagioclase and clinopyroxene from the magma of Pele's hair. By using the value of the mole ratio FeO/FeO_1.5 in the Pele's hair, the liquidus temperature of the magma of Pele's hair is estimated to be 1, 160°±10°C at an oxygen partial pressure of 10^-8.2 atm.