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Long, nanometer-size metallic wires can be synthesized by injection of the conducting melt into nanochannel insulating plates. Large-area arrays of parallel wires 200 nanometers in diameter and 50 micrometers long with a packing density of 5 x 10(8) per square centimeter have been fabricated in this way. When charged, the ends of the wires generate strong, short-range electric fields. The nanowire electric fields have been imaged at high spatial resolution with a scanning force microscope.

Magma reservoirs play a key role in controlling numerous processes in planetary evolution, including igneous differentiation and degassing, crustal construction, and volcanism. For decades, scientists have tried to understand what happens in these reservoirs, using an array of techniques such as field mapping/petrology/geochemistry/geochronology on plutonic and volcanic lithologies, geophysical imaging of active magmatic provinces, and numerical/experimental modeling. This review paper tries to follow this multidisciplinary framework while discussing past and present ideas. We specifically focus on recent claims that magma columns within the Earth's crust are mostly kept at high crystallinity ("mush zones"), and that the dynamics within those mush columns, albeit modulated by external factors (e.g., regional stress field, rheology of the crust, pre-existing tectonic structure), play an important role in controlling how magmas evolve, degas, and ultimately erupt. More specifically, we consider how the chemical and dynamical evolution of magma in dominantly mushy reservoirs provides a framework to understand: (1) the origin of petrological gradients within deposits from large volcanic eruptions ("ignimbrites"); (2) the link between volcanic and plutonic lithologies; (3) chemical fractionation of magmas within the upper layers of our planet, including compositional gaps noticed a century ago in volcanic series (4) volatile migration and storage within mush columns; and (5) the occurrence of petrological cycles associated with caldera-forming events in long-lived magmatic provinces. The recent advances in understanding the inner workings of silicic magmatism are paving the way to exciting future discoveries, which, we argue, will come from interdisciplinary studies involving more quantitative approaches to study the crust-reservoir thermo-mechanical coupling as well as the kinetics that govern these open systems.

Volcanic eruptions transfer huge amounts of gas to the atmosphere. In particular, the sulfur released during large silicic explosive eruptions can induce global cooling. A fundamental goal in volcanology, therefore, is to assess the potential for eruption of the large volumes of crystal-poor, silicic magma that are stored at shallow depths in the crust, and to obtain theoretical bounds for the amount of volatiles that can be released during these eruptions. It is puzzling that highly evolved, crystal-poor silicic magmas are more likely to generate volcanic rocks than plutonic rocks. This observation suggests that such magmas are more prone to erupting than are their crystal-rich counterparts. Moreover, well studied examples of largely crystal-poor eruptions (for example, Katmai, Taupo and Minoan) often exhibit a release of sulfur that is 10 to 20 times higher than the amount of sulfur estimated to be stored in the melt. Here we argue that these two observations rest on how the magmatic volatile phase (MVP) behaves as it rises buoyantly in zoned magma reservoirs. By investigating the fluid dynamics that controls the transport of the MVP in crystal-rich and crystal-poor magmas, we show how the interplay between capillary stresses and the viscosity contrast between the MVP and the host melt results in a counterintuitive dynamics, whereby the MVP tends to migrate efficiently in crystal-rich parts of a magma reservoir and accumulate in crystal-poor regions. The accumulation of low-density bubbles of MVP in crystal-poor magmas has implications for the eruptive potential of such magmas, and is the likely source of the excess sulfur released during explosive eruptions.

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Compositional heterogeneities within Europa's ice shell likely impact the dynamics and habitability of the ice and subsurface ocean, but the total inventory and distribution of impurities within the shell are unknown. In sea ice on Earth, the thermochemical environment at the ice-ocean interface governs impurity entrainment into the ice. Here, we simulate Europa's ice-ocean interface and bound the impurity load (1.053-14.72 g/kg [parts per thousand weight percent, or ppt] bulk ice shell salinity) and bulk salinity profile of the ice shell. We derive constitutive equations that predict ice composition as a function of the ice shell thermal gradient and ocean composition. We show that evolving solidification rates of the ocean and hydrologic features within the shell produce compositional variations (ice bulk salinities of 5-50% of the ocean salinity) that can affect the material properties of the ice. As the shell thickens, less salt is entrained at the ice-ocean interface, which implies Europa's ice shell is compositionally homogeneous below~1 km. Conversely, the solidification of water filled fractures or lenses introduces substantial compositional variations within the ice shell, creating gradients in mechanical and thermal properties within the ice shell that could help initiate and sustain geological activity. Our results suggest that ocean materials entrained within Europa's ice shell affect the formation of geologic terrain and that these structures could be confirmed by planned spacecraft observations. Plain Language Summary Europa, the second innermost moon of Jupiter, likely houses an interior ocean that could provide a habitat for life. This ocean resides beneath a 10-to >30-km-thick ice shell which could act as a barrier or conveyor for ocean-surface material transport that could render the ocean chemistry either hospitable or unfavorable for life. Additionally, material impurities in the ice shell will alter its physical properties and thus affect the global dynamics of the moon's icy exterior. That said, few of the interior properties of the ice shell or ocean have been directly measured. On Earth, the composition of ocean-derived ice is governed by the chemistry of the parent liquid and the rate at which it forms. Here, we extend models of sea ice to accommodate the Europa ice-ocean environment and produce physically realistic predictions of Europa's ice shell composition and the evolution of water bodies (fractures and lenses) within the shell. Our results show that the thermal gradient of the ice and the liquid composition affect the formation and evolution of geologic features in ways that could be detectable by future spacecraft (e.g., by ice penetrating radar measurements made by Europa Clipper).