Page "Planetary differentiation" Paragraph 9
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Lighter materials try to rise through material with a higher density.
They may take on dome-shaped forms called diapirs when doing so.
On Earth, salt domes are salt diapirs in the crust which rise through surrounding rock.
Diapirs of molten low-density silicate rocks such as granite are well known and abundant in the Earth's upper crust.
The hydrated, low-density serpentinite formed by alteration of mantle material at subduction zones can also rise to the surface as diapirs.
Other materials do likewise: a low-temperature, near-surface example is provided by mud volcanos.
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