Calculation of amorphous silica solubilities at 25° to 300°C and apparent cation hydration numbers in aqueous salt solutions using the concept of effective density of water

The solubility of amorphous silica in aqueous salt solutions at 25° to 300°C can be calculated using information on its solubility in pure water and a model in which the activity of water in the salt solution is defined to equal the effective density. p_e, of “free” water in that solution. At temperatures of 100°C and above, p_e closely equals the product of the density of the solution times the weight fraction of water in the solution. At 25°C, a correction parameter must be applied to p_e that incorporates a term called the apparent cation hydration number, h. Because of the many assumptions and other uncertainties involved in determining values of h, by the model used here, the reported numbers are not necessarily real hydration numbers even though they do agree with some published values determined by activity and diffusion methods. Whether or not h is a real hydration number, it would appear to be useful in its inclusion within a more extensive activity coefficient term that describes the departure of silica solubilities in concentrated salt solutions from expected behavior according to the model presented here. Values of h can be calculated from measured amorphous silica solubilities in salt solutions at 25°C provided there is no complexing of dissolved silica with the dissolved salt, or if the degree of complexing is known. The previously postulated aqueous silica-sulfate complexing in aqueous Na₂SO₄ solutions is supported by results of the present effective density of water model.     

Amorphous silica solubilities—I. Behavior in aqueous sodium nitrate solutions; 25–300°C, 0–6 molal

The solubility of amorphous silica was obtained in aqueous sodium nitrate solutions up to six molal and at temperatures from 25 to 300°C. It was expected that solubilities in aqueous sodium chloride solutions would be similar. At 25°C, the solubility of amorphous silica is lowered from that in water to 0.00086 m in 6.12 m sodium nitrate, or a decrease of 60%. At 300°C, the corresponding decrease is only 27% from a solubility of 0.0269 m in H₂O. From the change in solubility with temperature at a given constant molality of sodium nitrate, the molal heat of solution over the range, 100 to 300°C, increases from + 2.93 kcal mol^?1 in water to + 3.64 kcal mol^?1 in 6m sodium nitrate. The value approaches a constant of +3.8 kcal mol^?1 as sodium nitrate approaches saturation at 10.8 molal.     

Amorphous silica solubilities—II. Effect of aqueous salt solutions at 25°C

The solubility of amorphous silica was measured at 25°C in ten separate sets of aqueous salt solutions—potassium chloride, potassium nitrate, sodium chloride, lithium chloride, lithium nitrate, magnesium chloride, calcium chloride, magnesium sulfate, sodium bicarbonate and sodium sulfate. The concentrations of the salts were varied from zero to saturation with both salt and amorphous silica. With increasing concentration of salt, the solubility of amorphous silica always decreased as expected from an average value of 0.00218 m in water. Nevertheless, the extent of decrease differed greatly from a 6% decrease in a solution saturated with NaHCO₃ to a 95.7% decrease in a solution saturated with CaCl₂. A striking correlation was observed: In the 1-1 and 2-1 electrolyte salt solutions at a given molality the effect on the solubility of silica depended upon the cation in the order Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺ > Li⁺ > Na⁺ > K ⁺.     

Metasomatic Phase Relations in the System CaO-MgO-SiO2-H2O-NaCl at High Temperatures and Pressures

An equation of state of solute silica in NaCl brines at 500 to 900°C and 4 to 15 kbar is formulated by making use of two experimentally determined properties of quartz solubility: the silica molality decreases in direct proportion to the logarithm of the NaCl mole fraction (X(NaCl)) at pressures approaching 10 kbar, and the relative silica molality (molality at a given NaCl mole fraction, m_x, divided by the molality in pure H₂O at the same P and T, m_o) is independent of temperature in the evaluated range. These two properties are expressed in the relation:

log(m_x/m_o)? = A + BX(NaCI),

where log(m_x/m_o)? denotes the logarithm of the ideal molality ratio, and A and B are functions of pressure, but not temperature or salinity, such that B = ?1.730 ? 1.431 × 10?³P + 5.923 × 10?⁴P² ?9.243 × lO?⁵P³, and A = 0 at P>10 kbar, whereas A = 0.6131 ? 0.1256P + 6.431 × 10?³P² at P≤10 kbar, as derived from fits to experimental data (Newton and Manning, 1999). The parameter A decreases from 0.214 to 0 from 4 to 9.5 kbar, and remains zero to 15 kbar; B decreases from ?1.373 to ?1.571 from 4 to 15 kbar. With the above relationship defining a variable X(NaCl)-T-P standard-state of solute silica, the activity of SiO₂ can be replaced by its molality for calculations of mineral-fluid equilibria over most of the conditions for metasomatism in the deep crust and upper mantle. Significant departures from ideality occur only at the lowest pressures, and low salinities.

Calculations on peridotite mineral stability in the simple system CaO-MgO-SiO₂-H₂O-NaCl at high T and P show that antigorite, brucite, and diopside are stable at 500°C and pressures of 5 to 15 kbar in the presence of concentrated NaCl solutions at low SiO₂ activities. At 700°C, anthophyllite is stable over a wide range of salinities at 5 kbar with tremolite but not with diopside. The presence of anthophyllite buffers silica solubility at a high, salinity-independent value close to quartz saturation. At 10 and 15 kbar and 700°C, talc replaces anthophyllite as the stable hydrate, and talc-trem-olite assemblages buffer SiO₂ fluid concentrations at high values nearly independent of salinity. At 900°C hydrates are unstable and diopside again becomes stable and coexists with enstatite in peridotites. These stability calculations correspond well to the observed progressive metamorphic sequence in peridotite bodies in the Central Alps.

This method of analysis may be useful in interpretation of metamorphosed ultramafic bodies in general, including the basal portions of obducted ophiolitic mantle lithosphere and the mantle wedge above subduction zones. More detailed calculations, including rocks containing feldspars, must take into account the more soluble major components of rocks, especially alkalis, as these will affect the activity coefficient of SiO₂ in NaCl solutions. The solubility of silica in the presence of minerals containing these components must be determined by additional measurements.     

The solubility of fluorite in hydrothermal solutions,an experimental study

The solubility of fluorite in NaCl solutions increases with increasing temperature at all ionic strengths up to about 100°C. Above this temperature, the solubility passes through a maximum and possibly a minimum with increasing temperature at NaCl concentrations of 1.0M or less, and increases continuously with increasing temperature at NaCl concentrations above 1.0M. At any given temperature, the solubility of fluorite increases with increasing salt concentration in NaCl, KCl and CaCl₂ solutions. The solubility follows Debye-Hückel theory for KCl solutions. In NaCl and CaCl₂ solutions, the solubility of fluorite increases more rapidly than predicted by Debye-Hückel theory: the excess solubility is due to the presence of NaF^c, CaF⁺, and possibly of Na₂F⁺. The solubility of fluorite in NaCl-CaCl₂ and in NaCl-CaCl₂-MgCl₂ solutions is controlled by the common ion effect and by the presence of NaF^c, CaF⁺, and MgF⁺. The solubility of fluorite in NaCl-HCl solutions increases rapidly with increasing initial HCl concentration; the large solubility increase is due to the presence of HF^c. It seems likely that complexes other than those identified in this study rarely play a major role in fluoride transport and fluorite deposition at temperatures below 300°C.     

Determination of the first ionization constant of silicic acid from quartz solubility in borate buffer solutions to 350°C

The solubility of quartz has been determined in borax buffer solutions having total boron concentrations of 0.10, 0.20, 0.40 and 0.60 mol kg^?1 and over the temperature range 130–350°C at the saturated vapour pressure of the system. The first ionization constant of silicic acid was calculated from the solubility data and varied from ?logK₁ = 8.88 (± 0.15) at 130°C to ?logK₁ = 10.06 (± 0.20) at 350°C. The solubility of quartz in these solutions was due to the presence of the three species, H₄SiO₄, H₃SiO₄^? and NaH₃SiO₄°. The equilibrium constant for the reaction, Na⁺ + H₃SiO₄^? = NaH₃SiO₄° extended from log K_as = 1.18?1.40 (± 0.20) over the temperature interval 135–301°C. The formation of NaH₃SiO₄° ion pairs was concluded to contribute significantly to the solubility of quartz in alkaline hydrothermal solutions when pH > 8 and sodium concentration exceeds 0.10 mol kg^?1.     

Chemical and thermodynamic constraints on the hydrothermal transport and deposition of tin: I. Calculation of the solubility of cassiterite at high pressures and temperatures

Estimation of equation of state parameters for Sn⁺⁺ and calculation of the thermodynamic properties of other aqueous species and dissociation constants for various stannous and stannic complexes as a function of temperature permit prediction of the high temperature solution chemistry of tin and calculation of the solubility of cassiterite in hydrothermal solutions. The results of these calculations indicate that in the absence of appreciable chloride and fluoride concentrations, Sn(OH)₂⁰ and Sn(OH)₄⁰ are the predominant tin species in H₂O up to 350°C at ~2 $\text{\$}\text{?}$pH $\text{\$}\text{?}$7.5. The calculations also indicate that chloride complexes of Sn⁺⁺ predominate by several orders of magnitude over their fluoride and hydroxide counterparts in 1–3 molal (m) NaCl solutions, except in the presence of geologically unrealistic concentrations of fluoride or a pH greater than ~3.5 at 250°C or ~5.0 at 350°C. At higher pH values, most of the tin in solution is present as hydroxide complexes, even at concentrations of NaCl as high as 3 m. Calculated values of the solubility of cassiterite at high temperatures compare favorably with experimental data reported in the literature. Depending on the fugacity of oxygen and solution composition, the solubility of cassiterite in hydrothermal solutions may exceed 100 ppm under geologically realistic conditions.     

Plagioclase-aqueous solution equilibrium: Concentration dependence

The plagioclase-(NaCl + CaCl₂) exchange equilibrium was examined experimentally at 700°C, 0.5 GPa in aqueous solutions with salt concentrations from 1 to 64 m. The Ca/(Ca + Na) distribution between plagioclase and solution (salt melt) is illustrated in five diagrams constructed for concentrations of 1, 4, 8, 16, and 64 m. The elevated bulk salinity of the fluid at a constant Ca/(Ca + Na) ratio results in plagioclase albitization, with this effect reaching a maximum in relatively dilute solutions (1–4 m). In concentrated solutions (salt melts), the shift in the plagioclase composition with variations in the salinity is relatively insignificant. The simple hydration of basic rocks (purely metamorphic reaction) is associated with the albitization of plagioclase, and calculations suggest a possible shift from anorthite to oligoclase. This is also applicable to chemically more complex mineral associations: an increase in the overall salinity of the fluid should result in an increase in the activity of monovalent cations relative to that of bivalent ones and, correspondingly, stimulate reactions in which alkali earth cations (Ca + Mg + Fe) are substituted for alkalis (Na + K + Li). Although our experiments were carried out at temperatures 50°C lower than the melting point of albite under a pure water pressure (0.5 GPa), the addition of CaCl₂ solution to albite (i.e., plagioclase anorthitization and a decrease in the water activity in the salt solutions) induced the appearance of melt because of quartz formation by the reaction 2Ab + CaCl₂ → An + 2NaCl + 4Qtz and the eutectic phase proportions in the Ab + Qtz system.     

Solubility of the buffer assemblage pyrite + pyrrhotite + magnetite in NaCl solutions from 200 to 350°C

In the design of hydrothermal solubility studies it is important that the system be completely defined chemically. If the solubilities of minerals containing m metallic elements are to be determined in hydrothermal NaCl solutions, the phase rule requires that a total of m + 6 independent intensive parameters be controlled or measured in order to determine completely the system.In this study the solubility of the univariant assemblage pyrite + pyrrhotite + magnetite has been determined in vapor saturated hydrothermal solutions from 200 to 350°C for NaCl concentrations ranging from 0.0 to 5.0 molal. At any temperature, oxygen and sulfur fugacities were buffered by the chosen assemblage. System pH was determined from excess CO₂ partial pressures and computed ionic equilibria. Equilibrium constants were calculated by regression analysis of solubility data. The results show that more than 10 ppm of each mineral can dissolve in typical hydrothermal solutions under geologically realistic conditions. Solubilities were best represented by the species Fe²⁺ and FeCl⁺ at 200 and 250°C; Fe²⁺, FeCl⁺ and FeCl₂⁰ at 300°C; and Fe²⁺ and FeCl₂⁰ at 350°C. Ore deposition would occur by lowering temperature, diluting chloride concentration, or by raising pH through wall rock alteration reactions.     

Effects of aging on silica solubility: A laboratory study

In three separate experiments, one using a bicarbonate buffered aqueous NaCl solution and two using natural seawater. the solubility of chemically pure X-ray amorphous precipitated silica decreased by approximately 20‰ after aging in contact with solution for several months. The specific surface area of the silica decreased by approximately half during the same experimental time periods. The solubility decrease in buffered NaCl solution occurred at both 2 and 22°C and over the pressure range from 1.01 × 10⁵ to 7.45 × 10⁷ Pa (1–740 atm). The aging process which causes the solubility and surface area decreases may be caused by the formation of a smooth surface silica layer that is more dense than the original surface. No change in the bulk chemistry of the silica could be defined after aging. This short term aging process contributes to the scatter in published solubilities for amorphous silica in seawater.     

CO2 solubility in aqueous solutions containing Na+, Ca2+, Cl−, SO42− and HCO3-: The effects of electrostricted water and ion hydration thermodynamics

Dissolution of CO₂ into deep subsurface brines for carbon sequestration is regarded as one of the few viable means of reducing the amount of CO₂ entering the atmosphere. Ions in solution partially control the amount of CO₂ that dissolves, but the mechanisms of the ion's influence are not clearly understood and thus CO₂ solubility is difficult to predict. In this study, CO₂ solubility was experimentally determined in water, NaCl, CaCl₂, Na₂SO_4, and NaHCO₃ solutions and a mixed brine similar to the Bravo Dome natural CO₂ reservoir; ionic strengths ranged up to 3.4 molal, temperatures to 140 °C, and CO₂ pressures to 35.5 MPa. Increasing ionic strength decreased CO₂ solubility for all solutions when the salt type remained unchanged, but ionic strength was a poor predictor of CO₂ solubility in solutions with different salts. A new equation was developed to use ion hydration number to calculate the concentration of electrostricted water molecules in solution. Dissolved CO₂ was strongly correlated (R² = 0.96) to electrostricted water concentration. Strong correlations were also identified between CO₂ solubility and hydration enthalpy and hydration entropy. These linear correlation equations predicted CO₂ solubility within 1% of the Bravo Dome brine and within 10% of two mixed brines from literature (a 10 wt % NaCl + KCl + CaCl₂ brine and a natural Na⁺, Ca²⁺, Cl⁻ type brine with minor amounts of Mg²⁺, K⁺, Sr²⁺ and Br⁻).     

An empirical method for the determination of single ion hydrogen isotope salt effects in aqueous electrolyte solutions

An empirical method is presented that allows the determination of the individual contributions of anions and cations to the effect of dissolved salts on hydrogen isotope fractionation in aqueous systems (isotope salt effect). The method is solely based on experimental data and does not involve the choice of arbitrary reference values or theoretical assumptions. Plotting experimental liquid–vapor D/H fractionation factors for aqueous solutions of sodium salts vs. O–D stretching frequencies of water molecules in the hydration shells of the anions shows an excellent linear correlation. The distance between this line and the pure water liquid–vapor fractionation data point in the same plot gives the cation contribution to the isotope salt effects. The anion contribution can then simply be derived as the difference between the total salt effect and the cation salt effect. The validity of the concept is demonstrated using precise literature data for the O–D stretching frequencies in the hydration shells of individual ions at 20°C [Bergström, P.A., 1991. Single ion hydration properties in aqueous solution: a quantitative infrared spectroscopic study. PhD Thesis. Uppsala University] and for the liquid–vapor hydrogen isotope fractionation between aqueous solutions and water vapor at the same temperature [Stewart, M.K., Friedman, I., 1975. Deuterium fractionation between aqueous salt solutions and water vapor. Journal of Geophysical Research 80, 3812–3818]. Within the limits of experimental uncertainties, the data set shows internal consistency. Cation salt effects, 1000 ln Γ at 20°C, are (in per mil per mole per liter, using the convention of Horita et al. [Horita, J., Cole, D.R., Wesolowski, D.J., 1993a. The activity–composition relationship of oxygen and hydrogen isotopes in aqueous salt solutions: II. Vapor–liquid water equilibration of mixed salt solutions from 50–100°C. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 57, 4703–4711]): Na⁺+0.7; K⁺+0.7; Mg²⁺+6.5; Ca²⁺+1.8; Al³⁺+12. The salt effect of H⁺ cannot be determined unequivocally. The combined effect of the fractionation of H⁺ itself plus its salt effect is +4.9. Anion effects are +1.4 for Cl⁻, +2.7 for Br⁻, +3.5 for I⁻ and −1.4 for SO₄²⁻. Further single anion salt effects are being predicted as −1.8 for F⁻, +4.9 for NO₃⁻, +6.9 for ClO₄⁻ and +5.4 for the triflate ion (CF₃SO₃⁻).     

Solubilities of corundum, wollastonite and quartz in H2O-NaCl solutions at 800 °C and 10 kbar: Interaction of simple minerals with brines at high pressure and temperature

Solubilities of corundum (Al₂O₃) and wollastonite (CaSiO₃) were measured in H₂O-NaCl solutions at 800 °C and 10 kbar and NaCl concentrations up to halite saturation by weight-loss methods. Additional data on quartz solubility at a single NaCl concentration were obtained as a supplement to previous work. Single crystals of synthetic corundum, natural wollastonite or natural quartz were equilibrated with H₂O and NaCl at pressure (P) and temperature (T) in a piston-cylinder apparatus with NaCl pressure medium and graphite heater sleeves. The three minerals show fundamentally different dissolution behavior. Corundum solubility undergoes large enhancement with NaCl concentration, rising rapidly from Al₂O₃ molality (m_Al2O3) of 0.0013(1) (1σ error) in pure H₂O and then leveling off to a maximum of ∼0.015 at halite saturation (X_NaCl ≈ 0.58, where X is mole fraction). Solubility enhancement relative to that in pure H₂O, , passes through a maximum at X_NaCl ≈ 0.15 and then declines towards halite saturation. Quenched fluids have neutral pH at 25 °C. Wollastonite has low solubility in pure H₂O at this P and T(m_CaSiO3=0.0167(6)). It undergoes great enhancement, with a maximum solubility relative to that in H₂O at X_NaCl ≈ 0.33, and solubility >0.5 molal at halite saturation. Solute silica is 2.5 times higher than at quartz saturation in the system H₂O-NaCl-SiO₂, and quenched fluids are very basic (pH 11). Quartz shows monotonically decreasing solubility from m_SiO2=1.248 in pure H₂O to 0.202 at halite saturation. Quenched fluids are pH neutral. A simple ideal-mixing model for quartz-saturated solutions that requires as input only the solubility and speciation of silica in pure H₂O reproduces the data and indicates that hydrogen bonding of molecular H₂O to dissolved silica species is thermodynamically negligible. The maxima in for corundum and wollastonite indicate that the solute products include hydrates and Na⁺ and/or Cl⁻ species produced by molar ratios of reactant H₂O to NaCl of 6:1 and 2:1, respectively. Our results imply that quite simple mechanisms may exist in the dissolution of common rock-forming minerals in saline fluids at high P and T and allow assessment of the interaction of simple, congruently soluble rock-forming minerals with brines associated with deep-crustal metamorphism.     

Mineralogical and textural variation of silica minerals in hydrothermal flow-through experiments: Implications for quartz vein formation

We conducted hydrothermal flow-through experiments at 430 °C and 31 MPa to investigate the mechanism of silica precipitation on granite under crustal conditions. Two experiments were performed using different input solutions: a single-component Si solution, and a multi-component solution with minor Al, Na, and K. The degree of supersaturation with respect to quartz, Ω = C_Si/C_Si,Qtz,eq, where C_Si and C_Si,Qtz,eq indicate Si concentration in solutions and the solubility of quartz within water, respectively, decreased from 3-3.5 to <1.1 along the flow path. A variety of silica minerals formed during the experiments (opal-A, opal-C, chalcedony, and quartz), and their occurrences and modal abundances changed in response to Ω and the presence of additives in the solution.For near-equilibrium solutions (Ω < ∼1.2), silica precipitation occurred in a simple way in both experiments, being restricted to overgrowths on pre-existing quartz surfaces in the granite. At higher saturation levels (Ω > ∼1.2), silica minerals were deposited on other surfaces in addition to quartz. In the single-component experiment, the dominant silica minerals changed in the order of opal-A → opal-C → quartz with decreasing Si concentration along the flow path. In contrast, in the multi-component experiment, quartz and minor chalcedony formed throughout the entire reaction vessel. This finding indicates that impurities (Na, K, and Al) in the solutions inhibited the precipitation of opal and enhanced the direct nucleation of quartz. The systematic appearance of metastable silica minerals were examined by nucleation processes and macroscopic precipitation kinetics. Our experimental results indicate that different precipitation mechanisms yield contrasting textures, which in turn suggests that vein textures can be used as indicators of solution chemistry within the fracture.     

The solubility of quartz in aqueous sodium chloride solution at 350°C and 180 to 500 bars

The solubility of quartz in 2, 3, and 4 molal NaCl was measured at 350°C and pressures ranging from 180 to 500 bars. The molal solubility in each of the salt solutions is greater than that in pure water throughout the measured pressure range, with the ratio of solubility in NaCl solution to solubility in pure water decreasing as pressure is increased. The measured solubilities are significantly higher than solubilities calculated using a simple model in which the water activity in NaCl solutions decreases either in proportion to decreasing vapor pressure of the solution as salinity is increased or in proportion to decreasing mole fraction of water in the solvent.     

Mineral solution equilibria—II. An experimental study of mineral solubilities and the thermodynamic properties of aqueous CaCl2 in the system CaO-SiO2-H2O-HCl

Speciation of aqueous calcium chloride and the solubility of wollastonite represented by the reaction wollastonite + 2HCl° → CaCl₂° + quartz + H₂O were experimentally investigated at 1 and 2 kbar in the range 425–600°C using rapid-quench hydrothermal techniques and a modified Ag + AgCl buffer technique (Frantz and Popp, 1979). Variation in the measured concentration in HCl° as a function of total dissolved calcium was used to identify associated aqueous CaCl₂° as the predominant calcium species in the fluid at temperatures above 500°C at 2 kbar. The data were used to calculate the equilibrium constant for the above reaction as a function of temperature and pressure, from which the difference in Gibbs free energy of formation between CaCl₂° and HCl° at 1 and 2 kbar, 450°–600°C was calculated. Solubility constants for minerals in the system MgO-CaO-SiO₂-H₂O-HCl-CO₂ were calculated using the data from this study and from Frantz and Popp (1979). Calculated mineral solubilities were used to calculate the solution compositions and solid alteration products resulting from interactions of a Ca-Mg silicate mineral (diopside) with hydrothermal solutions containing a range of different total chloride concentrations. High total chloride (2.0 m) in the solution results in Si-Mg enrichment in the solids and Ca enrichment in the fluid, whereas low total chloride (0.008 m) results in Mg enrichment in the solids and Ca-Si enrichment in the fluid.     

Ammonium in aqueous fluids to 600 °C, 1.3 GPa: A spectroscopic study on the effects on fluid properties, silica solubility, and K-feldspar to muscovite reactions

The behavior of ammonium, NH₄⁺, in aqueous systems was studied based on Raman spectroscopic experiments to 600 °C and about 1.3 GPa. Spectra obtained at ambient conditions revealed a strong reduction of the dynamic three-dimensional network of water with addition of ammonium chloride, particularly at small solute concentrations. The differential scattering cross section of the ν₁-NH₄⁺ Raman band in these solutions was found to be similar to that of salammoniac.The Raman band of silica monomers at ∼780 cm⁻¹ was present in all spectra of the fluid at high temperatures in hydrothermal diamond-anvil cell experiments with H₂O ± NH₄Cl and quartz or the assemblage quartz + kyanite + K-feldspar ± muscovite/tobelite. However, these spectra indicated that dissolved silica is less polymerized in ammonium chloride solutions than in comparable experiments with water. Quantification based on the normalized integrated intensity of the H₄SiO₄⁰ band showed that the silica solubility in experiments with H₂O + NH₄Cl was significantly lower than that in equimolal NaCl solutions. This suggests that ammonium causes a stronger decrease in the activity of water in chloridic solutions than sodium.The Raman spectra of the fluid also showed that a significant fraction of ammonium was converted to ammonia, NH₃, in all experiments at temperatures above 300 °C. This indicates a shift towards acidic conditions for experiments without a buffering mineral assemblage. The estimated pH of the fluid was ∼2 at 600 °C, 0.26 GPa, 6.6 m initial NH₄Cl, based on the ratio of the integrated ν₁-NH₃ and ν₁-NH₄⁺ intensities and the HCl⁰ dissociation constant. The NH₃/NH₄⁺ ratio increased with temperature and decreased with pressure. This implies that more ammonium should be retained in K-bearing minerals coexisting with chloridic fluids upon high-P low-T metamorphism. At 500 °C, 0.73 GPa, ammonium partitions preferentially into the fluid, as constrained from infrared spectroscopy on the muscovite and from mass balance.The conversion of K-feldspar to muscovite proceeded much faster in experiments with NH₄Cl solutions than in comparable experiments with water. This is interpreted as being caused by enhancement of the rate-limiting alumina solubility, suggesting complexation of Al with NH₄. Nucleation and growth of mica at the expense of K-feldspar and NH₄⁺/K⁺ exchange between fluid and K-feldspar occurred simultaneously, but incorporation of NH₄⁺ into K-feldspar was distinctly faster than K-feldspar consumption.     

Fluid Inclusions and Hydrogen,Oxygen, Sulfur Isotopes of Nuri Cu‐W‐Mo Deposit in the Southern Gangdese,Tibet

The Nuri Cu‐W‐Mo deposit is located in the southern subzone of the Cenozoic Gangdese Cu‐Mo metallogenic belt. The intrusive rocks exposed in the Nuri ore district consist of quartz diorite, granodiorite, monzogranite, granite porphyry, quartz diorite porphyrite and granodiorite porphyry, all of which intrude in the Cretaceous strata of the Bima Group. Owing to the intense metasomatism and hydrothermal alteration, carbonate rocks of the Bima Group form stratiform skarn and hornfels. The mineralization at the Nuri deposit is dominated by skarn, quartz vein and porphyry type. Ore minerals are chalcopyrite, pyrite, molybdenite, scheelite, bornite and tetrahedrite, etc. The oxidized orebodies contain malachite and covellite on the surface. The mineralization of the Nuri deposit is divided into skarn stage, retrograde stage, oxide stage, quartz‐polymetallic sulfide stage and quartz‐carbonate stage. Detailed petrographic observation on the fluid inclusions in garnet, scheelite and quartz from the different stages shows that there are four types of primary fluid inclusions: two‐phase aqueous inclusions, daughter mineral‐bearing multiphase inclusions, CO₂‐rich inclusions and single‐phase inclusions. The homogenization temperature of the fluid inclusions are 280°C–386°C (skarn stage), 200°C–340°C (oxide stage), 140°C–375°C (quartz‐polymetallic sulfide stage) and 160°C–280°C (quartz‐carbonate stage), showing a temperature decreasing trend from the skarn stage to the quartz‐carbonate stage. The salinity of the corresponding stages are 2.9%–49.7 wt% (NaCl) equiv., 2.1%–7.2 wt% (NaCl) equiv._, 2.6%–55.8 wt% (NaCl) equiv. and 1.2%–15.3 wt% (NaCl) equiv., respectively. The analyses of CO₂‐rich inclusions suggest that the ore‐forming pressures are 22.1 M Pa–50.4 M Pa, corresponding to the depth of 0.9 km–2.2 km. The Laser Raman spectrum of the inclusions shows the fluid compositions are dominated in H₂O, with some CO₂ and very little CH₄, N₂, etc. δD values of garnet are between ?114.4‰ and ?108.7‰ and δ¹⁸O_H2O between 5.9‰ and 6.7‰; δD of scheelite range from ?103.2‰ to ?101.29‰ and δ¹⁸O_H2O values between 2.17‰ and 4.09‰; δD of quartz between ?110.2‰ and ?92.5‰ and δ¹⁸O_H2O between ?3.5‰ and 4.3‰. The results indicate that the fluid came from a deep magmatic hydrothermal system, and the proportion of meteoric water increased during the migration of original fluid. The δ³⁴S values of sulfides, concentrated in a rage between ?0.32‰ to 2.5‰, show that the sulfur has a homogeneous source with characteristics of magmatic sulfur. The characters of fluid inclusions, combined with hydrogen‐oxygen and sulfur isotopes data, show that the ore‐forming fluids of the Nuri deposit formed by a relatively high temperature, high salinity fluid originated from magma, which mixed with low temperature, low salinity meteoric water during the evolution. The fluid flow through wall carbonate rocks resulted in the formation of layered skarn and generated CO₂ or other gases. During the reaction, the ore‐forming fluid boiled and produced fractures when the pressure exceeded the overburden pressure. Themeteoric water mixed with the ore‐forming fluid along the fractures. The boiling changed the pressure and temperature, oxygen fugacity, physical and chemical conditions of the whole mineralization system. The escape of CO₂ from the fluid by boiling resulted in scheelite precipitation. The fluid mixing and boiling reduced the solubility of metal sulfides and led the precipitation of chalcopyrite, molybdenite, pyrite and other sulfide.     

A thermodynamic model for calculating methane solubility, density and gas phase composition of methane-bearing aqueous fluids from 273 to 523 K and from 1 to 2000 bar

A thermodynamic model is presented to calculate methane solubility, liquid phase density and gas phase composition of the H₂O-CH₄ and H₂O-CH₄-NaCl systems from 273 to 523 K (possibly up to 573 K), from 1 to 2000 bar and from 0 to 6 mol kg⁻¹ of NaCl with experimental accuracy. By a more strict theoretical approach and using updated experimental data, this model made substantial improvements over previous models: (1) the accuracy of methane solubility in pure water in the temperature range between 273 and 283 K is increased from about 10% to about 5%, but confirms the accuracy of the Duan model [Duan Z., Moller N., Weare J.H., 1992a. Prediction of methane solubilities in natural waters to high ionic strength from 0 to 250 °C and from 0 to 1600 bar. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta56, 1451-1460] above 283 K up to 2000 bar; (2) the accuracy of methane solubility in the NaCl aqueous solutions is increased from >12% to about 6% on average from 273 K and 1 bar to 523 K and 2000 bar; (3) this model is able to calculate water content in the gas phase and liquid phase density, which cannot be calculated by previous models; and (4) it covers a wider range of temperature and pressure space. With a simple approach, this model is extended to predict CH₄ solubility in other aqueous salt solutions containing Na⁺, K⁺, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, Cl⁻ and , such as seawater and geothermal brines, with excellent accuracy. This model is also able to calculate homogenization pressure of fluid inclusions (CH₄-H₂O-NaCl) and CH₄ solubility in water at gas-liquid-hydrate phase equilibrium. A computer code is developed for this model and can be downloaded from the website: www.geochem-model.org/programs.htm.