The solubility of calcite in water at 6–16 kbar and 500–800 °C

The solubility of calcite in H₂O was measured at 6–16 kbar, 500–800 °C, using a piston-cylinder apparatus. The solubility was determined by the weight loss of a single crystal and by direct analysis of the quench fluid. Calcite dissolves congruently in the pressure (P) and temperature (T) range of this study. At 10 kbar, calcite solubility increases with increasing temperature from 0.016±0.005 molal at 500 °C to 0.057±0.022 molal at 750 °C. The experiments reveal evidence for hydrous melting of calcite between 750 and 800 °C. Solubilities show only a slight increase with increasing P over the range investigated. Comparison with work at low P demonstrates that the P dependence of calcite solubility is large between 1 and 6 kbar, increasing at 500 °C from 1.8×10^–5 molal at 1 kbar to 6.4×10^–3 molal at 6 kbar. The experimental results are described by:

P-T-X effects on equilibrium carbonate-H2O-CO2-NaCl dihedral angles: constraints on carbonate permeability and the role of deformation during fluid infiltration

Fluid-solid-solid dihedral angles in the NaCl-H₂O-CO₂-calcite-dolomite-magnesite system have been determined at pressures ranging from 0.5 to 7 kbar and temperatures from 450°C to 750°C. At 1 kbar and 650°C, both dolomite and magnesite exhibit a dihedral angle minimum for intermediate H₂O-CO₂ fluids similar to that previously determined by the present authors for calcite, but the depth of the minimum is smaller, being above the critical value of 60° for both dolomite and magnesite for all fluid compositions. Calcite-calcite-brine dihedral angles at 650°C have been determined in the pressure range 1–5 kbar. Angles decrease with increasing salt content of the fluid, tending towards a constant value of about 65° for strong brines at pressures above 2 kbar. There is a general increase of angle with increasing pressure which is most marked for strong brines. A positive correlation of angle with pressure is also observed in calcite-H₂O-CO₂ fluids, the position of the minimum moving towards higher angles and towards H₂O-rich fluids with increasing pressure. The permeability window previously observed by the present authors at 1 kbar and intermediate fluid compositions closes at about 1.5 kbar. The results demonstrate that the permeability of carbonates to grain edge fluid flow is only possible at low pressures and for fluids of restricted H₂O-CO₂-NaCl compositions. However, geochemical evidence from metamorphic terrains suggests that pervasive infiltration does occur under conditions where impermeability is predicted. From examination of published studies of infiltrated carbonates we conclude that deformation plays a critical role in enhancing carbonate permeability. Possible mechanisms for this include shear-enhanced dilatancy (micro-cracking), fluid inclusion drag by deformation-controlled grain boundary migration, and dynamically maintained transient grain boundary fluid films.     

Experimental determination and analysis of the solubility of corundum in 0.1-molal CaCl2 solutions between 400 and 600°C at 0.6 to 2.0 kbar

Corundum (α-Al₂O₃) solubility was measured in 0.1-molal CaCl₂ solutions from 400 to 600°C between 0.6 and 2.0 kbar. The Al molality at 2 kbar increases from 3.1 × 10⁻⁴ at 400°C to 12.7 × 10⁻⁴ at 600°C. At 1 kbar, the solubility increases from 1.5 × 10⁻⁴m at 400°C to 3.4 × 10⁻⁴m at 600°C. These molalities are somewhat less than corundum solubility in pure H₂O (Walther, 1997) at 400°C but somewhat greater at 600°C. The distribution of species was computed considering the Al species Al(OH)₃⁰ and Al(OH)₄⁻, consistent with the solubility of corundum in pure H₂O of Walther (1997) and association constants reported in the literature. The calculated solubility was greater than that measured except at 600°C and 2.0 kbar, indicating that neutral-charged species interactions are probably important.A Setchénow model for neutral species resulted in poor fitting of the measured values at 1.0 kbar. This suggests that Al(OH)₃⁰ has a greater stability relative to Al(OH)₄⁻ than given by the models of Pokrovskii and Helgeson (1995) or Diakonov et al. (1996). The significantly lower Al molalities in CaCl₂ relative to those in NaCl solutions at the same concentration confirm the suggestions of Walther (2001) and others that NaAl(OH)₄⁰ rather than an Al-Cl complex must be significant in supercritical NaCl solutions to give the observed increase in corundum solubility with increasing NaCl concentrations.     

Transformation of enstatite — diopside — jadeite pyroxenes to garnet

The high-pressure stability of enstatite(En)-diopside(Di)-jadeite(Jd) pyroxenes has been investigated experimentally with a split-sphere anvil apparatus (USSA-2000). On the enstatite-pyrope join, the compositions of garnet coexisting with enstatite were determined at 100–165 kbar and 1450–1850° C. The results indicate complete solubility between enstatite and pyrope. In the system CaO-MgO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂ (CMAS), the compositions of coexisting pyroxenes and garnet were determined at 100–165 kbar and 1250–1750° C. At 157 kbar, 1650° C, garnet with the composition En₇₉Di₂₁ (mol%) forms on the En-Di join. In the system Na₂O-MgO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂ (NMAS), the compositions of coexisting pyroxenes and garnet were determined at 60–160 kbar and 1200–1850° C. On the En-Jd join, the first garnet has the composition En₄₈Jd₅₂ at 135 kbar, 1650° C, and En₅₃Jd₄₇ at 140 kbar, 1500° C. On the Di-Jd join, the first garnet with the composition Di₆₃Jd₃₇ forms around 170 kbar, 1650° C. In the En-Di-Jd system, the first appearance of garnet with the composition En₄₂Di₉Jd₄₉ is estimated at 133 kbar, 1650° C. The new pyroxene with the composition NaMg_0.5Si_2.5O₆ (NaPx) transforms to garnet at 154 kbar, 1650° C. The experimental results indicate that the transformation of a twopyroxene assemblage to garnet and residual pyroxene in the En-Di-Jd system could occur at pressures consistent with the 400 km seismic discontinuity and in a pressure interval of 0–3 kbar.     

The stability of merwinite in the system CaO-MgO-SiO2-H2O-CO2 with CO2-poor fluids

The stability of merwinite (Mw) and its equivalent assemblages, akermanite (Ak)+calcite (Cc), diopside (Di)+calcite, and wollastonite (Wo)+monticellite (Mc)+calcite was determined at T=500–900° C and P _f=0.5–2.0 kbar under H₂O–CO₂ fluid conditions with X _{CO 2}=0.5, 0.1, 0.05, and 0.02. Merwinite is stable at P _f=0.5 kbar with T>700° C and X _{CO 2}<0.1. At P _f=2.0 kbar, the assemblage Di+Cc replaces merwinite at all T and X _{CO 2} conditions. At intermediate P _f=1 kbar, the assemblage Ak+Cc is stable above 707° C and Wo+Mc+Cc is stable below 707° C. The univariant curve for the reaction Di+Cc=Wo+Mc+CO₂ is almost parallel to the T axis and shifts to low P _f with increasing X _{CO 2}, with the assemblage Di+Cc on the high-P _f side. The implications of the experimental results in regard to contact metamorphism of limestone are discussed using the aureole at Crestmore, California as an example.     

Orthopyroxene thermobarometry in simple and complex systems

In the system FeO-MgO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂ (FMAS), the equilibrium Al-content of orthopyroxene coexisting with olivine and spinel was reversed in 18 experiments at 1 340° C and 11 or 18 kbar, using graphite capsules and PbO flux. In the CFMAS system (+CaO), the Al-contents of ortho- and clinopyroxene coexisting with olivine and spinel were reversed in 5 experiments at 1 340° C and 18 kbar. The Al-content of clinopyroxene remains constant, while the Al-content of orthopyroxene increases with increasing Fe-content. The Ca-content of clinopyroxene is independent of the Al-content. The data were used to describe the Fe-Mg site distribution in the aluminous orthopyroxene. The Fe-Mg partitioning among orthopyroxene, olivine, spinel and garnet, combined with the Al-content of orthopyroxene, was used to calculate orthopyroxene based thermobarometers in the FMAS, CFMAS and NCFMAS (+Na₂O) systems. The thermobarometers were applied to the Adirondack metagabbros, which gave equilibration temperatures of 700–800° C and pressures 7.4–10.3 kbar.     

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.     

Aragonite crystallization from strained calcite at reduced pressures and its bearing on aragonite in low-grade metamorphism

Aragonite, the dense form of CaCO₃, grew hydrothermally at 100–300° C and dry at 300–400° C at very low pressures from calcite strained by grinding. Nearly complete inversion to aragonite occurred in some runs with Ca-Mg chloride solutions at 0–2.4 kb and 100–200° C on strained calcite having a (10¯14) reflection with a half-width of 0.48° 2 Cu K. A little aragonite grew dry at one atm. from the ground calcite at 300–400° C in a few hrs. Simultaneous shear during recrystallization of calcite in a rotating squeezer resulted in significant aragonite at 300–400° C several kb. below the stability field. No inversion occurred in any ground calcite when previously annealed in CO₂ at 500° C for a few hrs. Thermochemical data show that at least 200 cal/mole of strain energy can be produced in calcite by mild deformation. This much stored energy would lower the pressure requirements of aragonite, relative to the strained calcite by more than 3 kb, and our observation that aragonite growth was faster than strain recovery of calcite indicates that aragonite can grow in nature at reduced pressures from strained calcite.Some experiments were also carried out on highly magnesian calcites with the thought that aragonite might also form at the expense of this metastable material. No aragonite was produced, but the possibility that this mechanism could be operative in nature cannot be discounted.The microtexture of aragonitic deformed marbles from NW Washington (prehnite-pumpellyite facies rocks, courtesy of J. A. Vance) as well as electron probe microanalysis of these rocks indicates that aragonite selectively replaced highly strained calcite. The calcite-aragonite transition is thus a questionable indicator of high-pressure in certain metamorphic rocks.     

Solubility of grossular, Ca3Al2Si3O12, in H2O-NaCl solutions at 800 °C and 10 kbar, and the stability of garnet in the system CaSiO3-Al2O3-H2O-NaCl

The solubility and stability of synthetic grossular were determined at 800 °C and 10 kbar in NaCl-H₂O solutions over a large range of salinity. The measurements were made by evaluating the weight losses of grossular, corundum, and wollastonite crystals equilibrated with fluid for up to one week in Pt capsules and a piston-cylinder apparatus. Grossular dissolves congruently over the entire salinity range and displays a large solubility increase of 0.0053 to 0.132 molal Ca₃Al₂Si₃O₁₂ with increasing NaCl mole fraction (X_NaCl) from 0 to 0.4. There is thus a solubility enhancement 25 times the pure H₂O value over the investigated range, indicating strong solute interaction with NaCl. The Ca₃Al₂Si₃O₁₂ mole fraction versus NaCl mole fraction curve has a broad plateau between X_NaCl = 0.2 and 0.4, indicating that the solute products are hydrous; the enhancement effect of NaCl interaction is eventually overtaken by the destabilizing effect of lowering H₂O activity. In this respect, the solubility behavior of grossular in NaCl solutions is similar to that of corundum and wollastonite. There is a substantial field of stability of grossular at 800 °C and 10 kbar in the system CaSiO₃-Al₂O₃-H₂O-NaCl. At high Al₂O₃/CaSiO₃ bulk compositions the grossular + fluid field is limited by the appearance of corundum. Zoisite appears metastably with corundum in initially pure H₂O, but disappears once grossular is nucleated. At X_NaCl = 0.3, however, zoisite is stable with corundum and fluid; this is the only departure from the quaternary system encountered in this study. Corundum solubility is very high in solutions containing both NaCl and CaSiO₃: Al₂O₃ molality increases from 0.0013 in initially pure H₂O to near 0.15 at X_NaCl = 0.4 in CaSiO₃-saturated solutions, a >100-fold enhancement. In contrast, addition of Al₂O₃ to wollastonite-saturated NaCl solutions increases CaSiO₃ molality by only 12%. This suggests that at high pH (quench pH is 11-12), the stability of solute Ca chloride and Na-Al ± Si complexes account for high Al₂O₃ solubility, and that Ca-Al ± Si complexes are minor. The high solubility and basic dissolution reaction of grossular suggest that Al may be a very mobile component in calcareous rocks in the deep crust and upper mantle when migrating saline solutions are present.     

Phase relations in the CH4-H2O-NaCl system at 2 kbar, 300 to 600°C as determined using synthetic fluid inclusions

Synthesis of fluid inclusions in the CH₄-H₂O-NaCl system was accomplished by subjecting fractured quartz or fluorite, along with known quantities of CH₄, H₂O, and NaCl, to a pressure of 2 kbar and temperatures of 300, 400, 500, or 600°C, in sealed Au capsules. Under the elevated P-T conditions, some of the fractures healed, trapping fluids as inclusions. Microthermometric measurements conducted on the fluid inclusions show that at 2 kbar and 400 to 600°C, there are very broad regions of fluid unmixing in the CH₄-H₂O-NaCl system. For those bulk fluid compositions that lie in the two-phase (i.e., immiscible fluids) field, the high-density phase is enriched in NaCl, whereas the low-density phase is enriched in CH₄. For any given bulk composition, the degree of NaCl enrichment in the high-density phase increases, whereas the degree of CH₄ enrichment in the low-density phase decreases, as temperature increases from 400 to 600°C. Our experimental constraints on the size of the two-phase field are generally consistent with results generated using the equation-of-state GEOFLUIDS (available at http://geotherm.ucsd.edu/geofluids/). However, when comparing the compositions of coexisting immiscible fluids, as determined experimentally vs. calculated using GEOFLUIDS, we find that some relatively small but probably significant differences exist between our experiments and this equation of state.     

Cymrite: new occurrence and stability

The rare mineral cymrite, BaAl₂Si₂O₈·H₂O, was discovered in Nevada in a Cambrian bedded barite sequence that exhibits low-grade metamorphism. The mineral occurs exclusively in thin-bedded siliceous rock containing anhedral pyrite crystals up to 1 cm. Cymrite forms rectangular grains ca 40 m across, distributed throughout the chalcedonic quartz matrix. An SEM image of one such blocky grain shows that it is filled by tiny aggregates, instead of a single crystal of cymrite. This cymrite may have replaced a pre-existing rectangular mineral, most likely barite. The Nevada occurrence of cymrite prompted a restudy of its stability relations. Conventional hydrothermal techniques were adopted in the experimental work with run durations up to 7 months. The univariant curve for the dehydration reaction: BaA1₂Si₂O₈· H₂O -BaA1₂Si₂O₈ +H₂O passes the following reversed brackets: 300–315° C at 3 kbar, 290–300° C at a 2 kbar, 270–285° C at 1 kbar, and 240–270° C at 0.5 kbar. These results indicate that cymrite can be stable at much lower pressures than those previously reported. The replacement of barite by cymrite was experimentally demonstrated with an alkaline solution as depicted by the reaction: BaSO₄+2OH^-+A1₂O₃-2SiO₂=BaA1₂Si₂O₈·H₂O+SO ₄ ² Such replacement failed to take place when an acidic solution was used instead.     

Melting and subsolidus reactions in the system K2O−CaO−MgO−Al2O3−SiO2−H2O: experiments and petrologic application

Experiments with synthetic starting materials of muscovite, phlogopite, zoisite, kyanite and quartz were performed in the pressure temperature range 10–25 kbar, 640–780° C under water excess conditions. The reaction muscovite+zoisite+quartz+vapor=liquid+kyanite was bracketed at 10.5 kbar/689–700° C, 15.5 kbar/709–731° C and 20 kbar/734–745° C. The equivalent reaction in the Mg-bearing system muscovite_ss +zoisite+quartz+vapor=liquid+kyanite+phlogopite_ss lies at the same temperature around 10 kbar and approximately 10° C higher around 20 kbar, compared with the Mg-free reaction. At slightly higher temperatures formation of melt and tremolite_ss was reversibly observed from the assemblage phlogopite_ss+zoisite +kyanite+quartz around 10.5 kbar/690–710° C, 15.5 kbar/720–750° C and 20.5 kbar/745–760° C. In the subsolidus region, the reaction muscovite_ss+talc_ss+ tremolite_ss=phlogopite_ss+zoisite+quartz+vapor were located in the range 700° C/16.7–19.0 kbar and 740° C/19.7–20.8 kbar. From these data, a wedge shaped stability field of phlogopite_ss+zoisite+quartz appears with a high P, T termination around 21 kbar/755° C. Muscovite+tremolite+talc or kyanite comes in at higher pressures. These phase relations are in qualitative accord with petrographic observations from high pressure metamorphic areas. Formation and crystallization of melts in rocks of a wide compositional range involving zoisite/epidote has been ascribed to relatively high pressures and is consistent with experimentally determined stability fields in the simplified KCMASH system.     

Calcite solubility in supercritical CO2H2O fluids

An extraction-quench apparatus was used to measure calcite solubilities in supercritical CO₂H₂O mixtures. Experiments were conducted at 1 kbar and 2 kbar, between 240°C and 620°C and from X_CO2 = .02 toX_CO2 = .15 in order to determine the solubility behavior as a function of pressure, temperature and CO₂ content. The results indicate that calcite solubilities under these conditions behave similarly to previously investigated calcite solubilities at lower pressures and temperatures (SHARP and Kennedy, 1965). At constant X_CO2, the solubility increases with increasing pressure, but it decreases with increasing temperature. When the temperature and pressure are constant, the calcite solubility rises with increasing X_CO2 to a maximum value at X_CO2 between 0.02 and 0.05. For higher CO₂ contents, up to X_CO2 = .15, the calcite solubility decreases, probably due to the decrease of H₂O activities to values significantly below unity.The solubility behavior can be successfully modeled by making the assumption that Ca⁺⁺ is the dominant calcium species and that the carbon-bearing species are CO_2(aq) and HCO⁻₃. Since for these dilute H₂OCO₂ fluids, all activity coefficients can be assumed to not differ significantly from unity, ionization constants for the reaction H₂O + CO_2(aq) H⁺ + HCO⁻₃ can be calculated at 1 and 2 kbar between 250°C and 550°C. These calculated values are in good agreement with the low temperature determinations of the ionization constants for this reaction determined by Read (1975). Values of the molal Gibbs free energy of CO_2(aq) obtained in our study exhibit a much greater positive departure from ideality than those calculated with the modified Redlich-Kwong equations of either Flowers (1979) or Kerrick and Jacobs (1981) for dilute CO₂ aqueous solutions.     

Relationships between silicate melts and carbonate-precipitating melts in CaO-MgO-SiO2-CO2-H2O at 2 kbar

Summary Phase fields intersected by three joins in the System CaO-MgO-SiO₂-CO₂-H₂O at 2 kbar were investigated experimentally to determine the melting relationships and the sequences of crystallization of liquids co-precipitating silicate minerals and carbonates. These joins connect SiO₂ to three mixtures of CaCO₃-MgCO₃-Mg(OH)₂ with compositions on the primary îield for calcite, between the composition CaCO₃ and the low-temperature (650°C eutectic liquid co-precipitating calcite, dolomite and periclase. In the pseudo-quaternary tetrahedron calcite-magnesite-brucite-diopside, two of the significant reactions found are: (1) a eutectic at 650°C, calcite + dolomite + periclase + forsterite + vapor = liquid, and (2) a peritectic at 1038°Cwhich is either calcite + åkermanite + forsterite + vapor = monticellite + liquid calcite + monticellite + forsterite + vapor = åkermanite + liquid. The eutectic liquid has high MgO/CaO and CO₂/H₂O and only 2–3% SiO₂ (estimated 15–20% MgCO₃, 35–40% CaCO₃, 40–45% Mg(OH)₂, and 5–6% Mg₂SiO₄). The composition joins intersect a thermal maximum for åkermanite + forsterite + vapor = liquid, which separates high-temperature liquids precipitating silicates together with a little calcite, from low-temperature liquids precipitating carbonates with a few percent of forsterite; there is no direct path between the silicate and synthetic carbonatite liquids on these joins, but it is possible that fractionating liquid paths diverging from the joins may connect them. More complex relationships involving the pprecipitatioon off monticellite and åkermanite are also outlined. Magnetite-magnesioferrite may replace periclase in natural magmatic systems. The results indicate that the assemblage calcite-dolomite-magnetite-forsterite represents the closing stages of crystallization of carbonatites, whereas assemblages such as calcite-magnetite-forsterite and dolomite-magnetite-forsterite span the whole range of carbonatite evolution in terms of temperature and composition, and provide the link between liquids precipitating silicates and those precipitating carbonates.

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Die Beziehungen zwischen silikarischen Schmelzen und karbonatbildenden Schmelzen im System CaO-MgO-SiO₂-CO₂-H₂O bei 2 kbar

Zusammenfassung Phasenfelder, die durch den Schnitt von drei Verbindungslinien im System CaO-MgO-SiO₂-CO₂-H₂Odefiniert werden, wurden experimentell bei 2 kbar untersucht, um die Schmelzbeziehungen und die Kristallisationsfolge von Schmelzen, die gleichzeitig silikatische und karbonatische Minerale ausscheiden, zu bestimmen. Diese Linien verbinden SiO₂ mit drei Mischungen von CaCO₃-M9CO₃-Mg(OH)₂ mit Zusammensetzungen im primären Calcitfeld, zwischen der Zusammensetzung CaCO₃ und der tieftemperierten (650°C Calcit-, Dolomit- und Periklasbildenden eutektischen Schmelze. Zwei wichtige im ppseudo-quaternären Tetraeder Calcit-Magnetit-Brucit-Diopsid gefundene Reaktionen sind: (1) Ein Eutektikum bei 650°C Calcit + Dolomit + Periklas + Forsterit + Vapor = Liquid und (2) ein Peritektikum bei 1038°C mit entweder Calcit + Åkermanit + Forsterit + Vapor = Monticellit + Liquid oder Calcit + Monticellit + Forsterit + Vapo = Åkermanit + Liquid Die eutektische Schmelze zeigt hohe MgO/CaO und CCO₂H₂O Verhältnisse und nur 2–3% SiO₂(geschätzter Anteil an MgCO₃15–20%, CaCO₃ 35–40%, Mg(OH)₂ 40–50% und Mg₂SiO₄ 5–6%). Die Verbindungslinie schneidet ein thermisches Maximum von Åkermanit + Forsterit + Vapor = Liquid, das höher temperierte Schmelzen, die Silikate gemeinsam mit etwas Clacit ausscheiden, von tiefer temperierten Schmelzen trennt, aus denen sich Karbonate gemeinsam mit wenigen Prozenten Forsterit abscheiden. Es existiert keine direkte Verbindung zwischen silikatischen und synthetischen karbonatitischen Schmelzen entlang dieser Verbindungslinien, es wäre aber möglich, daß Fraktionierungspfade, die von diesen Verbindungslinien ausgehen, sie verbinden. Komplexere Beziehungen, die die Kristallisation von Monticellit und Åkermanit beinhalten, werden ebenfalls aufgezeigt. Magnetit-Magnesioferrit könntean die Stelle von Periklas in nnatürlichenmagmatischen Systemen treten. Die Ergebnisse weisen darauf bin, daß die Vergesellschaftung Calcit-Dolomit-Magnetit-Forsterit das Endstadium der Karbonatitkristallisation repräsentiert, während die Vergesellsschaftungen von Calcit-Magnetit-Forsterit bzw. Dolomit-Magnetit-Forsterit die gesamte Spannweite der Karbonatitevolution hinsichtlich Temperatur und Zusammensetzung umfassen und demnach ein Verbindungsglied zwischen silikat- und karbonatausscheidenden Schmelzen darstellen.

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With 8 Figures     

The hydrolysis of gold(I) in aqueous solutions to 600°c and 1500 bar

The solubility of gold has been measured in aqueous solutions at temperatures between 300 and 600°C and pressures from 500 to 1500 bar to determine the stability and stoichiometry of the hydroxy complexes of gold(I) in hydrothermal solutions. The experiments were carried out using a flow-through autoclave system. The solubilities, measured as total dissolved gold, were in the range 1.2 × 10⁻⁸ to 2.0 × 10⁻⁶ mol kg⁻¹ (0.002 to 0.40 mg kg⁻¹), in solutions of total dissolved sodium between 0.0 and 0.5 mol kg⁻¹, and total dissolved hydrogen between 4.0 × 10⁻⁶ and 4.0 × 10⁻⁴ mol kg⁻¹. At constant hydrogen molality, the solubility of gold increases with increasing temperature and decreases with increasing pressure. The solubilities were found to be independent of pH but increased with decreasing hydrogen molality at constant temperature and pressure. Consequently, gold dissolves in aqueous solutions of acidic to alkaline pH according to the reactionAu(s)+H₂O(l)=AuOH(aq)+0.5H₂(g) K_s,1The solubility constant, logK_s,1, increases with increasing temperature from a minimum of −8.76 (±0.18) at 300°C and 500 bar to a maximum of −7.50 (±0.11) at 500°C and 1500 bar and decreases to −7.61 (±0.08) at 600°C and 1500 bar. From the equilibrium solubility constant and the redox potential of gold, the formation constant to form AuOH(aq) was calculated. At 25°C the complex formation is characterised by an exothermic enthalpy and a positive entropy. With increasing temperature and decreasing pressure, the formation reaction becomes endothermic and is accompanied by a large positive entropy, indicating a greater electrostatic interaction between Au⁺ and OH⁻.     

Experimental study of a low-alkali tholeiite at 1–5 kbar: optimal condition for the crystallization of high-An plagioclase in hydrous arc tholeiite

We conducted melting experiments on a low-alkali tholeiite (SiO₂ ~52 wt%, MgO ~6.5 wt%, CaO/Na₂O~4.4, Al₂O₃/SiO₂ ~0.33) under both H₂O-undersaturated and H₂O-saturated conditions to investigate the effect of H₂O on the Ca–Na partitioning between plagioclase and melt. Experiments were performed in the temperature and pressure ranges of 1,000–1,300°C and 1–5 kbar, respectively, with varying H₂O contents of 0–12wt%. Redox condition was 0–2 log unit above NNO (nickel–nickel oxide) buffer. Temperature-bulk H₂O diagrams for the low-alkali tholeiite are constructed at 1, 2, and 5 kbar, and compositions of near-liquidus plagioclase and coexisting melt are determined. To exclude the effect of melt composition (CaO/Na₂O and Al₂O₃/SiO₂ ratios) on plagioclase composition and to reveal the effect of H₂O on An (=100×Ca/(Ca+Na)) content and (=(Ca/Na)_pl/(Ca/Na)_melt), we focused on the composition of near-liquidus plagioclases which crystallized from melts with nearly constant CaO/Na₂O and Al₂O₃/SiO₂ ratios. Our experimental results show that, at each experimental pressure, An content of the near-liquidus plagioclase and the K_D^Ca-Na almost linearly increases as H₂O content in melt increases. Each of the An content and the variations in a low-alkali tholeiitic system (CaO/Na₂O~4.0–4.5, Al₂O₃/SiO₂ ~0.27–0.33) can be described by one equation using temperature, pressure, and melt H₂O content as parameters. An content and of liquidus plagioclase increases with increasing melt H₂O and with decreasing pressure, elucidating that nearly H₂O-saturated conditions of 2–3 kbar is optimal for the crystallization of the most An-rich plagioclase (>An₈₈). We suggest this pressure condition of 2–3 kbar, corresponding to depth of 7–11 km, plays an important role for the origin of An-rich plagioclase in H₂O-rich low-alkali tholeiite. At pressures more than ca. 4 kbar, crystallization of liquidus Ca-rich clinopyroxene decreases the CaO/Na₂O ratio of liquid, thus prohibiting the crystallization of high-An plagioclase from hydrous tholeiite.     

Magmatic-hydrothermal fluids in the Pahtohavare Cu-Au deposit in greenstone at Kiruna,Sweden

The Proterozoic Pahtohavare Cu-Au deposit is located in the greenstone belt near Kiruna, northern Sweden. The greenstone consists of mafic volcanic rocks with pillow lavas, mafic sills and albitized rocks, including tuffites, black schists and mafic sills, together with carbonates and mineralized zones. Mineralization occurs as impregnations, epigenetic quartz-rich breccias and fracture fillings with pyrite, chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite and gold in a complex tectonic environment. Fluid inclusions indicate an early formation of quartz and pyrite at temperatures initially near 500°C and a pressure of 2–2.4 kbar from a supersaturated aqueous solution of magmatic origin. In addition to halite cubes, daughter minerals of sylvite, calcite, hematite, graphite and two unknown phases are found. The main stage of chalcopyrite and gold deposition is characterized by aqueous fluids of variable salinity (up to 30 eq. wt.% NaCl including CaCl₂), at temperatures below 350°C and pressures between 1 and 2 kbar. A minor CO₂ phase with some N, accompanies this stage. Gold was transported as a chloride complex which destabilized due to an increase in pH (as a consequence of the CO₂ loss) as well as cooling and dilution of the solution. The ore deposition occurred as a result of mixing with a low salinity aqueous solution during tectonic fracturing with pressure fluctuations and CO₂ unmixing. Late oxidation of ores was caused by low to moderately saline (3 to 13 eq. wt.% NaCl) low temperature aqueous solutions.     

Petrogenesis of rare-element pegmatites in the Olary Block, South Australia, part 2. Fluid inclusion study

Summary Fluid inclusions were investigated in quartz, beryl, apatite and triplite from the border and intermediate zones and core of pegmatites within the Proterozoic Olary Block, South Australia. Three compositionally distinct types of inclusions were recognized including pure CO₂ inclusions, mixed H₂O-CO₂ inclusions, and aqueous inclusions with some of them containing a solid phase. Three fluid events occurred during pegmatite formation and subsolidus alteration. Initial fluids are characterised by a low to intermediate salinity (4.1 to 23.4wt% NaCl equivalent), and a composition of about 10 mole% CO₂, 4.2 mole% NaCl equivalent, and 85.6 mole% H2O. Fluids were trapped as homogeneous H₂O-CO₂ phases. The second pulse of fluids was of intermediate to high salinity at 11 to 33 wt% NaCl equivalent. These fluids were most likely trapped as separated CO₂ and H₂O phases. Finally, intermediate to high salinity fluids of post-pegmatite origin with approximately 15 to 30 wt % NaCl equivalent were introduced. The P-T regime for the three fluid events has been estimated at 520° to > 650 °C and 2 to 5 kbars, 400° to 650 °C and 1.8 to 3.3 kbars, and 380° to 480°C and 2.0 to 2.6 kbars, respectively. These conditions indicate a declining pressure path implying a tectonic uplift of the Olary Block during successive fluid emplacements.

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Petrogenese von Seltenelementpegmatiten im Olary Block, Südaustralien, Teil 2. Untersuchung der Flüssigkeitseinschlüsse

Zusammenfassung Flüssigkeitseinschlüsse wurden in Quarz, Beryll, Apatit und Triplit von Rand-, Zwischen- und Kernzonen in Pegmatiten des proterozoischen Olary Blocks, Südaustralien, untersucht. Drei Typen von Flüssigkeitseinschlüssen mit verschiedenen Zusammensetzungen wurden erkannt: reine CO₂ Einschlüsse, gemischte H₂O-CO₂ Einschlüsse und wässerige Einschlüsse, wobei einige von diesen feste Einschlüsse aufweisen. Drei Fluid Ereignisse sind den Stadien der Pegmatitbildung und Subsolidus-Alteration zuzuordnen. Die erste Fluidgeneration ist durch geringe bis intermediäre Salinität(4.1 bis 23.4 Gewichts% NaCI Äquivalent) und eine Zusammensetzung von ungefähr 10 Mol % CO₂, 4.2 Mol% NaCl Äquivalent und 85.6 Mol% H₂O charakterisiert. Diese Fluide wurden als homogene H₂O-CO₂ Phasen eingeschlossen. Der zweite Puls von Fluiden war von intermediärer bis hoher Salinität (11 bis 33 Gewichts.% NaCI Äquivalent). Diese Fluide wurden wahrscheinlich als entmischte H₂O und CO₂ Phasen eingeschlossen. Zum Schluß wurden Fluide postpegmatitischen Ursprungs mit intermediärer bis hoher Salinität zugeführt (15 bis 30 Gewichts% NaCI Äquivalent). Der P-T Bereich für die drei Fluid-Ereignisse ist mit 520° bis > 650 °C und 2 bis 5 kbar, 400° bis 650 °C und 1.8 bis 3.3 kbar, und 380° bis 480°C und 2.0 bis 2.6 kbar abgeschätzt worden. Dies weist auf abnehmenden Druck hin und deutet damit eine tektonische Hebung des Olary Blocks während sukkzessiver Fluid-Platznahmen an.

     

An experimental study of phase equilibria in the systems H2O–CO2–CaCl2 and H2O–CO2–NaCl at high pressures and temperatures (500–800?°C, 0.5–0.9?GPa): geological and geophysical applications

Phase equilibria in the ternary systems H₂O–CO₂–NaCl and H₂O–CO₂–CaCl₂ have been determined from the study of synthetic fluid inclusions in quartz at 500 and 800 °C, 0.5 and 0.9 GPa. The crystallographic control on rates of quartz overgrowth on synthetic quartz crystals was exploited to prevent trapping of fluid inclusions prior to attainment of run conditions. Two types of fluid inclusion were found with different density or CO₂ homogenisation temperature (T_h(CO₂)): a CO₂-rich phase with low T_h(CO₂), and a brine with relatively high T_h(CO₂). The density of CO₂ was calibrated using inclusions in the binary system H₂O–CO₂. Mass balance calculations constrain tie lines and the miscibility gap between brines and CO₂-rich fluids in the H₂O–CO₂–NaCl and H₂O–CO₂–CaCl₂ systems at 500 and 800 °C, and 0.5 and 0.9 GPa. The miscibility gap in the CaCl₂ system is larger than in the NaCl system, and solubilities of CO₂ are smaller. CaCl₂ demonstrates a larger salting-out effect than NaCl at the same P–T conditions. In ternary systems, homogeneous fluids are H₂O-rich and of extremely low salinity, but at medium to high concentrations of salts and non-polar gases fluids are unlikely to be homogeneous. The two-phase state of crustal fluids should be common. For low fluid-rock ratios the cation compositions of crustal fluids are buffered by major crustal minerals: feldspars and micas in pelites and granitic rocks, calcite (dolomite) in carbonates, and pyroxenes and amphiboles in metabasites. Fluids in pelitic and granitic rocks are Na-K rich, while for carbonate and metabasic rocks fluids are Ca-Mg-Fe rich. On lithological boundaries between silicate and carbonate rocks, or between pelites and metabasites, diffusive cation exchange of the salt components of the fluid will cause the surfaces of immiscibility to intersect, leading to unmixing in the fluid phase. Dispersion of acoustic energy at critical conditions of the fluid may amplify seismic reflections that result from different fluid densities on lithological boundaries.Editorial responsibility: I. Parsons     

Al/Si interdiffusion in albite: effect of pressure and the role of hydrogen

The effect of pressure on the rate of Al/Si disorder in albite has been determined at temperatures from 800° C to 1050° C and at pressures up to 24 kbar, using dried samples in welded Pt containers, in piston-cylinder devices and internally-heated gas apparatus. In the piston-cylinder device with NaCl medium, the effect of pressure is profound. A pure low albite from Clear Creek, California reaches the equilibrium state of disorder at 850° C and 22 kbar in 10 h, whereas at 6 kbar it has not equilibrated in three weeks, and at one bar it probably cannot be disordered at 850° C in the laboratory. The enhancement of Al/Si interdiffusion takes place under dry conditions: any H₂O penetrating the samples would have produced melting, and none was observed. Hydrogen, however, is produced by dissociation of moisture in the pressure medium and can penetrate the Pt sample capsules. If the samples are deprived of hydrogen by replacing NaCl with glass or by embedding the samples in a hydrogen getter such as Fe₂O₃ or ZnO, the order-disorder reaction is greatly inhibited.A mechanism is suggested in which OH^– groups are formed by hydrogen hopping in albite. The smaller charge on the tetrahedral complex induces transient coordination of Al greater than four at elevated pressures, facilitating Al/Si interchange during the bond-breaking process. This results in an exponential pressure dependence of diffusion. It is also suggested that the presence of hydrogen at high pressures can greatly effect the mechanical properties and reactivity of deep crustal and mantle rocks. In nature, as well as in the laboratory, equilibration at elevated pressures may be as much dependent on the availability of hydrogen as on time or temperature.