Effect of Water on the Composition of Magmas Formed at High Pressures

Portions of the system MgO-CaO-Na₂O-Al₂O₃-SiO₂-H₂O have beenstudied in the pressure range 13–35 kb at near-liquidustemperatures. The liquidus field of forsterite relative to thatof orthopyroxene is considerably wider under anhydrous thanunder anhydrous conditions and it covers part of the plane ofsilica-saturation in a wide pressure range. Partial meltingof simple garnet lherzolite (= forsterite+orthopyroxene+clinopyroxene+garnet)with water produces quartz-normative liquids at pressures upto at least 25 kb regardless of water content. Hydrous mineralsare not encountered at or near the solidus temperatures exceptin a Na-rich part of the system. Microprobe analysis of therun products in this synthetic system shows that the liquid(glass) in equilibrium with the lherzolite mineral assemblageis silica and alumina-rich at 20 kb under vapor-present conditions.With increasing degree of partial melting, the liquid changesits composition, passing into a ‘vapour-absent region’and becoming less silicic. Fractional crystallization of olivinetholeiitic magma under hydrous conditions also produces silica-richmagmas at high pressures. If the system is open to water, andwater pressure is less than total pressure, the compositionof the liquid varies from quartz-normative to olivine (±nepheline)-normativedepending on water pressure. It is suggested that in the presenceof water, silica-rich magmas such as those of calc-alkalic andesiteor dacite may be formed by direct partial melting of the peridotiticupper mantle at depths down to about 80 km. A large degree ofpartial melting of lherzolite under hydrous conditions wouldproduce SiO2 and MgO-rich magmas. The clinoenstatite rock fromCape Vogel, Papua, may have been formed by such a process. Peridotiteswith low CaAl2SiO5/jadeite ratios in the clinopyroxene couldproduce nepheline-normative magma by small degree of partialmelting and tholeiitic magma by large degree of partial meltingunder hydrous conditions.     

Anorthite--Forsterite and Anorthite--Enstatite Reactions and their bearing on the Basalt--Eclogite Transformation

The reactions betweeon anorthite and forsterite and betweenanorthite and enstatite have been studied at high pressuresand high temperatures with solid-media and gas-media apparatus.For the 1: 1 (molecular ratio) composition of anorthite andforsterite the following three assemblages have been obtainedwith increasing pressure at a constant temperature: anorthiteforsterite,clinopyroxeneorthopyroxenespinelanorthite, and garnet (pyropegrossulariteseries). Two univariant curves between these three assemblageshave been determined. The amounts of pyroxenes relative to spineland anorthite in the second assemblage increase and the contentsof the Tschermak's components in the pyroxenes increase withincreasing pressure. The 1:2 (molecular ratio) composition of anorthite and forsteritewas also studied, and the univariant curve for the reactionclinopyroxeneorthopyroxenespinel garnet (pyropegrossulariteseries)forsterite has been determined. For the 1: 2 (molecular ratio) composition of anorthite andenstatite the following assemblages have been obtained withincreasing pressure at a constant temperature: anorthiteenstatite,anorthiteorthopyroxeneclinopyroxenequartz, and garnet (pyrope-grossulariteseries)quartz. The univariant curve between the last two assemblageshas been determined. Both the pyroxenes in the second assemblagecontain Tschermak's components, which increase in content withincreasing pressure at the expense of anorthite. These experimental results suggest that basalts, either saturatedor undersaturated with silica, transform into aluminous pyroxene-richassemblages at lower pressures or higher temperatures than thestability field of eclogites, and that pyroxene-spinel symplectitesfound in some metamorphosed gabbro, troctolite, and norite mayhave formed in the stability field of the pyroxene-rich assemblages.The stability field of the pyroxene-rich assemblages is probablyincluded within the pressure-temperature conditions of the granulitefacies. It is also suggested that the garnet-free peridotites,such as the peridotite inclusions in basaltic rocks and theintrusive peridotites in the orogenic belts, are stable at lowerpressures or higher temperatures than garnet peridotites, suchas the inclusions in kimberlite and intrusive garnet peridotitein the orogenic belts.