Silicate-melt inclusions in magmatic rocks: applications to petrology

Silicate-melt inclusions in igneous rocks provide important information on the composition and evolution of magmatic systems. Such inclusions represent accidentally trapped silicate melt (±immiscible H₂O and/or CO₂ fluids) that allow one to follow the evolution of magmas through snapshots, corresponding to specific evolution steps. This information is available on condition that they remained isolated from the enclosing magma after their entrapment. The following steps of investigation are discussed: (a) detailed petrographic studies to characterise silicate-melt inclusion primary characters and posttrapping evolution, including melt crystallisation; (b) high temperature studies to rehomogenise the inclusion content and select chemically representative inclusions: chemical compositions should be compared to relevant phase diagrams.

Silicate-melt inclusion studies allow us to concentrate on specific topics; inclusion studies in early crystallising phases allow the characterisation of primary magmas, while in more differentiated rocks, they unravel the subsequent chemical evolution. The distribution of volatile species (i.e., H₂O, CO₂, S, Cl) in inclusion glass can provide information on the degassing processes and on recycling of subducted material. In intrusive rocks, silicate melt inclusions may preserve direct evidence of magmatic stage evolution (e.g., immiscibility phenomena). Melt inclusions in mantle xenoliths indicate that high-silica melts can coexist with mantle peridotites and give information on the presence of carbonate melt within the upper mantle. Thus, combining silicate-melt inclusion data with conventional petrological and geochemical information and experimental petrology can increase our ability to model magmatic processes.