Basalt evolution at low pressure: implications from an experimental study in the system CaO-FeO-MgO-Al2O3-SiO2

New experiments have been performed in the system CaO+MgO+Al₂O₃+SiO₂ (CMAS)+FeO at atmospheric pressure. Most of the experiments were conducted on Fe-rich compositions, in the low-temperature field of the assemblage liq(liquid)+an(anorthite) +aug(augite)+ol(olivine), and mostly along five isotherms. Others were located on, or nearby the assemblage boundaries. These experiments, together with the previously reported high temperature experiments (Shi and Libourel 1991; Libourel et al. 1989), permit contouring the complete liq+an+aug+ol divariant field, and tracing out some of its boundaries. The boundary of the assemplage liq+an+aug+ol consists of six segments, with the appearance of one of the following phases, orthopyroxene, pigeonite, tridymite, bustamite, kirschsteinite, and spinel, as an additional phase. Within the stability field of the assemblage liq+an+aug+ol, the compositions of all the coexisting phases have been described as functions of temperature and silica content in the melt by applying a multiple linear regression method. This allows a quantitative characterization of the divariant assemblage liq+an+aug+ol in the system CMAS+FeO, from 1273°C to 1055°C, with olivine compositions ranging from Mg^*Mg/(Mg+Fe)]=1 to 0.08. Knowing the composition-temperature relationships, the basic T-X configuration of the assemblage liq+an +aug+ol has been analysed, and mass-balance calculations have been performed to examine the FeO effect on different crystallization processes. Addition of FeO to the system CMAS transforms the thermal divide in the assemblage liq+an+di(diopside)+fo(forsterite) into a thermal ridge. With decreasing temperature, the spine of the thermal ridge moves towards Si-poor compositions at Mg-rich end but towards Si-rich compositions at the Fe-rich end. This indicates that late-stage tholeiitic liquids can follow a trend of silica enrichment without the crystallization of an oxide phase. Crystallization paths of the assemblage liq+an+aug+ol are determined by the detailed T-X relations of the thermal ridge with the melt evolving away from the spine. The boundary reactions with decreasing temperature have also been characterized numerically.