Abstract
THE role of CO2 in melting of the Earth's crust has been a topic of considerable debate. Experimental studies in quartz-feldspar systems1,2 have shown that CO2 solubility in simple granitic liquids is less than 1 wt% at pressures below 10 kbar and that dilution of H2O vapour with CO2 raises the vapour-saturated solidi3, indicating that CO2 inhibits, rather than promotes, crustal melting. On the other hand, from experiments on the system K2O–MgO–Al2O3–SiO2–H2O–CO2, Wendlandt has inferred significant solubility of CO2 in crustal melts4. Wendlandt observed that biotite–quartz–feldspar assemblages melt to orthopyroxene + liquid at temperatures as low as 740 °C in the presence of CO2-rich fluids, more than 50 °C lower than equivalent orthopyroxene-producing reactions in the pure-H2O systems5. This surprising result implies a fundamental melt interaction between MgO and CO2, because neither component alone has significant solubility in granitic liquids near the H2O-saturated solidus6. In view of the potentially important consequences of these results for deep-crustal processes, additional data are needed. Here we report the results of experimental melting studies on synthetic biotite–quartz and biotite–quartz–sanidine assemblages. In general agreement with Wendlandt's results, we find that these assemblages melt in the presence of CO2-rich vapour below 760 °C at pressures <10 kbar, conditions believed to be encountered in high-grade crustal metamorphism. This opens up the possibility that melting of the deep crust may occur in the presence of CO2-rich fluids.
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Peterson, J., Newton, R. CO2-enhanced melting of biotite-bearing rocks at deep-crustal pressure–temperature conditions. Nature 340, 378–380 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1038/340378a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/340378a0
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