Cordierite as a monitor of fluid and melt H2O contents in the lower crust: An experimental calibration

Research Article| July 01, 1996 Cordierite as a monitor of fluid and melt H2O contents in the lower crust: An experimental calibration D. P. Carrington; D. P. Carrington 1Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Edinburgh, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JW, Scotland Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar S. L. Harley S. L. Harley 1Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Edinburgh, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JW, Scotland Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information D. P. Carrington 1Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Edinburgh, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JW, Scotland S. L. Harley 1Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Edinburgh, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JW, Scotland Publisher: Geological Society of America First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 Geological Society of America Geology (1996) 24 (7): 647–650. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1996)024<0647:CAAMOF>2.3.CO;2 Article history First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation D. P. Carrington, S. L. Harley; Cordierite as a monitor of fluid and melt H2O contents in the lower crust: An experimental calibration. Geology 1996;; 24 (7): 647–650. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1996)024<0647:CAAMOF>2.3.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Cordierite can contain variable amounts of H2O and CO2, and the total amount and relative proportions of these volatiles reflect the environment in which the cordierite was formed. In this study, cordierite has been experimentally equilibrated with a peraluminous granite melt, and the H2O contents of the phases have been determined by secondary-ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). The results show that cordierite can have a range of H2O contents at a single pressure and temperature, in this case 900 °C, 5.0 kbar. The maximum H2O contents occur at saturation, when H2O vapor is also present, at which point cordierite contains 1.69 ± 0.05 wt% and the melt contains 10.0 ± 0.42 wt%. However, as the system becomes progressively more water-undersaturated, the phases contain less H2O, and the partitioning coefficient (Dw = H2OMelt/H2OCordierite, in wt%) decreases from 5.9 ± 0.3 to 4.4 ± 0.6. The experiments show that equilibration with a volatile-undersaturated melt provides an alternative to leakage as a mechanism for producing volatile-poor cordierites. Application of this experimental calibration to cordierites from granulite migmatites predicts that the melts with which they last equilibrated contained only 2.7–3.8 wt% H2O. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.