The Influence of Sodium and Potassium Chlorides on Phase Ratios in the Eclogite–CaCO₃–H₂O + CO₂ System at 4 GPa and 1200–1300°C

Abstract

To characterize the influence of alkaline metal chlorides on the phase ratios under melting of upper mantle eclogites, the eclogite–CaCO₃–NaCl–KCl system with Н₂О + СО₂-fluid was studied in the experiments under 4 GPa and 1200–1300°C. A low difference in temperatures (<100°C) was registered between the eclogite solidus and liquidus (>1200 and <1300°C, respectively), which is characteristic for the near-eutectic compositions. The phase proportions were peculiar for the absence of any silicate melt over the entire temperature range considered. The carbonate melt coexisted with clinopyroxene and garnet within 1200–1250°C, whereas a carbonate melt exclusively occurred under above-liquidus conditions at 1300°C. The melt quenching resulted in the formation of a multiphase fine-grained mixture of Ca, Na, and K carbonates and chlorides containing microinclusions of clinopyroxene and garnet. The occurrence of a high-calcium carbonate melt in Cl-containing eclogite systems might play a significant role in the mantle metasomatism of subduction zones characterized by the water–alkaline–chloride type of fluids.