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Liquidus phase relationships on the join anorthiteforsterite-quartz at 20 kbar with applications to basalt petrogenesis and igneous sapphirine

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Abstract

Liquidus phase relationships determined on the join anorthite-forsterite-quartz at 20 kbar show primary phase fields for quartz (q), forsterite (fo), enstatite (en), spinel (sp), anorthite (an), sapphirine (sa), and corundum (cor). Increasing pressure causes (1) thefo andan primary phase fields to contract, (2) theen, q, andcor fields to expand, (3) thefo-en boundary line to move away from the Q apex, (4) theen-q boundary line to move also away from the Q apex but by a smaller amount, and (5) a primary phase field forsa to appear at a pressure between 10 and 20 kbar. Seven liquidus piercing points at 20 kbar have been located as follows:

Crystalline phases

Liquid composition (wt %)

Temperature (°C)

sp+sa+cor

An81Fo17Q2

1575

fo+en+sp

An52Fo39Q9

1540

en+sp+sa

An59Fo31Q10

1490

sa+an+cor

An70Fo15Q15

1430

an+q+cor

An66Fo7Q27

1410

sa+an+en

An62Fo18Q20

1400

an+en+q

An59Fo15Q26

1380

It is concluded that (1) the shift of thefo-en boundary line away from the quartz apex with pressure confirms many other studies showing that melts generated from peridotite source rocks decrease in silica content as pressure increases; (2) even though plagioclase is not a stable phase in peridotite source rocks at pressures above about 10 kbar, it can crystallize from mafic magmas at pressures at least up to 20 kbar; (3) sapphirine crystallizes from mafic magmas at high pressures and may be important in the construction of petrogenetic models based on trace element considerations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geosciences Program, The University of Texas at Dallas, P.O. Box 830688, 75083-0688, Richardson, TX, USA

    Teh-Ching Liu & Dean C. Presnall

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  1. Teh-Ching Liu
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  2. Dean C. Presnall
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Contribution No. 588, Geosciences Program, The University of Texas at Dallas

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Liu, TC., Presnall, D.C. Liquidus phase relationships on the join anorthiteforsterite-quartz at 20 kbar with applications to basalt petrogenesis and igneous sapphirine. Contr. Mineral. and Petrol. 104, 735–742 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01167290

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