Silicate dissolution boosts the CO ₂ concentrations in subduction fluids

Abstract

Estimates of dissolved CO ₂ in subduction-zone fluids are based on thermodynamic models, relying on a very sparse experimental data base. Here, we present experimental data at 1–3 GPa, 800 °C, and ∆FMQ ≈ −0.5 for the volatiles and solute contents of graphite-saturated fluids in the systems COH, SiO ₂–COH ( + quartz/coesite) and MgO–SiO ₂–COH ( + forsterite and enstatite). The CO ₂ content of fluids interacting with silicates exceeds the amounts measured in the pure COH system by up to 30 mol%, as a consequence of a decrease in water activity probably associated with the formation of organic complexes containing Si–O–C and Si–O–Mg bonds. The interaction of deep aqueous fluids with silicates is a novel mechanism for controlling the composition of subduction COH fluids, promoting the deep CO ₂ transfer from the slab–mantle interface to the overlying mantle wedge, in particular where fluids are stable over melts.

Abstract

Current estimates of dissolved CO ₂ in subduction-zone fluids based on thermodynamic models rely on a very sparse experimental data base. Here, the authors show that experimental graphite-saturated COH fluids interacting with silicates at 1–3 GPa and 800 °C display unpredictably high CO ₂ contents.