WATER SOLUBILITY IN ALUMINOSILICATE MELTS OF HAPLOGRANITE COMPOSITION AT 2 KBAR

Abstract

The compositional dependence of H2O solubility was investigated at 2 kbar and 800°C in haplogranite melts (system SiO2---1bNaAlSi3O8---1bKAlSi3O8 or Qz---1bAb---1bOr). The sixteen investigated compositions contained 25, 35 or 45 wt.% normative Qz and various Ab/(Ab+Or) ratios (0.15–0.92). Starting solid materials were anhydrous bubble-free glasses to which 10 wt.% H2O was added. The H2O contents of the isobarically quenched melts (glasses) were measured by Karl-Fischer titration. The results show that H2O solubility in aluminosilicate melts depends significantly upon anhydrous composition. The highest solubility values are obtained for the most Ab-rich melts. At a constant normative quartz content, the solubility of water decreases from 6.49 ± 0.20 wt.% H2O for a composition Qz35Ab60Or05 (normative composition expressed in wt.%) to 5.50 ± 0.15 wt.% H2O for a composition Qz35Ab10Or55. Along this join, the most significant changes are observed for Ab-rich melts whereas H2O solubility in Or-rich melts remains almost constant. The H2O solubility data imply that H2O is preferentially associated with the Ab component in aluminosilicate melts. Application of the results to natural granitic melts suggests that Na-rich, H2O-saturated melts may be significantly less viscous than H2O-saturated, K-rich melts. The temperature dependence of H2O solubility, investigated for composition Qz28Ab38Or34 at 2 kbar, is low. Increasing temperature from 750° to 1150°C only causes a decrease in H2O solubility from 6.00 to 5.41 wt.% H2O. These data are in agreement with previous data obtained for albite melts.