Experimental Melting of Pelagic Sediment, Constraints Relevant to Subduction
Abstract
The experimental melting relations of pelagic red clay with water indicate a low temperature solidus, close to 650°C. This is significant as the red clay water solidus is lower than the solidus of gabbro with water, to depths of at least 140 km. Such a solidi configuration allows for melting of sediments, whilst gabbroic crust dehydrates, in moderate-temperature steady-state subduction regimes. This new experimental evidence lends support to (1) the sediment melting- gabbro dehydration hypothesis, recently proposed on independent geochemical criteria, and (2) may place relatively narrow limits on temperatures of the upper slab-mantle boundary, over a considerable depth interval, an apropos constraint for thermal modelling of steady-state subduction regimes.
Additional Information
© 1996 American Geophysical Union. We thank Dr. Emiliani, University of Miami, for the Red Clay used in our experiments. We thank James Myers, Terry Plank and Tracy Rushmer for helpful reviews. This work has been funded by the National Science Foundation, grant EAR-9303967. Publication 59 in the Key Center for GEMOC.Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 63568
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20160112-083930900
- EAR-9303967
- NSF
- Created
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2016-01-12Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2021-11-10Created from EPrint's last_modified field
- Caltech groups
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences
- Series Name
- Geophysical Monograph
- Series Volume or Issue Number
- 96