The partitioning of sulfur and chlorine between andesite melts and magmatic volatiles and the exchange coefficients of major cations

• DOI: 10.1016/j.gca.2012.04.039
• Publication Date: 2012-04-26T02:13:43Z
• Authors: Zoltán Zajacz; Philip A. Candela; Philip M. Piccoli; Carmen Sanchez-Valle
• Keywords: 13. Climate action; 01 natural sciences; 0105 earth and related environmental sciences

Abstract Andesite melts were equilibrated with an H–O–S-bearing volatile phase to determine the partition coefficients for S and Cl as a function of melt composition and oxygen fugacity. The experiments were conducted in rapid-quench MHC vessel assemblies at 200 MPa and 1000 °C, and over a range of imposed fO2 between NNO−1.2 and NNO+1.8. High fluid/melt mass ratios (∼15) were employed, allowing precise and accurate partition coefficients to be obtained by mass balance calculations. Chlorine exhibits Henrian behavior at ClO−0.5 activities typical for arc magmas, with D Cl volatile/melt = 1.36 ± 0.06 (1σ) below 0.2 wt.% Cl in the melt; at higher ClO−0.5 activities, D Cl volatile/melt increases linearly to 2.11 ± 0.02 at 1 wt.% Cl in the melt. In the volatile phase: FeCl2 ∼ NaCl > KCl ∼ HCl. The determination of cation exchange coefficients for major cations yielded: K K,Na volatile/melt = 1.23 ± 0.10 (1σ) and ∗ K Fe,Na volatile/melt = D Fe volatile/melt / D Na volatile/melt = 1.08 ± 0.16 (1σ). Under these conditions, the concentration of HCl in the vapor is negatively correlated with the (Na + K)/(Al + Fe3+) ratio in the melt. Reduced sulfur (S2−) appears to obey Henry’s law in andesite melt–volatile system at fH2S below pyrrhotite saturation. The partition coefficient for S at fO2 = NNO−0.5 correlates negatively with the FeO concentration in the melt, changing from 254 ± 25 at 4.0 wt.% FeO to 88 ± 6 at 7.5 wt.% FeO. Pyrrhotite saturation is reached when approximately 3.2 mol% S is present in the volatile phase at fO2 = NNO−0.5. At the sulfide/sulfate transition, the partition coefficient of S drops from 171 ± 23 to 21 ± 1 at a constant FeO content of ∼6 wt.% in the melt. At fO2 = NNO+1.8, anhydrite saturation is reached at ∼3.3 mol% S present in the volatile phase. Aqueous volatiles exsolving from intermediate to mafic magmas can efficiently extract S, and effect its transfer to sites of magmatic-hydrothermal ore deposit formation.