OCEAN/ESS 410

Class 7. Mantle Melting and

Phase Diagrams
William Wilcock

Lecture/Lab Learning Goals

Understand the basic concept of decompressional melting and
know how its distribution in the mantle is related to plate
tectonics.
Be able to define the terms liquidus, solidus, mantle adiabat
and use them to explain mantle melting beneath mid-ocean
ridges with a plot of depth (or pressure) against temperature.
Be familiar with the simple two phase diagrams and the lever
rule
Know what a eutectic is and why it explains the relatively
uniform composition of basalts in different tectonic settings
(and on different planets).
Be able explain oceanic crustal thickness in terms of the
degree of partial melting in the crust and be able to identify
melting/solidification pathways on binary phase diagrams (LAB)

Tectonic Setting of Partial Melting of

the Mantle

Mid-Ocean Ridges and Hotspot Plumes

Ridges are linear
features underlain
by flow rising from
relatively shallow
mantle depths

Hotspots are the result

of cylindrical plumes of
upflow rising from deep
within the mantle (coremantle boundary)

TemperatureDepth Plot for

Mantle Beneath
Oceanic Plates

1300C

Geotherm
beneath
mid-ocean
ridges

idus
Liqu

dus
Soli
Dry

dus
Soli
Wet

Geotherm
for Old
Ocean Plate

Terminology
Geotherm Vertical temperature profile in
the earth
Adiabat Temperature that a packet of
the mantle that moves up/down without
gaining or loosing heat
Solidus Temperature at which a rock will
first start to melt
Liquidus Temperature at which a rock
will be fully molten.

Percentage of melting
The pressure (or
depth) versus
temperature (P-T)
path of upwelling
mantle beneath a
mid-ocean ridge
leads to a
maximum of ~25%
melt

Melting beneath mid-ocean ridges

The melt rises out of the mantle because it is buoyant (less

dense than the mantle)

NaCl

Naturally occurring
Inorganic
Fixed chemical formula (or
range of formulas)
Unique, orderly internal
arrangement of atoms
(crystalline)

Definitions
A system can be defined as that part of the universe that is
arbitrarily or naturally isolated for the purposes of consideration
or experimentation. For our purposes it will generally be a
sample of a rock
A phase is defined as a chemically and physically homogeneous
part of a system. Each mineral in a rock is a phase as is a melt.
Components are the minimum number of chemical constituents
necessary to describe the system

A simple 1-component system Water

Pure substances (single component) melt at a single temperature

(at a given pressure)

Olivine 70-80% of mantle

(Mg,Fe)2SiO4 - solid solution
Mg2SiO4 - Forsterite
Fe2SiO4 - Fayalite
Mantle olivine is 90% forsterite

Peridotite mantle rock

SiO42- tetrahedra with Mg2+

& Fe2+ cations in between

Olivine Binary Phase Diagram

Substances with >1 component melt over a range of temperatures

Equilibrium
Melting
Equilibrium melting
occurs when the
solid and liquid
phases are kept
together as melting
progresses.

S solid composition
L liquid composition
A system composition
We can write fraction x of solid
as
xS + (1-x)L = A
which can also be written as
x (A S) = (1-x)(L-A)
This is analogous to an old
fashioned balance scale as
shown in the figure
We can solve the above
equations to get the proportion
of solid
x = (A L) / (S L)

Lever Rule

1-x

Fractional
Melting
Fractional melting
occurs if the liquid is
immediately
removed from the
solid as the solid
melts.

Equilibrium
Solidification
Equilibrium
solidification occurs
when the solid and
liquid phases are
kept together as
solidifications
progresses.

Fractional
Solidification
Fractional
solidification occurs
if the solid is
immediately
removed from the
liquid as it
crystallizes.

Diopside (Clinopyroxene) Anorthite

(Plagioclase)
Diopside (CaMgSi2O6)
Dark mineral

Gabbro (coarse grained

equivalent of basalt)
Oceanic Crust

Anorthite
(CaAl2Si2O8)
Light mineral

Dipside-Anorthite
Phase Diagram

Diopside

Anorthite

Eutectic composition/temperature of 1st melt

Enstatite (Bronzite, Orthopyroxene)

MgSiO3
The second most
common mineral in
the mantle (20%)

MgO SiO2
Phase
diagram
Forsterite and
enstatite undergo
incongruent melting
En Fo + Liquid
Mantle composition

Effects of pressure on melting of Forsterite

Enstatite mixtures

Surface
15 km
>15 km
Key Point At depth of mantle melting, melt composition is
somewhat pressure dependent but is not dependent on the
relative proportions of the different minerals. Mantle melts in
different environments tend to give similar rocks (basalts/gabbros)