title: Ultralow viscosity of carbonate melts at high pressures.
abstract: Knowledge of the occurrence and mobility of carbonate-rich melts in the Earth's mantle is important for understanding the deep carbon cycle and related geochemical and geophysical processes. However, our understanding of the mobility of carbonate-rich melts remains poor. Here we report viscosities of carbonate melts up to 6.2 GPa using a newly developed technique of ultrafast synchrotron X-ray imaging. These carbonate melts display ultralow viscosities, much lower than previously thought, in the range of 0.006-0.010 Pa s, which are ~2 to 3 orders of magnitude lower than those of basaltic melts in the upper mantle. As a result, the mobility of carbonate melts (defined as the ratio of melt-solid density contrast to melt viscosity) is ~2 to 3 orders of magnitude higher than that of basaltic melts. Such high mobility has significant influence on several magmatic processes, such as fast melt migration and effective melt extraction beneath mid-ocean ridges.
authors.affiliation: HPCAT, Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, Illinois 60439, USA.
authors.forename: Yoshio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kono
authors.affiliation: HPCAT, Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, Illinois 60439, USA.
authors.forename: Curtis
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kenney-Benson
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, 595 Charles Young Drive East, Box 951567, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hummer
authors.affiliation: Geodynamics Research Center, Ehime University, 2-5 Bunkyo-cho, Matsuyama 790-8577, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ohfuji
authors.affiliation: HPCAT, Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, Illinois 60439, USA.
authors.forename: Changyong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: HPCAT, Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, Illinois 60439, USA.
authors.forename: Guoyin
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: GeoSoilEnviroCARS, Center for Advanced Radiation Sources, The University of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA.
authors.forename: Yanbin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, 595 Charles Young Drive East, Box 951567, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA.
authors.forename: Abby
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kavner
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, 595 Charles Young Drive East, Box 951567, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA.
authors.forename: Craig E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Manning