Compositional re-equilibration of fluid inclusions in quartz

Abstract

Compositional modifications to salt-water fluid inclusions in quartz were observed following exposure to disequilibrium conditions in a series of laboratory experiments in which samples containing inclusions of known composition were annealed at 3 kbar and 600≤T≤825°C in the presence of fluids having different compositions for time intervals ranging from a few days to one month. Changes in inclusion compositions following re-equilibration were monitored using salt crystal dissolution temperatures and/or IR (infra red) spectroscopy. The behaviors of both synthetic and natural fluid inclusions were studied. The synthetic samples were re-equilibrated under Pint=Pconf conditions to minimize stress in the crystal surrounding the inclusions, and were subjected to both fH2OintfH2Oconf and fH2OintfH2Oconf. After re-equilibration for four days at T≥600°C, most inclusions displayed significant compositional changes Without decrepitation. Salinity variations as large as ≈ 25 wt% were inferred for brine inclusions exposed to fH2Oint≠fH2Oconf for 16 days at 825°C. The majority of our observations are consistent with the net diffusion of water toward the reservior having the lowest μH2O; i.e., synthetic NaCl−H2O fluid inclusions exhibited increased Tm(NaCl)s (implying lower relative H2O contents) when re-equilibrated in the presence of fluids having lower μH2O, whereas, similar (and, in some cases, the same) inclusions exhibited decreased Tm(NaCl)s (implying higher H2O contents) after exposure to fluids having higher μH2O. The behavior of natural salt-water fluid inclusions during re-equilibration was generally consistent with corresponding observations on synthetic samples verifying that compositional changes are not restricted to synthetic inclusions. Our results clearly show that there was chemical communication between fluids trapped as inclusions in quartz and the external fluid reservoir. Additionally, it is evident that although applied stress can significantly enhance the re-equilibration rate, strain in the crystal host around the inclusions resulting from large pressure differentials between the internal and confining fluids is not a necessary prerequisite for compositional change. Finally, because significant compositional changes can be induced in brine inclusions in quartz during shortterm exposure to non-equilibrium conditions at 600≤T≤825°C in the laboratory, it is likely that similar changes may result at much lower temperatures during exposure of natural rocks to non-equilibrium conditions over geologic time.