The Gibbs free energy of mixing of natural silicate liquids; an expanded regular solution approximation for the calculation of magmatic intensive variables

Abstract

The compositions of liquids coexisting with experimentally grown crystals of olivine, plagioclase, clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene, leucite, spinel, rhombohedral oxide, melilite and potassium feldspar are used to define, through mass action expressions of liquid/solid equilibrium, compositional derivatives of the Gibbs free energy of mixing of naturally occuring silicate liquids as a function of temperature, pressure and the fugacity of oxygen. The available experimental data describe these derivatives over a range of compositions which includes basic magmas. Therefore, for silicate liquids in this composition range, the topology of the Gibbs free energy of mixing can be approximated from experimental determinations of its derivatives. The majority of the existing thermodynamic data on the liquid phase is consistent with the application of regular solution theory to model the free energy of mixing. Strictly symmetric, temperature and pressure independent, regular solution interaction parameters are calibrated from this phase equilibrium data using regression techniques which have their basis in inverse theory. These techniques generate numerically stable interaction parameters which incorporate inter-variable correlation and account for experimental uncertainty. The regular solution model fits the available data on anhydrous silicate liquids to within the accuracy of the thermodynamic database +/−550 cals). Extensions to regular solution theory allow water solubility in more silica rich liquids to be modelled somewhat less accurately (+/−750 cals).