Densities of Liquid Silicates at High Pressures

Densities of molten silicates at high pressures (up to approximately 230 kilobars) have been measured for the first time with shock-wave techniques. For a model basaltic composition (36 mole percent anorthite and 64 mole percent diopside), a bulk modulus K(s), of approximately 230 kilobars and a pressure derivative (dK(s)/dP) of approximately 4 were derived. Some implications of these results are as follows: (i) basic to ultrabasic melts become denser than olivine-and pyroxene-rich host mantle at pressures of 60 to 100 kilobars; (ii) there is a maximum depth from which basaltic melt can rise within terrestrial planetary interiors; (iii) the slopes of silicate solidi [(dT(m)/dP), where T(m) is the temperature] may become less steep at high pressures; and (iv) enriched mantle reservoirs may have developed by downward segregation of melt early in Earth history.