Effect of carbon dioxide on the viscosity of a melt of jadeite composition at high pressure

Abstract

Viscosity is one of the important transport properties controlling the migration of magma in the Earth’s interior. Experimental and geochemical studies have shown that magma is generated in the deep interior in the presence of CO₂. However, our knowledge of the effect of CO₂ on the viscosity of magma (silicate melt) is limited. In this work, the viscosity of a molten jadeite composition containing 0.5 wt% CO₂ was measured under high pressure. We observed that in the presence of CO₂, the viscosity was one to two orders of magnitude lower than without CO₂.