No effect of H2O degassing on the oxidation state of magmatic liquids

- The degassing of H2O does not induce oxidation in melts.
- There is no systematic oxidation of magmas with differentiation.
- The systematically higher oxidation state of arc magmas is likely due to the subduction of oxidized oceanic crust.

The underlying cause for why subduction-zone magmas are systematically more oxidized than those formed at mid-ocean spreading ridges is a topic of vigorous debate. It is either a primary feature inherited from the subduction of oxidized oceanic crust into the mantle or a secondary feature that develops because of H2O degassing and/or magma differentiation. Low total iron contents and high melt H2O contents render rhyolites sensitive to any effect of H2O degassing on ferric-ferrous ratios. Here, pre-eruptive magmatic Fe2+ concentrations, measured using Fe-Ti oxides that co-crystallized with silicate phenocrysts under hydrous conditions, are compared with Fe2+ post-eruptive concentrations in ten crystal-poor, fully-degassed obsidian samples; five are microlite free. No effect of H2O degassing on the ferric-ferrous ratio is found. In addition, Fe-Ti oxide data from this study and the literature show that arc magmas are systematically more oxidized than both basalts and hydrous silicic melts from Iceland and Yellowstone prior to extensive degassing. Nor is there any evidence that differentiation (i.e., crystal fractionation, crustal assimilation) is the cause of the higher redox state of arc magmas relative to those of Iceland/Yellowstone rhyolites. Instead, the evidence points to subduction of oxidized crust and the release of an H2O-rich fluid and/or melt with a high oxygen fugacity (fO2), which plays a role during H2O-flux melting of the mantle in creating basalts that are relatively oxidized.