Experimental, in-situ carbon solution mechanisms and isotope fractionation in and between (C-O-H)-saturated silicate melt and silicate-saturated (C-O-H) fluid to upper mantle temperatures and pressures

The carbon solution equilibrium in both (C-O-H)-saturated melt and coexisting, silicate-saturated (C-O-H) fluid is 2CO3 + H2O + 2Qn + 1 = 2HCO3 + 2Qn. In the Qn-notation, the superscript, n, is the number of bridging oxygen in silicate structural units. At least one oxygen in CO3 and HCO3 groups likely is shared with silicate tetrahedra. The structural behavior of volatile components described with this equilibrium governs carbon isotope fractionation factors between melt and fluid. For example, the ΔH equals 3.2 ± 0.7 kJ/mol for the bulk 13C/12C exchange equilibrium between fluid and melt. From these experimental data, it is suggested that at deep crustal and upper mantle temperatures and pressures, the δ13C-differences between coexisting silicate-saturated (C-O-H) fluid and (C-O-H)-saturated silicate melts may change by more than 100‰ as a function of temperature in the range of magmatic processes. Absent information on temperature and pressure, the use of carbon isotopes of mantle-derived magma to derive isotopic composition of magma source regions in the Earth's interior, therefore, should be exercised with care.