Large effect of water on Fe-Mg interdiffusion in garnet

The effect of water on the kinetics of Fe-Mg interdiffusion in garnet was investigated at 3 GPa and 1373-1673 K using diffusion couples of pyrope and almandine aggregates, over a wide range of water content (C-H2O) from < 7 up to similar to 1260 wt. ppm. Diffusion profiles were measured by electron microprobe, and the obtained data were fitted by the Boltzmann-Matano equation. Our results show that Fe-Mg interdiffusion coefficient (DFe-Mg) is nearly independent of the composition of garnet over a wide range of Fe/Mg ratios (with X-Fe ranging from 0 to 1). The determined DFe-Mg can be described by the following Arrhenius relation: DFe-Mg (m(2)/s) = D0CH2Or exp(- Delta H/RT), where log(D-0) = -1.70 +/- 0.50, r = 1.38 +/- 0.06, and H = 310 +/- 33 kJ/mol. The exponent r of 1.38 implies the incorporation mechanism of water is hydrogen associated with metal and partly silicon vacancies to form neutral point defect complexes. While at the same time, it also suggests a profound role of water in enhancing the Fe Mg interdiffusion in garnet. With increasing water content from 100 to 1260 wt. ppm H2O, the Fe-Mg inter-diffusivity is enhanced by about two orders of magnitude, comparable to the effect of temperature increased by about 300 degrees C under dry condition. Such large effect of water on the kinetics of garnet is expected to have important implications for evaluating the closure temperature of available geospeedometry and geothermometry. (C) 2018 Published by Elsevier B.V.