Water under-saturated phase equilibria of basaltic andesites from Westdahl volcano, Alaska

The two most abundant gases released from magmatic systems are typically H2O and CO2, however, most phase equilibria studies examining crystallization applied to natural magmatic systems over the past 200 years have relied on H2O-saturated conditions. We will present the results of new phase equilibria experiments run using natural basaltic andesite starting materials from the 1991-1992 eruption of Westdahl volcano, Alaska, examining both H2O-saturated and undersaturated conditions, using a fixed ratio of XH2O ~0.7 and XCO2 ~0.3 in the total volatile budget. The experiments were conducted at total pressures (PTotal) of 0-200 MPa and 900-1050 °C, and fO2 set to the Ni-NiO buffer. Experiments were loaded into gold and Au75Pd25 capsules, and run in a TZM alloy pressure vessel for 48 hours before rapid quenching while still at pressure. After quenching, samples were polished and examined by microprobe and reflective microscopy. Identified mineral phases include plagioclase, clinopyroxene, Fe-Ti oxides, and minor orthopyroxene in both water-saturated and under- saturated experiments. A ~25 to 50 °C shift in temperature, at similar pressures is observed in the plagioclase and pyroxene stability curves when CO2 is added. Solubility models predict relatively low amounts of CO2 dissolved in the melt at similar conditions. Thus, our experiments indicate a significant effect of CO2 on the crystallization of mafic magmas at crustal pressures in volcanic arcs.