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Science 23 January 2004:
Vol. 303. no. 5657, pp. 513 - 516
DOI: 10.1126/science.1092282
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Reports

Viscosity of Fluids in Subduction Zones

Andreas Audétat* and Hans Keppler

The viscosities of aqueous fluids with 10 to 80 weight percent dissolved silicates have been measured at 600° to 950°C and 1.0 to 2.0 gigapascals by in situ observation of falling spheres in the diamond anvil cell. The viscosities at 800°C range from 10–4 to 100.5 pascal seconds. The combination of low viscosities with a favorable wetting angle makes silicate-rich fluid an efficient agent for material transport at low-volume fractions. Our results therefore suggest that there may be a direct relationship between the position of the volcanic front and the onset of complete miscibility between water and silicate melt in the subducting slab.

Institut für Geowissenschaften, Universität Tübingen, D-72074 Tübingen, Germany.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: andreas.audetat{at}uni-tuebingen.de

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
AMORPHOUS MATERIALS: PROPERTIES, STRUCTURE, AND DURABILITY: The viscosity of hydrous NaAlSi3O8 and granitic melts: Configurational entropy models.
A. G. Whittington, M. A. Bouhifd, and P. Richet (2009)
American Mineralogist 94, 1-16
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)