The composition of near-solidus melts of peridotite in the presence of CO2 and H2O between 40 and 60 kbar

Abstract Partial melting experiments at 40, 50 and 60 kbar pressure on three peridotite compositions with 0.5–0.63 wt.% H2O and 2.0–3.2 wt.% CO2 added indicate melting temperatures only marginally above continental geotherms. Most experiments were performed on a composition with 1.5 wt.% K2O added, which causes a further decrease of about 40 °C in melting temperature. Melts progress gradually from carbonate-rich to carbonated silicate in composition: near-solidus melts have Ca/(Ca + Mg) of 0.46–0.53, which fall to  30 wt.%) and Al2O3 (  9 wt.%) and concomitant decrease in CaO (> 20 to Partial melts of peridotite with CO2 and H2O are too low in MgO to resemble kimberlites, but will act as ef…