Formation of Granitic Magmas by Dehydration Melting

Abstract

The hydrous rock-forming minerals have long been recognized as a source for the formation of water-bearing granitic magmas (Brown and Fyfe 1970; Robertson and Wyllie 1971 a, b; Wyllie 1971; Kerrick 1972; Eggler 1972; Grant 1973; Huang and Wyllie 1973; Huang et al. 1973 a, b). Lambert et al. (1969), Brown and Fyfe (1970), Lambert and Wyllie (1970, 1972), Huang and Wyllie (1973, 1981), and Millhollen and Wyllie (1974) were some of the earliest to investigate pressure-temperature conditions for the melting of rocks containing at least one hydrous mineral. However, these investigations were mainly restricted to deducing dehydration melting conditions from water-saturated melting experiments. Burnham (1979b) presented solidi for dehydration melting of mineral assemblages containing muscovite, biotite, and hornblende, respectively, based on hydrothermal relations.