Review of the systematics of CO2-H2O fluid inclusions

Aqueous solutions that contain volatile (gas) components are one of the most important types of fluid in the Earth's crust. The record that such fluids have left in the form of fluid inclusions in minerals provides a wealth of insight into the geochemical and petrologic processes in which the fluids participated. This article reviews the systematics of CO2-H2O fluid inclusions as a starting point for interpreting the chemically more complex systems. The phase relations of the binary are described with respect to a qualitative P-T-X model, and isoplethic-isochoric paths through this model are used to explain the equilibrium and non-equilibrium behaviour of fluid inclusions during microthermometric heating and cooling. The P-T-X framework is then used to discuss the various modes of fluid inclusion entrapment, and how the resulting assemblage textures can be used to interpret the P-T conditions, phase states, and evolution paths of the parent solutions. Finally, quantitative methods are reviewed by which bulk molar volume and composition of CO2-H2O fluid inclusions can be determined from microthermometric observations of phase transitions. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.