Decompression experiments for sulfur-bearing hydrous rhyolite magma: Redox evolution during magma decompression

We performed decompression experiments on sulfur-bearing hydrous rhyolite magma at a temperature of 800 degrees C to investigate redox evolution during magma decompression. The magma was continuously decompressed from 100 MPa to 10-50 MPa at rates of 10 and 100 MPa h(-1). The evolution of the ferric to total iron ratio (Fe3+/Fe-total) during decompression was investigated using XANES, and redox evolution was determined based on a thermodynamic calculation and measured Fe3+/Fe-total. Before decompression, the sample was buffered from NNO to NNO+1, and the pre-exsolved fluid phase and sulfide crystal coexisted. Sulfide crystals were found in all decompressed samples, and Fe3+/Fe-total showed a slight decrease with decompression. It was confirmed that the sample in a gold capsule was not influenced by the change in redox conditions outside of the capsule for the timescale of the decompression experiments; thus, the decompressed sample reflected the redox evolution in magma during decompression. Our experiments indicated that magma decompression causes a slight reduction when it includes water and sulfur. This evolution is qualitatively explained by sulfur degassing and fluid-melt redox equilibria. During the fluid-melt redox equilibria, magma is reduced if the existence of a pre-exsolved fluid phase is assumed, while the model calculation shows that magma is oxidized when it contains only water or no pre-exsolved fluid phases. This is because sulfur buffers the oxidation of magma through a reaction with oxygen in the fluid phase. Therefore, we inferred that the redox condition of magma is not oxidized during explosive volcanism with a pre-exsolved fluid phase and closed-system degassing. In contrast, if magma experiences open-system degassing, it may be oxidized, resulting in the breakdown of sulfide crystals as observed in some pyroclasts and lavas.

Automated summary

Experimental results show that magma decompression with water and sulfur causes slight reduction, with sulfur reacting with oxygen leading to magma reduction. Magma is reduced when a pre-exsolved fluid phase is present, while oxidation occurs in the absence of a pre-exsolved fluid phase.