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Carbon isotope fractionation during experimental crystallisation of diamond from carbonate fluid at mantle conditions

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Abstract

We report first results of a systematic study of carbon isotope fractionation in a carbonate fluid system under mantle PT conditions. The system models a diamond-forming alkaline carbonate fluid using pure sodium oxalate (Na2C2O4) as the starting material, which decomposes to carbonate, CO2 and elementary carbon (graphite and diamond) involving a single source of carbon following the reaction 2Na2C2O4 → 2Na2CO3 + CO2 + C. Near-liquidus behaviour of carbonate was observed at 1300 °C and 6.3 GPa. The experimentally determined isotope fractionation between the components of the system in the temperature range from 1300 to 1700 °C at 6.3 and 7.5 GPa fit the theoretical expectations well. Carbon isotope fractionation associated with diamond crystallisation from the carbonate fluid at 7.5 GPa decreases with an increase in temperature from 2.7 to 1.6 ‰. This trend corresponds to the function ΔCarbonate fluid–Diamond = 7.38 × 106 T−2.

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Acknowledgments

We are very grateful to Editor Jochen Hoefs and reviewers Prof. Ben Harte, Prof. Thomas Stachel and an anonymous reviewer for their constructive and careful reviews that improved the strength and the clarity of the arguments outlined in the manuscript. Starting series of experiments was done with support of RFBR grant No. 09-05-00277a. Time series experiments, extra runs for verification of isotope data and all the final calculations and discussion were supported by the Russian Scientific Foundation Grant No. 14-27-00054.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. V.S. Sobolev Institute of Geology and Mineralogy SB RAS, prosp. akad. Koptuga 3, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia

    Vadim Reutsky, Yuri Borzdov, Yuri Palyanov, Alexander Sokol & Olga Izokh

  2. Novosibirsk State University, ul. Pirogova 2, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia

    Yuri Borzdov & Yuri Palyanov

Authors
  1. Vadim Reutsky
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  2. Yuri Borzdov
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  3. Yuri Palyanov
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  4. Alexander Sokol
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  5. Olga Izokh
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Correspondence to Vadim Reutsky.

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Communicated by Jochen Hoefs.

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Reutsky, V., Borzdov, Y., Palyanov, Y. et al. Carbon isotope fractionation during experimental crystallisation of diamond from carbonate fluid at mantle conditions. Contrib Mineral Petrol 170, 41 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00410-015-1197-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00410-015-1197-5

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