Abstract
Silicate melts in the Earth's interior are known/expected to be hydrous. Water can make major impact on physical properties including the structure, density, and mobility of melts. The behavior of relevant hydrous melts over most of the mantle pressure regime is poorly constrained. Water solubility increases rapidly with increasing pressure at low pressure and a complete miscibility of liquid MgSiO3 and H2O has been suggested based on high-pressure simulations. We have recently performed first principle molecular dynamics simulations of hydrous model basalt melt at high pressure. Our results show that with increasing pressure, the partial molar volume of water in the melt asymptotically approaches to that of pure water, and both the volumes become identical after certain point. Water is predicted to dissolve in the form of hydroxyls and water molecules at low pressure and as more extended structures at high pressure. The simulated basalt-H2O system commences to behave ideally at pressures above 10 GPa. In contrast, the simulated SiO2-H2O and MgSiO3-H2O systems approach to an ideal limit at much higher pressures of 50 GPa or above. These results imply an unlimited solubility of water in in silicate melts and the water solubility rather appears to be insensitive of composition at high pressure. Existence of water-rich silicate melts over most of the mantle in early history could have made substantial contribution to the origin of hydrosphere.