Tracer diffusion of some alkali, alkaline-earth and transition element ions in a basaltic and an andesitic melt, and the implications concerning melt structure

Abstract

The diffusion properties of Na, Cs, Sr, Ba, Co, Mn, Fe and Sc ions in a basaltic and an andesitic melt have been determined experimentally using the radiotracer residual-activity method, and narrow platinum capillaries, over the temperature range 1,300–1,400° C. Diffusion of all cations follows an Arrhenius relationship; the values of the activation energies range from 24 kcal mol⁻¹ for Na to 67 kcal mol⁻¹ for Co in the andesitic melt, and from 39 kcal mol⁻¹ for Na to 65 kcal mol⁻¹ for Cs in the basaltic melt. Relative diffusivities in the basaltic melt, but not in the andesitic melt, correlate with assumed ionic radii values. Each cation, except Na⁺, diffuses faster in the basaltic melt than in the andesitic melt over the studied temperature range. Sodium shows similar diffusivity in the two melts.

Compensation diagrams incorporating new and some previously-published data indicate that Cs probably diffuses by different mechanisms in different silicate glass and melt systems. Iron has a relatively high activation energy which is consistent with its part occupancy of tetrahedral co-ordination polyhedra.