Kirill I. Shmulovich

Phase equilibria in fluid systems at high pressures and temperatures

Fluid inclusions of brines with daughter salt crystals are known from magma tic, metamorphic and metasomatic rocks, and have received considerable attention in the literature (e.g. Poty et al., 1974; Crawford et al., 1979; Kreulen, 1980; Touret, 1981; Yardley and Bottrell, 1988). Not infrequently, they coexist with pure or almost pure carbonic inclusions. Such observations demonstrate that natural fluids must be considered as composed of at least 3 essential components: salt, CO2 and H2O, but there has been a paucity of experimental data on fluid systems of this complexity. Studies of metamorphic fluid evolution including the effects of fluid immiscibility by Bowers and Helgeson (1983), Trommsdorff et al. (1985), Trommsdorff and Skippen (1986) and Skippen (1988) have been based on the data of Gehrig (1980).

An introduction to crustal fluids

Fluids are universally recognized as playing a major role in many geological and geochemical processes in the crust. They act as solvents for the dissolution of metals, and as a medium to transport and concentrate them as ores. At the same time they may fundamentally change the transport properties of their host rocks, by dissolving or infilling pores, or generating hydrofractures. In regions of the crust that are stressed, the presence or absence of fluids exerts a fundamental control on rheology and thus dictates the nature and extent of crustal deformation.