Buoyancy of volatile-rich kimberlite melts, magma ascent, and xenolith transport

Abstract

Kimberlite melts are primary carriers of mantle-derived carbon and hydrogen, playing an important role in Earth’s deep carbon cycle and diamond transport. Their low densities, viscosities, and vapor exsolution enable fast ascent rates. Ascending from the upper mantle, kimberlite melts incorporate xenoliths and xenocrysts and exsolve volatiles. These processes alter their initial composition, increasing the discrepancy between the proto-kimberlite magma and the magma that reaches the surface. To explain kimberlite volcanism, we examine atomic diffusivities and densities of kimberlite melts with varying volatile contents. We show that water makes the melts more diffusive, which should also lower their viscosity. All our kimberlite melts are positively buoyant below the lower continental crust (the MOHO discontinuity). They require ∼8.2 wt% CO2 to cross and rise through the MOHO. Above the MOHO, the most volatile-rich kimberlite melts can carry up to ∼44% xenolithic fragments of depleted peridotite type.