IRIDIUM - A program to model reaction of silicate liquid infiltrating a porous solid assemblage

The migration of silicate liquid through porous rock can give rise to compositional changes in both the liquid and the host solid assemblage that are important in a number of fields of igneous petrology. Ongoing studies in numerical models of crystallization and compaction behavior in layered intrusions by our group have lead to a need to incorporate more realistic silicate crystallization behavior. The computer program IRIDIUM incorporates liquid-mineral equilibria with one-dimensional transport equations for modeling magmatic infiltration-reaction (IR) phenomenon. The program allows calculation of mineral precipitation/dissolution and chromatographic fronts as silicate liquid percolates through a porous solid matrix. The liquid-mineral equilibria part of the IRIDIUM program is based on the free energy minimization algorithm used in the MELTS software algorithm of Ghiorso and coworkers and includes trace element modeling. The IRIDIUM program incorporates both general and compaction-driven thermal and mass transport equations. A simple example involving infiltration metasomatism in olivine cumulates in the Muskox intrusion shows some of the capabilities of the program. © 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Duke Scholars

Author Alan E. Boudreau Earth and Climate Sciences