skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Temperature induced immiscibility in the NaCl-H₂O system at high pressure

Journal Article · · Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors

High-pressure polymorphs of H{sub 2}O are a major component in many outer planets, extra solar bodies, and icy satellites. This study sought to examine the influence of ionic impurities on the phase stability, thermal expansion, and melting curve of ice VII. Powder diffraction patterns of ice VII formed from pure H{sub 2}O and 5 wt.% NaCl aqueous solutions were taken at room temperature up to 11.1 {+-} 0.3 and 26.6 {+-} 0.4 GPa, respectively. Thermal expansions, {alpha}, of all ice VII samples were recorded and modeled up to the melting point of the samples. Ice VII formed from a NaCl-bearing aqueous solution at pressures greater than 2.2 GPa and less than 500 K can be indexed by ice VII only, whereas at temperatures greater than 500 K, diffraction lines indicative of halite (NaCl) are observed and become more intense with increasing temperature and only disappear at the melting point of the high-pressure ice. This phenomenon was observed in all NaCl-bearing ice samples that were heated to greater than 500 K. The melting curves of ice VII formed from pure H{sub 2}O and a 5 wt.% NaCl aqueous solution suggest that the presence of Na{sup +} and Cl{sup -} in the ice VII structure results in a depression of the melting curve by approximately 40 K. The exsolution of halite from the NaCl-doped ice VII and the depression of the ice VII melting curve suggest that the presence of ionic impurities in ice VII may promote the formation of a self-segregating zone deep within ice-rich bodies. This zone could initiate the formation of solute-rich melt pockets that may ascend toward the surface and result in surface manifestations such as solute-bearing aqueous vents, unexplained domes/diapirism, and/or salt-rich regions.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Advanced Photon Source (APS)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
OSTI ID:
1006871
Journal Information:
Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors, Vol. 170, Issue (1-2) ; 09, 2008; ISSN 0031-9201
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
ENGLISH