The understanding of the element transport and fractionation in many geological processes requires knowledge about the chemistry, structure, thermodynamics of the fluid and melt phases that make up the principal geological media responsible for mass transfers on Earth. This wide-angle session is devoted to the element speciation in and the physical-chemical properties of the fluid and melt phases, which operate in a wide range of geological conditions, from high-temperature high-pressure magmatic-hydrothermal and mineral deposit environments to low-temperature processes at the Earth surface involving weathering, sedimentation or biogeochemical activity.
The physical chemistry of fluid-melt and fluid-mineral interactions and their implications to natural processes are the major topic of this session. It welcomes experimental and theoretical contributions on all aspects concerning identity, structure and stability of solutes, and thermodynamics and kinetics of partitioning/dissolution/precipitation phenomena. Issues related to redox and acid-base reactions are largely appreciated. Studies performed on natural fluid and melt inclusions and minerals and involving speciation aspects and/or physical-chemical modeling are welcome. Also well suited are contributions about innovative experimental set-up and analytical and in situ spectroscopy techniques applied to fluids and melts.
In conclusion, this session is for all those who do not look at fluids and melts as simple reservoirs in which elements are gathered together, but as active media in which interactions with other phases and among dissolved components determine the fate of chemical elements.