The ascent of subduction zone mlanges: Experimental constraints on mlange rock densities and solidus temperatures

M & eacute;langes are mixtures of subducted materials and serpentinized mantle rocks that form along the slab-mantle interface in subduction zones. It has been suggested that m & eacute;lange rocks may be able to ascend from the slab-top into the overlying mantle, as solid or partially molten buoyant diapirs, and transfer their compositional signatures to the source regions of arc magmas. However, their ability to buoyantly rise is in part tied to their phase equilibria during melting and residual densities after melt extraction, all of which are poorly constrained. Here, we report a series of piston-cylinder experiments performed at 1.5-2.5 GPa and 500-1050 degrees C on three natural m & eacute;lange rocks that span a range of m & eacute;lange compositions. Using phase equilibria, solidus temperatures, and densities for all experiments, we show that melting of m & eacute;langes is unlikely to occur along the slab-top at pressures <= 2.5 GPa, so that diapirism into the hotter mantle wedge would be required for melting to initiate. For the two metaluminous m & eacute;lange compositions, diapir formation is favored up to pressures of at least 2.5 GPa. For the peraluminous m & eacute;lange composition investigated, diapir buoyancy is possible at 1.5 GPa but limited at 2.5 GPa due to the formation of high-density garnet, primarily at the expense of chlorite. We also evaluate whether thermodynamic modeling (Perple_X) can accurately reproduce the phase equilibria, solidus temperatures, and density evolution of m & eacute;lange compositions. Our analysis shows good agreement between models and experiments in m & eacute;lange compositions with low initial water contents and low-pressure (<= 1.5 GPa) conditions. However, discrepancies between the thermodynamic models and experiments become larger at higher pressures and high-water contents, highlighting the need for an improved thermodynamic database that can model novel bulk compositions beyond the canonical subducting lithologies. This study provides experimental constraints on m & eacute;lange buoyancy that can inform numerical models of m & eacute;lange diapirism and influence the interpretations of both geophysical signals and geochemical characteristics of magmas in subduction zones.(c) 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V.This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons .org /licenses /by-nc -nd /4 .0/).