In this presentation, I will provide an overview of our recent efforts to determine the mobility of carbonate-rich melts in the upper mantle and their associated geodynamic signatures. First, I will illustrate progress in constraining the density and viscosity of carbonate-rich melts under pressure using a combination of synchrotron-based experiments and molecular dynamic simulations. Further, I will introduce a new global density model for multi-component mantle-derived carbonate-rich melts that permits accurate density predictions down to the mantle transition, i.e. 30 GPa, 800 – 2300 K. Finally, I will discuss how the new data and models provide new constrains on the timescales of carbonate melt extraction, the upward migration of carbonate melts and their geodynamic signature within the deep carbon cycle.

This Topic was recorded on May 31, 2022 as part of the Geo.X: Topics in Planetary Interiors