Abstract
Quartz and alkali feldspar from vuggy granitic blocks contain up to 1010 fluid inclusions per cubic centimeter, of three main compositional types, I–III; the inclusions are presumably the result of the trapping of three discrete, individually homogeneous fluids, plus fewer inclusions of other compositions, including several mixed types. The original fluid trapped in inclusions of type I was a silicate-rich magma; at room temperature it consists of silicate glass, with a small, very low-pressure gas bubble and sometimes a crystal of fluorite(?). The original material trapped in type II was a dense saline fluid with 50–70 weight per cent NaCl; at room temperature it consists of saturated water solution, a large halite crystal (usually with other crystalline phases), and a large gas bubble containing some CO2. The original material trapped in type III was a dense aqueous-rich fluid or steam; at room temperature it consists of a dilute water solution and a very large, high-pressure CO2 gas bubble. Type III apparently represents vapor coexisting with type II fluids (i.e. boiling); it occurs both as independent primary inclusions and in intimate association with type II in planes of secondary inclusions. It is believed that type II represents immiscible globules of dense saline fluid, suspended in silicate magma, and trapped, possibly because of preferential surface wetting during crystal growth. If both types I and II are primary, their random interdistribution implies immiscibility. Regardless of primary or secondary origin, the examples of mixed type I–II inclusions, containing (at room temperature) a saturated water solution, a large halite crystal, a gas bubble, and a variable amount of silicate glass, seem to require simultaneous coexistence of silicate and saline fluids as a heterogeneous mixture, i.e. immiscibility. Similar inclusions are found in blocks quenched from both above and below the alkali feldspar solvus. Despite the complex geological history of the samples, such inclusions throw light on the chemical nature of the residual fluids produced during crystallization of these granites, and may permit environmental P-T estimates. They should be looked for in other granites.