Atomic scale diffusion in silicate melts plays a critical role in a variety of magmatic processes, as long recognized by geologists (Bowen 1921). Geochemists have investigated diffusion in silicate melts (including stable liquids and supercooled liquids and glasses) using a variety of methods as micro-analytical tools becoming available (e.g., Medford 1973; Jambon and Carron 1976; Magaritz and Hofmann 1978a,b; Hofmann 1980; Shimizu and Kushiro 1984; Zhang et al. 1991a; Koepke and Behrens 2001; Saal et al. 2008). The investigations were aimed at understanding the mechanisms of diffusion, the...