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Lithos 102 (2008) 598 – 615

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Tectonically controlled fluid flow and water-assisted melting in the

middle crust: An example from the Central Alps
Alfons Berger ⁎, Thomas Burri 1 , Peter Alt-Epping, Martin Engi
Institute of Geological Sciences, University of Bern, Baltzerstrasse 1 & 3, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
Received 19 August 2006; accepted 25 July 2007
Available online 5 September 2007

Abstract

Melting triggered by influx of a free aqueous fluid in the continental crust has commonly been inferred, but the source of water
in such contexts remains a matter of debate. We focus on the Tertiary migmatites in the Southern Steep Belt of the Central Alps
(Switzerland) to discuss the petrology, structures and geodynamic setting of water-assisted melting. These migmatites comprise
various structural types (e.g. metatexites, diatexites, melt in shear zones), which reflect variable leucosome fractions. The melting
event itself as well as the variable melt fractions are related to the amount of aqueous fluids. At a given P and T, melt-fractions in
rocks of minimum melt composition correlate with the amount of infiltrated aqueous fluids. In more granodioritic systems the
water distributes between melt and newly crystallizing hydrous phases such as amphibole, such that the melt fraction correlates
with the contents of H2O, Al, and Ca in the system. Phase-equilibrium modelling indicates that the stabilization of amphibole leads
to slightly lower melt fractions than in a granitic system at the same P, T and bulk water content. Phase-equilibrium models further
indicate that in the Alpine migmatite belt: (1) several wt.% water (fluid:rock ratio of ∼ 1:30) are necessary to produce the inferred
melt fraction; (2) the activity of H2O in the fluid is high; and (3) spatially associated metapelites are unlikely as a source for the
required aqueous fluids.
We present a tectonic scenario for the southern margin of the Central Alps, to which these migmatites are confined, and we
propose that water was produced from dehydration reactions in metapelites in the Southern Alps. We model fluid production rates
at the time of melting and demonstrate that the resulting fluid flow pattern is mainly controlled by the differences in permeability
between the fluid source region and melting region. The proposed model requires strong gradients in temperature and permeability
for the two tectonic blocks. This is consistent with the scenario involving indenter tectonics at the boundary between the Central
and the Southern Alps in Oligocene times.
© 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Water-assisted melting; Amphibole-bearing migmatites; Fluid flow; Modelling; Alps

1. Introduction

The formation of major proportions of silicate melt in

the continental (middle) crust strongly depends on the
⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +41 31 6318493. availability of volatile components. Wherever major
E-mail address: berger@geo.unibe.ch (A. Berger). amounts of melt occur, for example in migmatite
1
Now at: Kellerhals & Häfeli AG, Kapellenstr. 22, 3011 Bern. terrains, substantial amounts of such volatiles, notably
0024-4937/$ - see front matter © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.lithos.2007.07.027
 A. Berger et al. / Lithos 102 (2008) 598–615
Fig. 1. Schematic–tectonic sketch of the Central Alps. The location of Alpine in situ melting is shown. Map is simplified after Burri et al. (2005).
H2O, are implied, and their source is an obvious question.
Potential source rocks are those containing one or more
hydrate phases, which at suprasolidus temperatures may
break down to produce a partial melt.2 In the last decades
research on migmatites has focused on migmatites that
involve such hydrate-breakdown melting (e.g., Waters
and Whales, 1984; Montel et al., 1992; Braun et al., 1996;
Brown and Dallmeyer, 1996; Kalt et al., 1999; White
et al., 2003; Harris et al., 2005). However, there is
evidence for melt generation without dehydration reac-
tions. The low porosity (≪0.01 vol.%) of metamorphic
rocks in the middle crust allows only for very small melt
fractions (b1%) from fluids stored in situ. The origin of
migmatites, which have high leucosome fractions but did
not undergo hydrate-breakdown reactions, has to be
related to water-assisted partial melting. This process has
been considered as a possible cause for migmatite
formation (Mogk, 1992; Butler et al., 1997; Viruete,
1999; Prince et al., 2001; Garlick and Gromet, 2004;
White et al., 2005). One possible location of water-
assisted melting is in contact metamorphic aureoles,
2
The term dehydration melting has been widely used for this
process, but it is misleading, as no fluid is produced; hence we use the
term hydrate-breakdown melting, as introduced by Brown (2004).
599
where the source of water for partial melting has been
related to the infiltration of fluids from a crystallizing
pluton (e.g., Yardley and Barber, 1991; Berger and
Rosenberg, 2003; Johnson et al., 2003, 2004). However,
water-assisted melting also occurs in large-scale migma-
tite terrains, which are characterized by masses of gran-
itoid gneiss (e.g., Brown, 1979; Burri et al., 2005). Water-
assisted melting is an important process in metagranitoids,
which have bulk-rock compositions close to the minimum
melt composition (Sawyer, 1998).
Fundamental questions related to these large-scale
migmatite terrains are:
(1) In which geodynamic scenarios is fluid assisted
melting possible? Such a scenario is difficult to
imagine, because either fluids will direct generate
melts, or fluid is produced below the solidus and
will never hit the melting field.
(2) What is the petrology during fluid assisted melting?
Recent experimental studies and models have
improved our understanding of the process of
hydrate-breakdown melting, but the phase relations
during water-assisted melting as addressed by Castro
et al. (2000) and Gardien et al. (2000) are less well
known.
600 A. Berger et al. / Lithos 102 (2008) 598–615

This paper reports on phase relations, structures and
the fluid evolution in migmatites of the Central Alps
(Switzerland, N-Italy). This migmatite belt is well suited
for this kind of investigation, because it has zones of
mixed lithologies and much is known about its spatial
dimensions and internal characteristics (Burri et al.,
2005).
In order to have some new insights, we compare
detailed observations in the Alpine migmatites with
different modelling approaches. The first part of the
paper describes the petrography and petrology of
migmatites in the Central Alps, with special emphasis
on amphibole-bearing migmatites. The next section
summarizes the geodynamic and tectonic situation of
the Alps during water-assisted melting. This tectonic
scenario is used to construct a simple fluid flow model,
based on which some numerical results are presented.
Finally, we discuss implications of our observations and
of these model results with respect to the evolution of
the Alpine migmatite belt.
are widespread. In the area of Bellinzona a zone of
muscovite-breakdown melting has been mapped,
whereas biotite dehydration melting is negligible
(Burri et al., 2005). On average the SSB shows a high
leucosome fraction but only little evidence of hydrate-
breakdown melting. The timing of the partial melting is
constrained by monazite ages in migmatites and ages
of aplites, which scatter between 30 and 25 Ma (e.g.
Gebauer, 1996; Köppel, 1993).
Stromatic migmatites are common and may show
transitions into orthogneiss-types, which had been
termed “injections gneisses” (Gutzwiller, 1912; Wenk,
1975). Within the migmatites that were derived from
granitoids, large variations in leucosome volumes are
observed. In other words, the distribution of partial
melts was spatially variable, even where partial melting
occurred in a homogeneous and compositional suitable
protolith (Fig. 2). Virtually leucosome free gneisses
(Fig. 2a, left) locally grade into metatexitic, stromatic

2. Methods

Whole-rock major elements compositions were

determined using conventional XRF methods on glass
pellets. Major element equilibration was calculated
using TWQ (Berman, 1991). We use phase diagrams
and phase variation diagrams computed with the
program THERIAK and DOMINO (de Capitani and
Brown, 1987), in combination with the Holland and
Powell (1998) database and updates for melt bearing
systems (Holland and Powell, 2001; White et al., 2001).
Leucosome volumes were estimated in 2D using field
photographs and NIH-Image. Modelling of fluid flow
was carried out using the high-temperature flow model
Hydrotherm (Hayba and Ingebritsen, 1994).

3. Field relationships and petrology

3.1. Geological setting and field observations

In the Alps, classic basement thrust sheets can be

distinguished from heterogeneous tectonic mélange
units (e.g. Adula-, Cima Lunga-, Someo- and Orse-
lina-units) that contain eclogite relics (Fig. 1; Heinrich,
1982; Trommsdorff, 1990; Engi et al., 2001). The
Southern Steep Belt (SSB) of the Central Alps bears
the most convincing evidence of Alpine anatexis
(Wenk, 1970; Burri et al., 2005). The zone of anatexis
is spatially associated with aplites and small granites of
continental origin. Pegmatite and aplite dykes, meter to
decameter-sized granitic stocks, and in situ migmatites
Fig. 2. Anatectic granodioritic gneiss. (a) The leucosome fraction in
the right half of the image is estimated 0.19–0.22 using image analysis.
Note homogeneous distribution of the melt. Only a small melt fraction
is observed in the dominantly gneissic part to the left. (Pocket knife for
scale) (b) Stromatic metatexite in the right part of the picture grades
into an almost diatexite structure (same locality as panel a). Width of
photograph ca. 80 cm.
 A. Berger et al. / Lithos 102 (2008) 598–615 601

Fig. 3. Field- and microphotographs of different migmatites. (a) Fold with leucosome parallel to fold axial plane (b) Melt-filled shear zones in
migmatitic biotite-gneiss (Ponte Brolla), (c) Microphotograph of muscovite-breakdown melting in the central part of the migmatite belt. Hydrate-
breakdown melting dominates in metapelitic types. (d) Amphibole-bearing migmatite of initially granodioritic composition (see also Fig. 5).

migmatites (Fig. 2a, right) and even into meter scale,
almost diatexitic migmatites (Fig. 2b). Here the gneissic
fabric of the protolith becomes diffuse or even
disintegrated. Beside the stromatic and strongly variable
migmatites, leucosome also occur in some structural
positions, as shear zones and fold axial planes (Fig. 3a
and b).
In several cases the heterogeneity of observed
structures can be related to variable melt fractions.
Melt volume fractions generated through water-assisted
melting are difficult to estimate. In case of reaction-
controlled incongruent melting the solid products can be
used to estimate the melt fraction (e.g. Nyman et al.,
1995; Spear et al., 1999; Milord et al., 2001). In the case
of water-assisted melting, however, it is not possible to
estimate melt fraction from solid products. Whereas the
volume of leucosome may give a first order estimate of
the melt fraction, this approach poses two problems:
(1) it is not clear at what spatial and temporal scale the
total volume of leucosome represented the actual melt
fraction at any one time; (2) the accuracy and statistical
significance of these estimates are strongly scale
dependent (e.g. Berger and Kalt, 1999). For the present
case, the leucosome volume fractions determined from
area measurements in field photographs of ten localities,
vary between 0.05–0.39, with an average value of 0.2.
In addition, some outcrops have been found without
leucosome at all. Changes of the leucosome fraction
often occur in metagranite and these changes must be
correlated with spatially variable fluid contents. Like the
coexisting diatexites and metatexites, this is evidence
for the presence of fluids and the dependence of melt
fractions on fluid volumes.
3.2. Petrography and petrology of the migmatites
In addition to the variable leucosome volumes, the
migmatites also differ in terms of their petrography.
According to the petrographic composition we distin-
guish the following groups:
1. Migmatites formed through white mica-breakdown
melting (Fig. 3c). These rocks are often pelitic or
semipelitic in composition and sillimanite occurs as
an incongruent melting product of the melting
reaction. However, in a few cases reactions of the
602 A. Berger et al. / Lithos 102 (2008) 598–615
Fig. 4. Photographs of anatexis in amphibolites. (a) Hand sample from
the border of leucosome and mesosome. Note the poikilitic amphiboles
of different grain size in the leucosome. (b) Microphotograph of the
same sample as in (a). Note the new large K-feldpsar crystals including
plagioclase and quartz. These are part of the crystallizing melt. Scale of
the horizontal length of the image is ∼250 μm.
type muscovite + quartz + feldspar + biotite1 ⇒ garnet
+biotite2 + melt do occur, which formed migmatites
with garnet, but without sillimanite.
2. Metabasic rocks with evidence of localized melting
and small volumes of leucosomes (Fig. 4). K-feldspar
occurs in these leucosomes and as thin films between
amphibole and plagioclase. These may have crystal-
lized from small melt fractions located along grain
boundaries (Fig. 4b). Several amphibolites contain
different sized leucosomes, which have a granitic
composition and magmatic texture. These observa-
tions indicate, that these leucosomes are crystallized
melt. Because of the granitic composition of these
leucosomes the amphibolites are not likely to be the
source for these melts.
3. Migmatites in metagranitoids rocks.
4. Amphibole-bearing migmatites related to water-
assisted melting (Fig. 3d). These are commonly
associated with partially molten meta-granitoid
rocks. The origin of such migmatites has been
explored in an experimental study by Gardien et al.
(2000) and will be discussed below.
For migmatites that developed under relatively low
temperature conditions, Mogk (1992) proposed the
melting reaction:
Bio þ Plagð1Þ þ Qtz 
þ Epi þ H2 O
¼ Hbl þ Plagð2Þ þ MeltðKfs  richÞ ð1Þ
as the cause for amphibole formation in anatectic
granites. In experiments by Naney (1983) and Gardien
et al. (2000), amphibole was stabilized only above the
water-saturated solidus upon addition of 3–5 wt.% of
H2O. This is clearly in excess of the amount of fluid that
could be stored in the pore space at amphibolite facies
conditions. This suggests that amphibole-bearing leuco-
somes should form in granitic to granodioritic rocks
only following fluid infiltration.
Studies carried out on amphibole-bearing leuco-
somes in the Central Alps (Fig. 3) indicate that a
reaction similar to (1) was indeed responsible for the
formation of partial melts and amphibole. Textural
evidence supporting this reaction is provided by epidote
grains, which are euhedral if included in biotite, but is
xenomorphic in shape within the quartz-feldspar matrix
(Fig. 5a). A finer-grained second generation of epidote,
typically as aggregates, commonly rims the partially
resorbed older epidote grains or occurs as precipitates in
fractures and along grain boundaries (Fig. 5a). We
interpret these textures as due to partial resorption of
epidote by incongruent melting (reaction (1)), followed
by a partial retrograde reaction during crystallization of
the melt to form the smaller grained epidote fraction.
Other textural evidence involves quartz-biotite-sym-
plectites, which are enclosed in amphibole (Fig. 5b).
The symplectite is interpreted to have been formed due
to the breakdown of biotite according to reaction (1).
Inclusion of the symplectite during coeval growth of
amphibole may have led to its partial preservation and
may have inhibited a complete reaction. Retrograde
reaction of amphibole to form biotite, epidote and quartz
during crystallization of the melt has been observed
frequently (Fig. 5c). Biotite symplectites are not found
at such sites. Amphibole replacement occurs dominantly
along amphibole grain boundaries, or along its cleavage.
The replacement of amphibole along cleavage planes in
Fig. 5 may be promoted if retrograde reaction is volume
increasing. Secondary minerals grew along fractures in
amphibole and plagioclase, but not in quartz (Fig. 5c).
This indicates that retrograde replacement of amphibole
occurred during crystallization of the melt, at super-
solidus conditions. The back-reaction is incomplete,
indicating that melt had escaped from the leucosome.
In metapelitic slivers within the SSB, muscovite-
breakdown melting occurred only in small regions
(Burri et al., 2005) and these migmatites show a large
variety of assemblages. Some samples contain relics of
white mica together with sillimanite (Fig. 3c); others
show only biotite and garnet or a paragenesis of garnet-
sillimanite (Berger et al., 2005). Most of these
migmatites have low leucosome volume and in most
 A. Berger et al. / Lithos 102 (2008) 598–615 603

examples a stromatic structure. A particularly informa- Table 1

tive example is located in an inhomogeneous trail of Chemical bulk-rock compositions used in this contribution
meta-sedimentary and meta-mafic rocks inside the meta- Sample FON1 a Ar 9902-aver. b Granite c
SiO2 44.13 65.91 70.77
TiO2 2.11
Al2O3 27.36 16.84 14.83
FeO 4.39
Fe2O3 13.28 2.44
MnO 0.30
MgO 2.70 2.11 1.19
CaO 4.58 3.92 1.34
Na2O 2.96 3.88 3.33
K2O 1.24 2.95 6.1
LOI 0.68
total 99.33 100 100
a
FON1 is a metapelitic residue.
b
Sample exists of mesosomes (∼ 70 vol.%) and leucosomes
(∼ 30 vol.%); an average composition used for modelling in Fig. 8.
c
Composition taken from Naney (1983) and used in Fig. 11c.

granitoid migmatites. In the order of decreasing

abundance, the residual rock consists of plagioclase,
garnet, kyanite, biotite, rutile/ilmenite, staurolite, and
white mica. K-feldspar has not been observed, quartz
seems to be confined to a few veinlets of uncertain
significance. This bulk-rock composition is that of a
residue (high Al, but low K-contents and no quartz;
FON1 in Table 1). Melt extraction would here change
the bulk composition by increasing the Ca/Na- and Ca/
K- and decreasing the Al/Si-ratios in the residue (Burri,
2005). As discussed below, the main equilibration of the
solid phases occurred at pressures of 0.7–0.75 GPa and
temperatures of 670 °C. These conditions are outside
any hydrate-breakdown melting field. This is supported
by the presence of stable white mica and biotite in this
sample. However, the bulk composition of this sample
can be explained only with substantial melt extraction.
This is strong evidence that fluid infiltration occurred
into the meta-sedimentary rocks and melting without
dehydration reactions.

Fig. 5. Textures of amphibole-bearing migmatites. (a) Epidote phase

relations in amphibole-bearing leucosome. Bright low relief phases
are feldspar and quartz, dark phase is biotite, bright high relief phase
is epidote. Numbers: 1 denotes primary epidote included in biotite
grains. Note the idiomorphic shapes of these grains. 2 denotes primary
epidote partially resorbed along the upper grain boundary during
partial melting. 3 denotes a secondary, finer-grained epidote fraction,
probably formed during crystallisation of the melt. (b) Quartz-biotite
symplectite partially included in amphibole and interpreted as a result
of a mixed mode melting reaction leading to the formation of
amphibole. (c) Potassium X-ray-maps showing partial back-reaction
of igneous amphibole in granitic leucosome. Amphibole is replaced
by epidote, biotite and quartz. Part of the biotite is replaced by
secondary chlorite. Replacement of amphibole mainly occurs along its
rim or along the mineral cleavage.
604 A. Berger et al. / Lithos 102 (2008) 598–615
3.3. P–T conditions and melt fractions
Estimating P–T conditions of partial melting in meta-
granitoid rocks is difficult, because the equilibrated
assemblage at the stage of partial melting is not preserved
(melt + solid phases). In addition, assemblages in granites
are not very useful for thermobarometry. Some informa-
tion on P and T may be obtained from amphibole-bearing
migmatites, in which amphibole thermobarometry can be
applied (Holland and Blundy, 1994; Anderson and Smith,
1995). Burri et al. (2005) used amphibole-plagioclase
thermobarometry to infer equilibration conditions when
melt was present. Calculated equilibrium pressure and
temperature at the time of partial melting close to the
solidus are 0.7–0.8 GPa and 690°–740 °C (Fig. 6). As
discussed in the previous section, metapelitic migmatites
show equilibration of the solid minerals (sample Fon1).
Therefore, equilibration condition can be estimated by
using compositions of the solid phases in this system. This
results in pressures of 0.7–0.8 GPa and temperatures of
670 °C (Fig. 7; using TWQ; Berman, 1991). These
conditions reflect the equilibration of the solid, residue
material at intermediate stages of melting (Burri, 2005).
Some of the metasedimentary migmatites with low
leucosome volumes contain garnet. The compositions of
garnet cores suggest conditions near 0.7 GPa and 700–
750 °C, those of the rim near 0.6 GPa and 650 °C (Berger
Fig. 6. Summary of P–T conditions estimated in the SSB (data are
from Burri et al., 2005; Berger et al., 2005 and this study). In some
samples a P–T history inside the melting field is indicated (see line
between data-points). The white mica out conditions are indicated. In
addition, the water-saturated solidus of the haplogranitic system is
shown (Johannes and Holtz, 1996). Most data indicate partial melting
in the stability field of white mica and melt. This is consistent with
observations in the migmatites of the SSB.
Fig. 7. Multi-equilibrium calculation for sample Fon1 (composition in
Table 1) using the software TWQ. Dashed reactions are dominated by
staurolite or biotite endmembers siderophyllite and eastonite. Ellipse
indicates inferred P–T conditions for this sample.
et al., 2005). These samples were taken in the area, where
the highest P–T conditions have been inferred and where
muscovite-breakdown melting had occurred. The textures
of muscovite dehydration reactions support P–T condi-
tions close to the white mica out reaction (Figs. 3c and 6).
The few examples with garnet can be used to estimate P–T
during partial melting are limited to a P–T interval
between 0.8–0.6 GPa and 740° and 650 °C (Fig. 6). The
variations of the mineral composition within a single
sample indicate changes of pressures (∼0.1 GPa) and
temperatures (∼90 °C) during partial melting along the
retrograde path.
In granite that is close to a minimum melt composition,
a nearly linear relation exists between water content and
melt fraction at given P and T below the water saturation
of the melt (Johannes and Holtz, 1996). Assuming a
pressure and temperature of 0.8 GPa and 700 °C, a melt
fraction of ∼0.25 would require some 2.5 wt.% of water
(Johannes and Holtz, 1996; White et al., 2001).
More significant are effects related to a change in bulk
composition from a granitic to a more granodioritic
composition. Phase relations in granodioritic systems
include more phases (e.g. Naney, 1983), but melt fractions
are still related to the water content. The relationship
between Ca- and water-content can be illustrated by
mineral equilibrium models using a rock-composition of
an amphibole-bearing, natural migmatite (see Fig. 8;
sample Ar9902; Table 1). This rock contains leucosomes
(mainly quartz + two feldspars), mesosomes (quartz, two
feldspars, biotite and amphibole) as well as some bands
 A. Berger et al. / Lithos 102 (2008) 598–615
without amphibole (quartz, two feldspars and biotite).
Table 1 shows the average bulk composition from an XRF
analysis of the leuco- and mesosomes in this rock. The
results of the mineral equilibria model using DOMINO
Fig. 8. Binary T–X diagrams using DOMINO (de Capitani and Brown,
1987) for composition of an amphibole-bearing migmatite (sample
Ar9902). Light gray shading indicates the presence of free fluid,
intermediate shading a melt and dark grey shading coexistence of fluid
and melt. Composition of the main composition is Si(22.61), Al(6.81),
Ca(1.44), Fe(1.26), Mg(1.08), K(1.29), Na(2.58), H(8), O(65.26)
(a) Water activity versus temperature diagram (b) Binary T–X diagram
for variable Ca-content (main composition as given above and minus 1
CaO for the lower composition). Melt proportions of the system are
indicated by the numbers inside the boxes. Note the variable melt
volumes at a given P and T in relation to the Ca-content and the related
paragenesis. Paragenesis (3) fits the observed one.
605
(de Capitani and Brown, 1987) show that the fraction of
melt is mainly a function of the amount of water, which
has to be related to the influx of fluids (Gardien et al.,
2000). This fluid has to be rich in H2O, because at 700 °C
aH2O b 0.9 would prevent the generation of melt (Fig. 8a;
Johannes and Holtz, 1996). Thus the presence of
amphibole adds further constraints on the (P)–T–X
condition of these migmatites (Fig. 8b). In summary, the
results from mineral-equilibrium models agree well with
the following observations: (1) the distribution of
leucosomes is inhomogeneous, indicating influx of
water as the cause of melting; (2) small changes in bulk
composition affect the stable assemblage, i.e. amphibole-
bearing versus amphibole absent bands in these rocks.
The melt fraction increases with decreasing bulk Ca-
contents, because more water is stored in amphiboles in
the case of higher Ca-content (Fig. 8b). This is consistent
with the observed different volumes of leucosomes in
different rocks.
4. Geodynamic setting during water-assisted melting
in the Alps
Water-assisted melting requires two things: an
efficient source of water and a force that drives fluids
into the rock at the P and T conditions of interest. Fluids
can only be released and mobilized at conditions below
the solidus, because fluids would otherwise be used up
in situ to produce melt. If the permeability distribution is
homogeneous and fluid flow is solely driven by density
differences due to temperature variations, a vertical flow
component would be promoted. Thus an additional
driving force is required that promotes up-temperature
flow of fluid into granitoid rocks. There is evidence that
fluid flow was related to the deformation and perme-
ability changes inside the Southern Steep Belt (e.g.
Berger et al., 1996; Burri et al., 2005). This means that
the process of partial melting has to be viewed in the
context of the tectonic movements in the Southern Steep
Belt.
4.1. Structural history
The Tertiary migmatite belt of the Central Alps is
spatially related to the Southern Steep Belt (e.g. Burri
et al., 2005). The tectonic scenario at the time of partial
melting (Oligocene/Miocene) is characterized by trans-
pressional backthrusting of the Southern Steep Belt
against the colder Southern Alps (Figs. 1 and 9). Tectonic
models indicate a steep contact between the cold Southern
Alps and the uplifted, hot Southern Steep Belt during the
Oligocene (e.g., Schmid et al., 1989, 1996; Pfiffner et al.,
606 A. Berger et al. / Lithos 102 (2008) 598–615
Fig. 9. Tectonic sketch of the Alps at Oligocene times during partial melting (simplified after Schmid et al., 1996). The position of the fluid modelling
box is indicated.
2000). In the north, the Southern Steep Belt is part of the
folded units of the adjacent nappe pile, whereas in the
center and the south it is characterized by a highly variable
mix of rock types. The Southern Steep Belt was strongly
deformed under amphibolite facies conditions, with many
units grading into the ductile to brittle mylonites of the
Insubric Line, which are an expression of localized defor-
mation (e.g., Schmid et al., 1989; Handy et al., 2005).
The structures related to backthrusting, strike-slip
movements, orogen-parallel normal-faulting and folding
indicate that these processes occurred more or less
simultaneously. Localized deformation at lower tempera-
tures offers the possibility to look at the lower section of
this transpressional zone, which is exposed north of the
low-grade mylonites. The melting event produced small
dykes, which crosscut the steep structures and were folded
at a post-nappe stage. Therefore, partial melting must
have occurred during transpressional deformation (Burri
et al., 2005). The width of the in situ melting zone is
approximately 3–7 km. At the time of partial melting, the
Southern Steep Belt was already in a steep position
(Berger et al., 1996).
The transpressional deformation is related to the
deformation of the Adria-indenter. The deformation of
the indenter involved thin-skinned thrusting and large-
scale folding to produce a large anticline at the contact
with the Insubric Line (Fig. 9). In the northern limb of this
anticline some relics of Mesozoic cover are preserved.
More of these sedimentary rocks are expected to remain
deeper in the crust along the northern limb (e.g.,
Schönborn, 1997). At the time of the indenter tectonics,
these meta-sedimentary rocks came into contact with the
Southern Steep Belt, as they are situated today. During
later transpressional backthrusting this crustal segment
was uplifted and exposed by localized deformation along
the Insubric Line. Therefore, the level of erosion is deeper
north of the Insubric Line then in the Southern Alps.
Therefore, the migmatites of the SSB, are today at the
present erosional surface, whereas the Tertiary amphib-
olite facies rocks of the Southern Alps remain deeply
buried.
4.2. Some remarks on the thermal structure
Fluid production and melting were partly controlled
by heating of individual units along their P–T–t paths.
A likely cause for water-assisted melting would be the
development of inverted isotherms. In such a situation,
metamorphic dehydration reactions occurring outside
the melting field would produce fluids, which ascend
into the melting field (upwards flow from a colder to
a hotter area). Such a situation is commonly realized
 A. Berger et al. / Lithos 102 (2008) 598–615 607

Fig. 10. Compilation of some published thermal models for the Alps. (a) Thermal model “MELONPIT” from Roselle et al. (2002). Thermal structure
redrawn from their Fig. 10d after 70 Ma of elapsed model-time. The Insubric Line is included in the model. (b) Thermal structure of the “lower
lithosphere” model of Goffé et al. (2003). The figure is redrawn from their Fig. 6 using the 30 mm/year convergence rate. (c) Isotherms of the “Hydr”
model from Stöckhert and Gerya (2005) redrawn from their Fig. 5. The elapsed model-time is 29 Ma. The Insubric Line is drawn in the Figure, but not
taken into account in the model. (d) Thermal structure of model 10 from Burg and Gerya (2005) after 25 Ma of elapsed model-time and shortening of
500 km (their Fig. 4d). The Insubric Line is not included in this model. All models include a multiple layer model, which is not redrawn in this figure,
but the mantle is indicated in grey. The area of interest for partial melting is marked by a circle. Note, that the absolute temperatures are not sufficient
for melting at the pressures of interest. However, the relative thermal structure can be compared. In all models still overturned isotherms are computed
at great depth, below the mantle wedge of the Southern Alps. These overturned isotherms are not relevant for melting in the Central Alps.
608 A. Berger et al. / Lithos 102 (2008) 598–615
during subduction. The length and time scale of such
overturned isotherms depend on numerous parameters
(e.g., subduction rate, age of the crust, radioactive heating,
shear heating; see Roselle et al., 2002; Gerya et al., 2002;
Stöckhert and Gerya, 2005; Burg and Gerya, 2005;
Fig. 10). However, water-assisted melting in the Alps
occurred during backthrusting, long after the main stage
of subduction was over. Subduction of the lower crustal
parts has nevertheless been assumed to be ongoing during
backthrusting (Figs. 9 and 10), and this needs to be
considered in combination with the major temperature
difference between the Central Alps and the Southern
Alps. Such a thermal setup is also indicated by the
proposed indenter tectonics (see last section). Available
thermal modelling gives insight into the thermal structure,
during the temporal sequence from subduction to
collision, backthrusting, and erosion (Fig. 10).
Thermal modelling indicates that spatially condensed
isotherms developed in the upper and middle crust and
that overturned isotherms may have persisted in the
lower crust and the mantle over prolonged periods (e.g.,
Roselle et al., 2002; Goffé et al., 2003; Burg and Gerya,
2005). If so, this would have led to a situation, where
at similar depth a hotter orogenic part was adjacent
to a colder upper plate in the zone of backthrusting.
However, these contemporaneous movements, i.e.
backthrusting in the upper crust and subduction of
lower crust (Fig. 10) would have led to a fairly uncertain
thermal structure in the lowest part of the crust.
Regardless of this uncertainty, however, potentially
overturned isotherms would result at a depth of 75–
100 km, whereas the depth of melt production has been
found to be ∼20–25 km (see also Fig. 10). Therefore,
we surmise that this thermal structure is not directly
relevant to this problem, as any potential fluid released
in the subducted crust in the area of overturned isotherms
would related to the mantle wedge or the lower crust,
rather than the zone of the migmatites investigated in this
study. In the area of interest, the thermal structure
developed in the middle crust is likely to have been
layered normally. This means at the time of melting,
the rocks below the migmatites were hotter then the
migmatites itself. Therefore, rocks with a similar solidus
as the migmatites and located below these could not
have been the fluid source for the migmatites.
5. Fluid sources and modelling of fluid flow pathways
5.1. Fluid sources and fluid production
Several potential fluid sources exist. We first discuss
the most promising ones, and those of minor importance
are addressed at the end of this section. A major
possibility for a fluid source is metamorphic dehydra-
tion reactions at conditions cooler than where the first
melts are produced (see also section on thermal history).
The amount of dehydration fluid produced depends on
the rock-type and the P–T path (e.g. Thompson, 2001;
Burri, 2005). We have used mineral-equilibrium mod-
elling to quantify fluid volumes that could be produced
under different conditions. The P–T path of our model is
constrained by the estimated P–T conditions during
melting in the migmatites. The composition of the rocks
acting as fluid sources is poorly known.
One possibility is that fluids were derived from
metapelites, which constitutes the most effective source
of hydrous fluids. Accounting for our thermal model
setup, the pressure of the dehydration reactions has to be
set equal or slightly higher, whereas temperatures must
be lower than within the migmatites. Assuming
pressures between 0.8–0.75 GPa and temperatures
below 640 °C and using a ΔT of 50° (i.e. a temperature
path from 590–640 °C) and a pressure of ∼ 0.75 GPa,
some 1.3 vol.% water could be produced from an
average metapelite. This value increases with decreasing
Al-content of the metapelites, because the Al-content
correlates with the modal content of micas. One volume
unit (e.g. 1 km3) of such a metapelite is able to produce a
melt fraction of ∼ 0.12 in the same volume of a near
minimum melt granite at 690 °C and 0.8 GPa (see also
Table 2). To account for the average melt fraction
documented in the migmatite belt of the central Alps, the
metapelite volume required would be 1.6 times the
migmatite volume. All of these calculations assume
water-saturated equilibrium. In addition to continuous
equilibrium, we can also infer overstepping of any
reaction by kinetic reasons. Any overstepping of
dehydration reaction survives hydrate phases to higher
temperatures. In this scenario, even smaller rock-
volumes would produce the necessary amount of fluids
(cf. Buick et al., 2004). Metapelites constitute an
Table 2
Inferred flux of water during water-assisted melting
Migmatite Bergell Metapelite in the
belt pluton Southern Alps
Measured or required 6.96e + 08 1.91e+07 1e + 09
area (m2)
Percentage of produced −100 10.6 89.4
(or consumed) water
Percentage of consumed 2.1 4 1.3
or released H2O (wt. %)
Using a two dimensional map view through the problem (inferring a
simple geometry in the third dimension).
 A. Berger et al. / Lithos 102 (2008) 598–615 609

increasingly potent fluid source, the higher the temper-

ature difference between source region and melting
region.
A second possible source of aqueous fluids is
hydrated metabasic rocks, which notably lose much of
their chlorite at the transition from the greenschist to the
amphibolite facies (see also Elmer et al., 2006). The
amount of water that can be released due to the
breakdown of chlorite is high, but the temperature at
which this occurs is relatively low. If one considers
metabasic rocks to be the source of the fluids, the
temperature difference between source and melting
region has to be higher than is likely to have been the
case in the present scenario.
In addition to the infiltration of external water, fluid
recycling inside the crystallizing migmatites has to be
accounted for. This process has been explored in terms
of crystallization of granites by Johannes and Holtz
(1996). We modeled a crystallizing haplogranitic melt
from PT conditions of 710 °C and 0.8 GPa to 600 °C and
0.7 GPa (Fig. 11). During crystallization of this melt, a
fluid phase will be released at ∼ 640 °C (position B in
Fig. 11). The remaining crystal mush has a melt volume
of 78 vol.%. If the released fluid flows into a
leucogranite, it would produce ∼ 20 vol.% melt again.
This melt batch will always be water undersaturated,
and water from a second melt batch would only be
released at the solidus. This process only occurs close to
the solidus (e.g. release of water at 640 °C with a solidus
at 630 °C). Fig. 11c shows that the evolution of a rock of
granitic composition (granite in Table 1) is similar to a Fig. 11. Mineral-equilibrium models for ascending and crystallizing
rock of haplogranitic composition. Therefore, water melt using THERIAK. (a) sketch of the crystallization evolution of
recycling may be an additional factor in the total melt ascending and crystallizing aplites in a migmatite. Position A, B and C
production and may lower the volume of external fluxes are the situation as modelled in (b) and (c). (b) evolution of modal
contents of minerals, fluids and melt along a crystallization path of a
necessary to produce a specific volume of melt.
water-saturated haplogranitic melt. (c) similar as (b) but with a
However, water recycling plays a role only at tempera- complete granitic composition (see Table 1 for composition).
tures close to the solidus.
There are two other processes that may account for
part of the in situ production of fluids. One possibility is source (transforming mainly from a garnet-omphacite to
the direct release of fluids from rocks inside the SSB. In plagioclase-amphibole assemblages). Metabasic rocks,
other words, rocks with higher solidus release water into which underwent heating, could release modest amounts
their immediate surroundings. This would be an of fluids in the amphibolite facies (below the solidus of
effective water source, because the SSB comprises in amphibolites). This fluid source is related in minor part
large part a lithospheric mélange containing different to sliding reactions including the amphiboles and, under
rock types. However, metapelites have a similar solidus certain circumstances, to the breakdown of epidote
temperature as the surrounding metagranitoids and thus (Schmidt and Poli, 1998; Elmer et al., 2006). However,
can be ruled out, because any fluid from prograde the volume percentage of fluids is low and the volume
dehydration reactions of such metapelites would lead to fraction of basic rocks in the SSB is also minor.
in situ melting, rather than releasing mobile hydrous Therefore, basic rocks are no effective fluid source at
fluids into their surroundings. Similarly, metabasic the conditions of interest. The second minor possibility
rocks undergoing decompression from the eclogite for fluids inside the SSB is the release of fluids from
facies may serve as a fluid sink, but not as a fluid crystallizing magmas, such as the neighboring Bergell
610 A. Berger et al. / Lithos 102 (2008) 598–615
Fig. 12. Model design, rock units and boundary condition of the fluid
flow model between the Southern Alps and the Central Alps. Compare
set up with the section of the Alps in Oligocene times as presented in
Fig. 9.
pluton (Berger et al., 1996). The measured exposure area
of the Bergell pluton today is 20 km2 (Table 2); assuming
an initial water content of 4 wt.% for this magma, a
maximum of 10 wt.% of the required aqueous fluids
could have been released from this pluton (Table 2). So,
the Bergell pluton is too small to account for the total
influx of fluids, though it may have played a supporting
role.
5.2. Fluid flow rates and pathways
We designed a flow model based on the tectonic
scenario at the time of the melting event as described
above. We used the high-temperature flow code Hy-
drotherm (Hayba and Ingebritsen, 1994) to explore fluid
flow patterns and calculate flow rates as a function of the
permeability and temperature distribution in the rock.
The model domain represents an 8.0 km by 6.2 km
cross-section (Fig. 12). The right model block consists
of two hydrologically different units: (1) a low-
permeability top and (2) a higher permeability bottom
unit (representing the tectonic situation of the Central
Alps and the Southern Alps). The left model block has
an intermediate permeability. We use data from the
literature to constrain permeability values (Fig. 12 and
Table 3). In general, it can be assumed that deforming
rocks have higher permeability than other rocks (see
Dipple and Ferry, 1992; Ferry, 1994; Oliver, 1996;
Hanson, 1997 and references therein). The model does
not include possible permeability changes during
metamorphic dehydration or due to hydro-fracturing
during fluid infiltration (for discussion see Miller et al.,
2003). We assumed that the bottom unit produced water
as a result of dehydration reactions. We did not assign
hydrological properties to the contact between the
Central and the Southern Alps. Pressure and temperature
were fixed along the top boundary at 0.65 GPa and
570 °C, respectively. Thus fluid was allowed to leave or
enter the domain through the top. The side boundaries
were impermeable and adiabatic. The temperature at the
bottom boundary was fixed at 750 °C and 720 °C at the
bottom of the left and right model block, respectively.
This accounts for the colder Southern Alps in nature,
which produce aqueous fluids but no melt. At the
bottom of the domain a conductive low-permeability
layer was set to prevent fluid exchange through the
bottom boundary.
The initial condition was a uniform temperature of
570 °C throughout the domain and a hydrostatic
pressure distribution. Each simulation consisted of two
parts. First we carried out an initialization run to
calculate a steady state temperature and pressure
distribution without fluid production. Then we switched
on the fluid production in the lower meta-sediments and
let the system run to steady state (i.e. 1 Ma). We simulate
a base-case scenario (see parameters in Table 3) and
compared the results with scenarios that used different
permeabilities.
The initialization of the base-case scenario (i.e.
steady state flow and temperature fields without fluid
production) shows that fluids circulate in an isolated
convection cell within the more permeable lower unit
(Fig. 13a). It should be noted that even though this unit
has the highest permeability, a permeability of 10− 16 m2
is quite low, and it is remarkable that the fluid convects.
The fact that convection occurs has to be related to the
fluid properties (density and viscosity) at the given P
and T conditions and, as will be shown below, the
somewhat higher geotherm in the left model block. As
soon as fluid production in the right unit starts, the fluids
infiltrate the surrounding rocks, preferentially those with
the next highest permeability (Fig. 13b). Fluid flow is
Table 3
Thermal and hydrological parameters for the base-case (Case A)
scenario
Left Upper part of the Lower part of the
block right block right block
Permeability 1e − 19 1e − 22 1e −16
(x, y, z) (m2)
Thermal 3.0 3.0 3.0
conductivity
(J/m s K)
Porosity 0.025 0.005 0.05
Fluid production 0.0 0.0 5e −4
(kg/year m3)
 A. Berger et al. / Lithos 102 (2008) 598–615 611

Fig. 13. Steady state flow pattern, flow velocities. Contour values reflect the magnitude of the flow velocity in m/a. (a) Scenario without fluid
production. (b) Base case scenario (see text for explanation and Table 3 for input parameters). (c) Simulation with a uniform geothermal gradient of
25 °C/km. (d) The upper meta-sediments have a permeability two orders of magnitude higher than in the base-case scenario (see panel b). (e) The left
model block (Southern Steep Belt) has a permeability two orders of magnitude higher than in the base-case scenario.

now driven by the pressure increase in the source rocks
of the right model block due to fluid production in
addition to the buoyancy component that causes the
fluid to convect in the case of no fluid production
(Fig. 13). The sum of these processes controls the flow
pattern. The fluid flow pattern in the source rocks
preserves a buoyancy-driven component, which is
indicated by relatively high flow rates along the bottom
boundary and at the contact with the left model block
(Fig. 13b). Fluid flow from the source rocks into the
neighboring left model block is enhanced by the low-
permeability upper part of the right model block, which
inhibits vertical flow. Fluid infiltration into the left block
extends over several kilometers (Fig. 13b). Flow
612 A. Berger et al. / Lithos 102 (2008) 598–615
Table 4
Variations in input parameters for the different scenarios of the
hydrological modelling (Fig. 13)
Permeability Permeability Permeability Other
(m2) of the left (m2) of the (m2) of the changes
model block upper right lower right
block block
Case B 1e − 19 1e − 22 1e − 16 Temperature
change
Case C 1e − 19 1e − 20 1e − 16 no
Case D 1e − 17 1e − 22 1e − 16 no
Note, that case A is the base-case scenario.
velocities on the order of 0.2–0.3 m/year occur at the
contact between the right and the left model block,
whereas along most of the contact fluids infiltrate at
velocities on the order of 0.1–0.2 m/year.
We then explored forced versus buoyancy-driven
flow and the significance of rock-dependent geotherms
in more detail by running a simulation with a uniform
geothermal gradient (Tables 3 and 4). The results from
the initialization run show that fluids no longer convect
in the lower part of the source region of the model. This
emphasizes the significance of the higher geotherm in
the left model block for buoyancy-driven convection to
occur on the southern side. There is no flow and purely
conductive heat dissipation throughout the domain.
With fluid production turned on, the flow pattern and
mass flux distribution in the lower part of the right block
is consistent with the lack of a buoyancy component.
Flow velocities within the lower part of the right model
block increase steadily towards the contact between the
upper and lower right and left model block (Fig. 13c),
and do not show the high values along the bottom
boundary and the contact between the lower right block
and the left model block visible in Fig. 13b. However,
the distribution of mass fluxes inside the left model
block is the same, regardless of the geothermal gradient.
This means that the distribution of mass fluxes becomes
more uniform across the contact, and we should see
similar fluid/rock ratios on both sides of the contact.
To assess the importance of the upper part of the right
model block as a hydrological seal, we then increased
the permeability of the upper sediments by two orders of
magnitude (Case C; Table 4). The results show that
fluxes from the lower part of the right block into the
overlying units are now higher, and infiltration from the
lower part into the left model block is slightly reduced
compared to the base-case and tends to be more uniform
along the contact (Fig. 13d). The highest mass flux is
about 16% lower than in the base-case scenario. If we
decrease the permeability to 10− 19 m2, (same as the left
model block), this reduction amounts to some 40%. This
suggests that the permeability of the sealing layer does
not have to be much lower than that of the left model
block to increase the infiltration rate into the left block,
significantly. If we increase the permeability of the left
model block by two orders of magnitude and leave the
permeability of the upper part of the right model block
(Case D; Table 4), the highest infiltration rates occur
above the bottom boundary. Here, flow is directed
towards the left model block (Fig. 13e) as a result of the
buoyancy component, as discussed above. As the
permeability contrast between the left and right model
block is reduced, lower fluid pressure gradients are
required to move fluids across the contact. The high
infiltration rate at the bottom reduces the infiltration at
the top of the fluid source region. Because infiltration
now goes deeper, a larger region of the northern model
block is affected by fluid infiltration (Fig. 13e).
5.3. Implications of the fluid flow models for the Alps
The fluid flow models are build up to be compared
with a cross-section through the border between the
Southern and the Central Alps. The model represents an
area in the middle crust including a major boundary in
the center of the model. This boundary should represent
the change in temperature and rock properties across the
Insubric Line (compare also Figs. 12 and 9). The right
model block should compare with the Southern Alps,
which are subdivided into a lower and upper part. The
lower part contains the source region, where the
metapelitic rocks of the Southern Alps are dehydrating,
and the upper part should represent the low-grade
basement and sedimentary rocks, which serve as a
hydrological seal. The left model block represents the
Southern Steep Belt of the Central Alps. The main
problem is the transfer from used average permeabilities
into the geological situation. Permeability is defined for
porous media flow, but in crystalline rock masses, also
fracturing may occur (see discussion above). However,
it has been discussed, that permeability can be used in
fractured medium using an average over large volumes.
In this context, the modeled fluid volumes as well as the
fluid pathways can be only used to look on large-scale
average values. In nature, several parameters refine this
average picture. However, using the different models
presented above, it is evident that mainly the perme-
ability will control the fluid pathways and fluid flow
rates in such a geodynamic setting. We tested the role of
the assumed temperature difference between the SSB
and the Southern Alps, which influences also the fluid
pathways, but the general flow pattern and mass fluxes
 A. Berger et al. / Lithos 102 (2008) 598–615
are similar (Fig. 13c). The role of a hydrological seal by
upper parts of the anticline in the Southern Alps is tested
in model case C. The absolute values of the permeability
are unknown, but even at only slight permeability
differences, the fluid will infiltrate into the SSB. The
role of the upper hydrological seal will only change the
mass fluxes. The opposite effect can be simulated by
increasing the permeability in the migmatite belt
(Case D). The detailed permeability distribution also
influences the detailed flow pathways (Fig. 13e).
The scenarios show that the permeability distribution
of the three model units controls the distribution of fluid
infiltration into the simulated migmatite belt. Large
permeability contrasts tend to focus fluid flow and
infiltration, promoting localized higher water/rock ratios
within the Southern Steep Belt, whereas low-perme-
ability contrasts promote more uniform infiltration at
lower rates. A buoyancy component, if present, may
thus have had a strong effect on the distribution of
infiltrated fluids and on water/rock ratios in the Southern
Steep Belt.
6. Summary and discussion
The combination of petrological and structural
observations indicates that water-assisted melting is an
important feature in the Tertiary migmatite belt of the
Central Alps. Metapelitic rocks incorporated in the SSB
are not a realistic fluid source, because, at the conditions
of partial melting, the released aqueous fluid would lead
to in situ partial melting and no fluid would be released
into the directly adjacent or overlying rocks. A major
fluid source directly below the migmatite belt can be
also excluded, because of the steep solidus of most
relevant systems in P–T space.
The situation at the time of melting involved indenter
tectonics of the Southern Alps into the Central Alps (Fig. 9,
Schmid et al., 1989, 1996; Pfiffner et al., 2000). The most
likely scenario is that the fluids were primarily generated
through dehydration of metapelites in the Southern Alps,
where temperatures were lower than in the Central Alps.
With the help of petrological data, we can estimate the
average water contents infiltrated into these migmatites.
Experimental data from a haplogranitic system and
thermodynamic modelling indicate that water contents
were on the order of 1–3 wt.% (or ∼5 vol.%). These
estimated values depend on the accuracy of the inferred
leucosome (melt) volumes and bulk composition of the
protolith (and additional uncertainties from water recycling
inside the migmatites near the solidus).
Fluid circulation models show that pathways of the
mobilized fluid depend on the permeability distribution
613
between and within the different rocks (see Fig. 13). The
stable flow pattern is less dependent on absolute
permeability values, but rather on the relative permeabil-
ity between the lithological units in the Southern Alps
and the migmatite belt in the Central Alps. An increase in
fluid pressure in the lower units of the Southern Alps due
to fluid production leads to infiltration of water into the
southern parts of Central Alps (Fig. 13).
Following partial melting in the Southern Steep Belt,
the melts underwent cooling and crystallization. The
melts release their solved water at the solidus in a narrow
temperature interval, producing high fluid volumes at a
nearly constant temperature and in a short time. Some
exceptions are the observed pegmatites, which are late in
the structural evolution (Wenk, 1970; Burri et al., 2005).
These may be local melting related to the released water
and melt enriched on incompatible elements, which have
a significant lower solidus (e.g. London, 1992). The high
fluid production rates would have favored hydrofractur-
ing in the overlying solid metamorphic rocks (e.g. Miller
et al., 2003). Hydrofracturing is an effective way to
transport fluids away in a short time interval, making
fluids less available at conditions close to the solidus.
This may explain that substantial retrograde reactions
near the solidus are rarely observed in the migmatites of
the Central Alps. Additional evidence for hydrofracturing
is given by hydrothermal veins developed in the amphibo-
lite facies in direct vicinity to the migmatite belt (e.g.
Klein, 1976).
Acknowledgements
We thank M. Brown and F. Bussy for constructive
and careful reviews. Schweizerischer Nationalfonds has
supported our research over several years (2000-
055306.98, 20-63593.00, 20020-101826, and 200020-
109637). Mike Brown also introduce the term hydrate-
breakdown melting. He is further acknowledged for this
important improvement of terminology.
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