The effects of K₂O on the compositions of near-solidus melts of garnet peridotite at 3 GPa and the origin of basalts from enriched mantle

Enrichment in K₂O in oceanic island basalts (OIB) is correlated with high SiO₂, low CaO/Al₂O₃, and radiogenic isotopic signatures indicative of enriched mantle sources (EM1 and EM2). These are also chemical characteristics of the petit-spot lavas, which are highly enriched in K₂O (3-4 wt%) compared to other primitive oceanic basalts. We present experimentally derived liquids with varying concentrations of K₂O in equilibrium with a garnet lherzolite residue at 3 GPa to test the hypothesis that the major element characteristics of EM-type basalts are related to their enrichment in K₂O. SiO₂ is known to increase with K₂O at pressures less than 3 GPa, but it was previously unknown if this effect was significant at the high pressures associated with partial melting at the base of the lithosphere. We find that at 3 GPa for each 1 wt% increase in the K₂O content of a garnet lherzolite saturated melt, SiO₂ increases by ~0.5 wt% and CaO decreases by ~0.5 wt%. MgO and K_D^Fe-Mg each decrease slightly with K₂O concentration, as do Na₂O and Cr₂O₃. The effect of K₂O alone is not strong enough to account for the SiO₂ and CaO signatures associated with high-K₂O OIB. The SiO₂, CaO, and K₂O concentrations of experimentally derived partial melts presented here resemble those of petit-spot lavas, but the Al₂O₃ concentrations from the experimental melts are greater. Partitioning of K₂O between peridotite and melt suggests that petit spots, previously considered to sample ambient asthenosphere, require a source more enriched in K₂O than the MORB source.