Fluids and melts in planetary interiors: From crust to core–mantle boundaries

Aqueous fluids and melts (silicate, carbonate/carbonatites or metallic melts) are major vectors of massand heat transfer in planetary interiors and play an important role in a variety of geochemical andgeodynamical processes that shape the internal and surficial evolution of planetary systems. Theseprocesses occur over a broad range of pressure and temperatures that span from shallow crustal conditions(e.g., magma chamber processes, ore deposit formation) to the deep core-mantle boundaries (e.g.,planetary differentiation), and they are strongly influenced by the physical, chemical and structuralproperties of aqueous fluids and melts at relevant pressure and temperature conditions. Over the lastdecade, major progress has been made in the determination of the properties of aqueous fluids and meltsthanks to the development of advanced experimental and computational methods. The goal of this specialissue is to highlight some of these advancements and to discuss new views and open questions related tomass transfer and melting in planetary interiors, from crustal conditions to core-mantle boundaries andfrom the atomic to the planetary scales.