ALBERT

Beschreibung: Methane (CH4) emanating from a continental volcanichydrothermal system in Nisyros, Greece, is processed through the abiogenic reduction of mantle- and marine limestonederived CO2 [1]. Evidence for the occurrence of abiogenic hydrothermal reduction of CO2 is from the chemical and carbon isotopic equilibrium patterns. We have further characterized this abiogenic methane (C1) source for the concentrations of ethane (C2) and propane (C3), as well as for the hydrogen isotopic composition of CH4, H2O, H2 and H2S. C1/C2+ ratios are significantly higher than those typically observed for purely thermogenic sources. Hydrocarbon distribution ratios for other continental-hydrothermal sources rich in CO2 are comparable to those of the Nisyros fumaroles implying that abiogenic methane might be significantly more widespread than previously assumed [2]. Relative concentrations of hydrocarbons in continental-hydrothermal discharges are even indistinguishable from those measured in ultramafic hydrothermal emissions. The fact that redox conditions do not seem to exert any control on the relative concentrations of hydrocarbons in hydrothermal emissions in general, implies that the same two sources account for hydrocarbon production in continental and ultramafic environments. One source generates methane exclusively through the selective abiogenic reduction of CO2 (Sabatierreaction). The other source produces minor amounts of methane, ethane and propane by a random process and represents either the thermal cracking of organic matter or the polymerization starting from methane. Hydrogen isotope partitioning between H2O, H2S, H2 and CH4 in Nisyros fumaroles reveals that isotopic exchange rates are highest for H2O-H2S followed by H2O-H2. In contrast to H2 and H2S, the hydrogen isotopic composition of methane exhibits almost no local variations. This is in agreement with its predominantly abiogenic hydrothermal origin and with the low temperature sensitivity of the hydrogen isotope fractionation factor between water vapor and methane.

Beschreibung: Published

Beschreibung: Davos, Switzerland

Beschreibung: 1.2. TTC - Sorveglianza geochimica delle aree vulcaniche attive

Beschreibung: open

Beschreibung: Nitrogen isotopes , N2/36Ar and 3He/4He were measured in volcanic fluids within different geodynamic settings. Subduction zones are represented by Aeolian archipelago, Mexican volcanic belt and Hellenic arc, spreading zones – by Socorro island in Mexico and Iceland and hot spots by Iceland and Islands of Cabo Verde. The δ15N values, corrected for air contamination of volcanic fluids, discharged from Vulcano Island (Italy), highlighted the presence of heavy nitrogen (around +4.3 ±0.5‰). Similar 15N values (around +5‰), have been measured for the fluids collected in the Jalisco Block, that is a geologically and tectonically complex forearc zone of the northwestern Mexico [1]. Positive values (15N around +3‰) have been also measured in the volcanic fluids discharged from Nysiros island located in the Ellenic Arc characterized by subduction processes. All uncorrected data for the Socorro island are in the range of -1 to -2‰. The results of raw nitrogen isotope data of Iceland samples reveal more negative isotope composition (about -4.4‰). On the basis of the non-atmospheric N2 fraction (around 50%) the corrected data of 15N for Iceland are around -16‰, very close to the values proposed by [2]. In a volcanic gas sample from Fogo volcano (Cabo Verde islands) we found a very negative value: -9.9‰ and -15‰ for raw and corrected values, respectively.

Beschreibung: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta

Beschreibung: Published

Beschreibung: Davos, Switzerland

Beschreibung: 2.4. TTC - Laboratori di geochimica dei fluidi

Beschreibung: open

Beschreibung: Chemical and isotopic analyses of the main gas manifestations of the island of Pantelleria (Italy) were used to gain insight on the origin of the released methane. Results indicate that the most probable origin is through abiogenic reactions within the hydrothermal system. Methane and CO2 flux measurements from the soils were made with the accumulation chamber method in an area of about 0.015 km2 within the main fumarolic area of the island (Favara Grande). The 23 measurements range from –34 to 3550 mg m-2 d-1 for CH4 and from 0.6 to 379 g m-2 d-1 for CO2. The relationships between CH4 and CO2 fluxes and the CH4/CO2 ratios in the gases collected between 25 and 100 cm depth provide evidence for methanotrophic processes within the soils. Methane output for the surveyed area was calculated in 2.5 t a-1 and extrapolated to about 5-10 t a-1 for the entire volcanic/hydrothermal system of the island. Previous higher estimates of the CH4 output at Pantelleria (Etiope et al., 2007 - J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res., 165, 76 – 86) were based on soil CO2 output and CH4/CO2 ratios in fumarolic gases; the present work provides the first direct CH4 flux data and it suggests that methanotrophic activity in the soil could be substantial in reducing the CH4 emission to the atmosphere.

Beschreibung: Published

Beschreibung: 147-157

Beschreibung: 1.2. TTC - Sorveglianza geochimica delle aree vulcaniche attive

Beschreibung: 4.5. Studi sul degassamento naturale e sui gas petroliferi

Beschreibung: JCR Journal

Beschreibung: reserved

Beschreibung: Volcanic volatiles and aerosol emitted into the atmosphere ultimately fall on the Earth’s surface as wet or dry deposition, and they can influence the environment and the ecosystems at local and regional scales. Therefore, atmospheric deposition plays a key-role in the geochemical cycles, redistributing volcanogenic elements to the ground. For this reason, estimating the volcanogenic trace element fluxes from the atmosphere to the surface is necessary for a better knowledge of the environmental impact of the volcanic emissions. Nevertheless, from a literature review, we have recognized the scarcity of investigation on trace element deposition in the surroundings of active volcanoes. Here, we present a chemical characterization of bulk deposition around Mt. Etna, Italy, including both major and many trace elements. Bulk depositions were collected approximately fortnightly, from April 2006 to December 2007, using a network of five rain gauges, located at various altitudes on the upper flanks around the summit craters of the volcano. For most elements highest concentrations have been found close to the emission vent, confirming the prevailing volcanic contribution to rainwater composition close to the summit craters. Comparison with contemporaneously collected plume emissions shows that deposition processes produce no evident element-to-element fractionation. By contrast, comparison with whole rock composition indicates a contrasting behaviour between volatile elements, which are highly-enriched in rainwater, and refractory elements, which have low rainwater/whole rock concentration ratios. Chemical concentrations in bulk deposition were used to estimate the deposition rates of a large suite of elements. Deposition rates for volatile trace elements like Se, As, and Cd range from 1.7, 1.2 and 0.9 µg m-2 day-1 nearby to the summit vents, to 0.5, 0.3, and 0.1 µg m-2 day-1 at the local background site on the upwind western sector.

Beschreibung: Published

Beschreibung: Davos, Switzerland

Beschreibung: 4.4. Scenari e mitigazione del rischio ambientale

Beschreibung: open

Beschreibung: Biomonitoring may be defined as the use of organisms and biomaterials (biomonitors) to obtain informations on certain characteristics of a particular medium (atmosphere, hydrosphere etc.). In particular, mosses accumulate large amounts of trace metals, making them good bioaccumulators to estimate atmospheric pollution. The moss-bags technique, introduced in the early 1970’, has become very popular. Such active biomonitoring technique is particularly useful in highly polluted areas and has been extensively used in industrial and/or urban areas to examine deposition patterns and to recognize point sources of pollution. The main objective of this study, which represents the first application of the moss-bags technique in an active volcanic area, was to test its efficacy in such environment. Complementary objectives were: to determine the different behavior and the geographic dispersion of volcanogenic elements emitted from Mt. Etna; to check the usefulness of a simpler analytical techniques (leaching instead of mineralization of the moss samples). A mixture of Sphagnum species was picked in a clean area, treated in laboratory (washed, dried and packed) and exposed in field for 1 month. Sites were chosen considering the prevailing wind at Mt. Etna’s summit. Milled samples were analyses for major and trace elements concentrations, after microwave digestion (HNO3 + H2O2), by ICP-MS and ICP-OES techniques. The same elements were also analyzed after simple leaching with deionized water (1/50 weight ratio for 4 hours). Leaching solutions were also analyzed by IC for F, Cl and SO4. Analyses clearly showed the efficacy of the moss-bags technique also in this peculiar environment. Several elements were strongly enriched in the mosses exposed to the volcanic emissions. The highest enrichment was measured close to the summit crater, but evidences of metals bioaccumulation were also found in down wind sites, at several km from the volcanic source. The accumulation factor (exposed/unexposed moss) allowed us to distinguish a group of elements (Tl, Bi, Se, Cu, As, Cd, S), which are highly mobile in the high temperature volcanic environment. Also alkali metals showed a significant increase in their concentrations, probably because of their affinity for the halide species carried by the volcanic plume. Also the simple and cheap leaching technique gave important indications on the plume dispersion pattern, especially for highly volatile elements (F, Cl, S, Tl).

Beschreibung: Published

Beschreibung: Torino, Italia

Beschreibung: 4.5. Studi sul degassamento naturale e sui gas petroliferi

Beschreibung: open

Beschreibung: The significant amounts of selenium(Se)emitted by volcanoesmay have important impact on human health due to the narrow range between nutrition requirement and toxic effects for living organisms upon Se exposure. Although soils play a key role in determining the level in food and water and thereby human health, little is known about the behaviour of Se in volcanic soils. In this work we evaluated the Se release during rainwater–soil interaction under controlled conditions using soils collected on the flanks of Etna volcano and synthetic rain. Seleniumconcentrations in soil leachate solutions displayed a spatial distribution, which cannot be explained by plume deposition, total Se soil concentrations or the presence of Fe oxides. Instead, Al compounds and to a minor extent SOM were identified as the active phases controlling the selenate mobilization during interaction with sulphate-containing rainwater. This shows the importance of soils as reactive interfaces. Selenium is mobilized when volcanic-derived acid rain interacts with poorly developed soils close to the crater. This geogenic process might influence the chemical composition of groundwater and as a result, human health.

Beschreibung: Published

Beschreibung: 235–244

Beschreibung: 4.4. Scenari e mitigazione del rischio ambientale

Beschreibung: JCR Journal

Beschreibung: reserved

Beschreibung: Volcanic emissions are considered one of the major natural sources of several trace metals (e.g. As, Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn) to the atmosphere [Nriagu, 1989], and the geochemical cycles of these elements have to be considered strongly influenced by volcanic input. However, the accurate estimation of the global volcanic emissions of volatile trace metals into the atmosphere is still affected by a high level of uncertainty. The latter depends on the large variability in the emission of the different volcanoes, and on their changing stage of activity. Moreover, only few of the potential sources in the world have been directly measured [Hinkley et al. 1999]. Atmospheric deposition processes (wet and dry) are the pathways through which volcanic emissions return to the ground (soils, plants, aquifers), resulting in both harmful and beneficial effects [Baxter et al. 1982; Aiuppa et al. 2000; Brusca et al. 2001; Delmelle, 2003; Bellomo et al. 2007; Martin et al. 2009; Floor et al. 2011; Calabrese et al. 2011]. In the first part of this study we present the results of a literature review on trace metals emissions from active volcanoes around the world. In the second part, we present new data on the fluxes of the trace metals from Etna (Italy) and four active volcanoes in the world: Turrialba (Costarica), Nyiragongo (DRC), Mutnovsky and Gorely (Kamchatka). We found 27 publications (the first dating back to the 70’s), 13 of which relate to the Etna and the other include some of the world’s most active volcanoes: Mt. St. Helens, Erebus, Merapi, White Island, Kilauea, Popocatepetl, Galeras, Indonesian arc, Satasuma and Masaya. The review shows that currently there are very few data available, and that the most studied volcano is Mt. Etna. Using these data, we defined a range of fluxes for As, Ba, Bi, Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, Se, V and Zn (Figure 1). To obtain new data we sampled particulate filters at the five above mentioned volcanoes. Filters were mineralized (acid digestion) and analyzed by ICP-MS. Sulphur to trace element ratios were related to sulphur fluxes to indirectly estimate trace elements fluxes. Etna confirms to be one of the greatest point sources in the world. The Nyiragongo results to be also a significant source of metals to the atmosphere, especially considering its persistent state of degassing from the lava lake. Also Turrialba and Gorely have high emission rates of trace metals considering the global range. Only Mutnovsky Volcano show values which are sometimes lower than the range obtained from the review, consistent with the fact that it is mainly a fumarolic field. This work highlights the need to expand the current dataset including many other active volcanoes for a better constraint of global trace metal fluxes from active volcanoes.

Beschreibung: Published

Beschreibung: Nicolosi (Catania)

Beschreibung: 1.2. TTC - Sorveglianza geochimica delle aree vulcaniche attive

Beschreibung: open

Beschreibung: Volcanic emissions represent one of the most relevant natural sources of trace elements to the troposphere, both during and between eruptions. Due to their potential toxicity they may have important environmental impacts from the local to the global scale. Mount Etna, the largest European volcano and one of the most active volcano in the world, covers an area of about 1250 km2 and reaches an altitude of about 3340 m. It has been persistently active during historical time, with frequent paroxysmal episodes separated by passive degassing periods. Atmospheric precipitation was collected approximately every two weeks, from April 2006 to December 2007, using a network of five rain gauges, located at various altitudes on the upper flanks around the summit craters of Etna Volcano. The collected samples were analysed for major (Ca, Mg, K, Na, F, SO4, Cl, NO3) and a large suite of trace elements (Ag, Al, As, Au, B, Ba, Be, Bi, Cd, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu, Fe, Hg, La, Li, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Rb, Si, Sb, Sc, Se, Sr, Th, Ti, Tl, U, V, Zn) by using different techniques (IC, SPEC, ICP-MS and CV-AFS). The monitoring of atmospheric deposition gave the opportunity to occasionally sample volcanic fresh ashes emitted by the volcano during the paroxysmal events. This was possible because the network of five rain gauges were equipped with a filter-system to block the coarse material. In this way, more than twenty events of ashfall were collected. Unfortunately, only half of these samples were suitable for a complete chemical analysis, because of the small amount of sample. In order to obtain elemental chemical composition of ashes, powdered samples were analysed by a combination of methods, including X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy (XRF), total digestion followed by Inductively Coupled Plasma Emission Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS), Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA), and infrared detection (IR). The chemistry of rainwater reveals that most of the investigated elements have higher concentrations close to the emission vent of the volcano, confirming the prevailing volcanic contribution. Rainwater composition clearly reflects the volcanic plume input. Ash-normalised rainwater composition indicates a contrasting behaviour between volatile elements, which are highly-enriched in rainwater, and refractory elements, which have low rainwater/ash concentration ratios. The degree of interaction between collected ash and rainwater was variable, depending on several factors: (i) the length of the period in which tephra was present in the sampler (the ash fall may have occurred any day from the first to the last day of the rain collecting period); (ii) the amount of rainwater fallen on the collectors after the ash-fall event, and its acidity; (iii) the granulometry of the ash samples that was widely variable (from few centimetres to micrometric particles) increasing the interaction with decreasing dimensions of the grains; (iv) the distance of collector with respect to the craters. In order to investigate the role of volcanic ash on the evolution of the rainwater chemistry, absolute concentrations of rain and ash were plotted in binary plot diagrams (Figure 1). Each diagram corresponds to a single event, and pH and TDS of the solution collected is reported. The diagonal bars in the diagrams represent the rain/ash ratios (1:1 and 1:10000). The results confirm that sulphate and halide salt aerosols are adsorbed onto ash particles, and their rate of dissolution in rainwater depends on solubility. Moreover, rapid chemical weathering of the silicate glass by volcanic acid (SO2, HCl and HF) can also explain the enrichment of several refractory elements (Na, K, Ca, Mg, Si, Al, Fe, Ti, Sc). Our observations highlight how explosive activity can increase enormously the deposition rate of several chemical elements, up to several km away from the emission vents.

Beschreibung: Published

Beschreibung: Nicolosi (Catania)

Beschreibung: 1.2. TTC - Sorveglianza geochimica delle aree vulcaniche attive

Beschreibung: open

Beschreibung: This study reports on the first quantitative assessment of the geochemical cycling of volcanogenic elements, from their atmospheric release to their deposition back to the ground. Etna’s emissions and atmospheric depositions were characterised for more than 2 years, providing data on major and trace element abundance in both volcanic aerosols and bulk depositions. Volcanic aerosols were collected from 2004 to 2007, at the summit vents by conventional filtration techniques. Precipitation was collected, from 2006 to 2007, in five rain gauges, at various altitudes around the summit craters. Analytical results for volcanic aerosols showed that the dominant anions were S, Cl, and F, and that the most abundant metals were K, Ca, Mg, Al, Fe, and Ti (1.5–50 lg m 3). Minor and trace element concentrations ranged from about 0.001 to 1 lg m 3. From such analysis, we derived an aerosol mass flux ranging from 3000 to 8000 t a 1. Most analysed elements had higher concentrations close to the emission vent, confirming the prevailing volcanic contribution to bulk deposition. Calculated deposition rates were integrated over the whole Etna area, to provide a first estimate of the total deposition fluxes for several major and trace elements. These calculated deposition fluxes ranged from 20 to 80 t a 1 (Al, Fe, Si) to 0.01–0.1 t a 1 (Bi, Cs, Sc, Th, Tl, and U). Comparison between volcanic emissions and atmospheric deposition showed that the amount of trace elements scavenged from the plume in the surrounding of the volcano ranged from 0.1% to 1% for volatile elements such as As, Bi, Cd, Cs, Cu, Tl, and from 1% to 5% for refractory elements such as Al, Ba, Co, Fe, Ti, Th, U, and V. Consequently, more than 90% of volcanogenic trace elements were dispersed further away, and may cause a regional scale impact. Such a large difference between deposition and emission fluxes at Mt. Etna pointed to relatively high stability and long residence time of aerosols in the plume.

Beschreibung: Published

Beschreibung: 7401-7425

Beschreibung: 1.2. TTC - Sorveglianza geochimica delle aree vulcaniche attive

Beschreibung: JCR Journal

Beschreibung: reserved

Beschreibung: Aim of this paper is to identify variations in Very-Long-Period (VLP) source associated with eruptive style changes at Stromboli volcano (Italy) and to retrieve information about the shallow plumbing system that sustains the eruptive activity. We have considered a dataset of 74493 VLP events recorded during the period from January through August 2007, when an effusive eruption occurred (February 27–April 2).We performed a polarization analysis of the entire dataset and divided the considered period into four sub-periods on the basis of polarization characteristics. We then located the events and selected a subset of these events by applying a location quality threshold. The high quality locations demonstrate that during the effusive eruption the VLP sources first moved downward and then moved southwestward. To retrieve information about the geometry of the structures where the source processes take place, we further consider a subset of events and estimate their source mechanisms by using a moment tensor source function (MTSF) inversion technique. Inversion of the waveforms of the VLP events that occurred on February 27 allows us to obtain information about the dynamics of different source centroids distributed along different portions of the shallow magmatic conduits. The structure defined by the locations and source mechanisms shows a greater complexity compared with previous studies and their time variations give an insight into the kinematics of the eruption.

Beschreibung: Published

Beschreibung: 162–171

Beschreibung: 1.4. TTC - Sorveglianza sismologica delle aree vulcaniche attive

Beschreibung: JCR Journal

Beschreibung: reserved