ALBERT

Description: In order to assess the contribution of quiescent degassing volcanoes to the global halo(hydro)carbon inventory, we have quantified volcanic fluxes of methyl halides (CH3Cl, CH3Br, and CH3I), ethyl halides (C2H5Cl, C2H5Br, and C2H5I), and higher chlorinated methanes (CH2Cl2, CHCl3, and CCl4). About every eight months over a 2-year period (July 2001 to July 2003), gas samples were collected and analyzed from high-temperature fumaroles (472°C–776°C) at the Nicaraguan subduction zone volcano Momotombo. Using a simultaneous record of trace and main compounds in fumarolic gases as well as SO2 fluxes of the plume, we were able to calculate halo(hydro)carbon fluxes for Momotombo and extrapolate our results to estimate halo(hydro)carbon fluxes for the whole Quaternary Nicaraguan volcanic arc and, in addition, for all volcanoes globally. The most abundant halohydrocarbon was CH3Cl with concentrations up to 19 ppmv. Further major halo(hydro)carbons were CH3Br, CH3I, CH2Cl2, CHCl3, CCl4, C2H5Cl, C2H5Br, C2H5I, and C2H3Cl with an average concentration of 0.20 to 720 ppbv. Estimated mean halo(hydro)carbon fluxes from Momotombo were in the range of 630–5000 g/yr for methyl halides, 49–260 g/yr for ethyl halides, and 2.4–24 g/yr for higher chlorinated methanes. When the results for Momotombo are scaled up to SO2 fluxes of the Nicaraguan volcanic transect, fluxes of 1.7 × 105 g/yr CH3Cl and 82 g/yr CCl4 are attained for Nicaragua. Scaled up to the estimated global SO2 flux, this translates to hypothetical global fluxes of 5.6 × 106 g/yr CH3Cl and 2.7 × 103 g/yr CCl4. These volcanic fluxes are negligible compared to global anthropogenic and natural emissions of about 3 × 1012 g/yr CH3Cl and 2 × 1010 g/yr CCl4.

Description: We studied the tephra inventory of fourteen deep sea drill sites of three DSDP and ODP legs drilled offshore Guatemala and El Salvador (Legs 67, 84, 138), and one leg offshore Mexico (Leg 66). Marine tephra layers reach back from the Miocene to the Holocene. We identified 223 primary ash beds and correlated these between the drill sites, with regions along the volcanic arcs, and to specific eruptions known from land. In total, 24 correlations were established between marine tephra layers and to well‐known Quaternary eruptions from El Salvador and Guatemala. Additional 25 tephra layers were correlated between marine sites. Another 108 single ash layers have been assigned to source areas on land resulting in a total of 157 single eruptive events. Tephra layer correlations to independently dated terrestrial deposits provide new time markers and help to improve or confirm age models of the respective drill sites. Applying the respective sedimentation rates derived from the age models, we calculated ages for all marine ash beds. Hence, we also obtained new age estimates for eight known, but so far undated large terrestrial eruptions. Furthermore, this enables us to study the temporal evolution of explosive eruptions along the arc and we discovered five pulses of increased activity: 1) a pulse during the Quaternary, 2) a Pliocene pulse between 6 and 3 Ma, 3) a Late Miocene pulse between 10 and 7 Ma, 4) a Middle Miocene pulse between 17–11 Ma, and 5) an Early Miocene pulse (~〉21 Ma).