ALBERT

Description: Methane plays an important role in the Earth’s atmospheric chemistry and radiative balance being the second most important greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide. Methane is released to the atmosphere by a wide number of sources, both natural and anthropogenic, with the latter being twice as large as the former (IPCC, 2007). It has recently been established that significant amounts of geological methane, produced within the Earth’s crust, are currently released naturally into the atmosphere (Etiope, 2004). Active or recent volcanic/geothermal areas represent one of these sources of geological methane. But due to the fact that methane flux measurements are laboratory intensive, very few data have been collected until now and the contribution of this source has been generally indirectly estimated (Etiope et al., 2007). The Greek territory is geodynamically very active and has many volcanic and geothermal areas. Here we report on methane flux measurements made at two volcanic/geothermal systems along the South Aegean volcanic arc: Sousaki and Nisyros. The former is an extinct volcanic area of Plio-Pleistocene age hosting nowadays a low enthalpy geothermal field. The latter is a currently quiescent active volcanic system with strong fumarolic activity due to the presence of a high enthalpy geothermal system. Both systems have gas manifestations that emit significant amounts of hydrothermal methane and display important diffuse carbon dioxide emissions from the soils. New data on methane isotopic composition and higher hydrocarbon contents point to an abiogenic origin of the hydrothermal methane in the studied systems. Measured methane flux values range from –48 to 29,000 (38 sites) and from –20 to 1100 mg/mˆ2/d (35 sites) at Sousaki and Nisyros respectively. At Sousaki measurement sites covered almost all the degassing area and the diffuse methane output can be estimated in about 20 t/a from a surface of about 10,000 mˆ2. At Nisyros measurements covered the Stephanos and Kaminakia areas, which represent only a part of the entire degassing area. The two areas show very different methane degassing pattern with latter showing much higher flux values. Methane output can be estimated in about 0.25 t/a from an area of about 30,000 mˆ2 at Stephanos and about 1 t/a from an area of about 20,000 mˆ2 at Kaminakia. The total output from the entire geothermal system of Nisyros probably should not exceed 2 t/a.

Description: Published

Description: Vienna, Austria

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

Description: open

Description: We conducted initial palaeomagnetic studies on cores from site AND-2A (77°45.488’S, 165°16.605’E, ~383.57 metres water depth). A total of 813 samples were collected that span from the top of the section down to the base at 1138.54 metres below sea floor (mbsf). Samples were collected every one or two metres down the core, with paired (pilot) samples being collected about every ten to twenty metres to allow us to assess the demagnetisation behaviour of the samples using either alternating field (AF) or thermal demagnetisation. With the exception of only a few intervals, AF demagnetisation was observed to resolve a characteristic remanent magnetisation (ChRM) as well or better than thermal demagnetisation. Thermal demagnetisation was particularly ineffective in many intervals owing to thermal alteration that was common above 500°C and was evident in some samples even at low temperatures. Above Lithostratigraphic Unit (LSU) 8 (436.18 mbsf), where lithologies are generally more coarse grained than lower in the section, resolving a ChRM is difficult and recent overprints or a drilling overprint are a concern. Within LSU 8 and below, most samples have a ChRM that can be resolved. The ChRM is most likely an original depositional magnetisation throughout most of this lower section, although orthogonal demagnetisation diagrams contain evidence that normal polarity overprinting affects some intervals. Based on 40Ar/39Ar dates and diatom datums, the magnetozones identified from the base of the hole up to ~266mbsf are consistent with spanning from either Chron C6n (18.748-19.772 Ma) or C6An.1n (20.040-20.213 Ma) up through Chron C5Br (15.160-15.974 Ma). Above this, intervals of constant polarity are isolated within longer stratigraphic intervals of uncertain polarity, making their correlation with the geomagnetic polarity timescale (GPTS) speculative and highly dependent on ages obtained from other dating methods. One exception is a reversed-to-normal polarity transition that occurs at ~31 mbsf and is interpreted to most likely be the Brunhes/Matuyama boundary. The spacing of polarity reversals below 266 mbsf and their correlation with the GPTS indicates that this part of the stratigraphic section was deposited between 15 to 20 Ma at a mean sedimentation rate of about 18 centimetres (cm)/ thousand year (k.y.).

Description: Published

Description: 193-210

Description: 2.2. Laboratorio di paleomagnetismo

Description: N/A or not JCR

Description: reserved

Description: During the 2007-2008 antarctic campaign, the Italian PNRA installed a Low Power Magnetometer within the framework of the AIMNet (Antarctic International Magnetometer Network) project, proposed and coordinated by BAS. The magnetometer is situated at Talos Dome, around 300 km geographically North-West from Mario Zucchelli Station (MZS), and approximately at the same geomagnetic latitude as MZS. In this work we present a preliminary analysis of the geomagnetic field 1-min data, and a comparison with simultaneous data from different Antarctic stations.

Description: Published

Description: Vienna, Austria

Description: 1.6. Osservazioni di geomagnetismo

Description: open

Description: We use all available chronostratigraphic constraints – biostratigraphy, magnetostratigraphy, radioisotopic dates, strontium-isotope stratigraphy, and correlation of compositional and physical properties to well-dated global or regional records – to construct a preliminary age model for ANDRILL SMS Project’s AND-2A drillcore (77°45.488’S, 165°16.605’E, 383.57 m water depth). These diverse chronostratigraphic constraints are consistent with each other and are distributed throughout the 1138.54 m-thick section, resulting in a well-constrained age model. The sedimentary succession comprises a thick early and middle Miocene section below 224.82 mbsf and a condensed middle/late Miocene to Recent section above this. The youngest sediments are Brunhes age (〈0.781 Ma), as confirmed by a radioisotopic age of 0.691±0.049 Ma at 10.23 mbsf and the occurrence of sediments that have normal magnetic polarity down to ~31.1 mbsf, which is interpreted to be the Brunhes/Matuyama reversal (0.781 Ma). The upper section is punctuated by disconformities resulting from both discontinuous deposition and periods of extensive erosion typical of sedimentary environments at the margin of a dynamic ice sheet. Additional breaks in the section may be due to the influence of tectonic processes. The age model incorporates several major hiatuses but their precise depths are still somewhat uncertain, as there are a large number of erosional surfaces identified within the stratigraphic section. One or more hiatuses, which represent a total 7 to 8 million years of time missing from the sedimentary record, occur between about 50 mbsf and the base of Lithostratigraphic Unit (LSU) 3 at 122.86 mbsf. Similarly, between about 145 mbsf and the base of LSU 4 at 224.82 mbsf, one or more hiatuses occur on which another 2 to 3 million years of the sedimentary record is missing. Support for the presence of these hiatuses comes from a diatom assemblage that constrains the age of the core from 44 to 50 mbsf to 2.06-2.84 Ma, two radioisotopic dates (11.4 Ma) and a Sr‑isotope date (11.7 Ma) that indicate the interval from 127 to 145 mbsf was deposited between 11.4 and 11.7 Ma, and three diatom occurrence datums from between 225.38 and 278.55 mbsf that constrain the age of this upper part of Lithostratigraphic Unit (LSU) 5 to 14.29 - 15.89 Ma. Below the boundary between LSU 5 and 6 sedimentation was relatively continuous and rapid and the age model is well-constrained by 9 diatom datums, seven 40Ar-39Ar dates, one Sr-isotope date, and 19 magnetozones. Even so, short hiatuses (less than a few hundred thousand years) undoubtedly occur but are beyond the resolution of current chronostratigraphic age constraints. Diatom first and last occurrence datums provide particularly good age control from the top of LSU 6 down to 771.5 mbsf (in LSU 10), where the First Occurrence (FO) of Thalassiosira praefraga (18.85 Ma) is observed. The diatom datum ages are supported by radioisotopic dates of 17.30±0.31 Ma at 640.14 mbsf (in LSU 9) and 18.15±0.35 and 17.93±0.40 Ma for samples from 709.15 and 709.18 mbsf (in LSU 10), respectively, and 18.71±0.33 Ma for a sample from 831.67 mbsf (in LSU 11). The sediments from 783.69 mbsf to the base of the hole comprise two thick normal polarity magnetozones that bound a thinner reversed polarity magnetozone (958.59 - 985.64 mbsf). This polarity sequence most likely encompasses Chrons C5En, C5Er, and C6n (18.056 - 19.772 Ma or slightly older given uncertainties in this section of the geomagnetic polarity timescale), but could be also be Chrons C6n, C6r, and C6An.1n (18.748 - 20.213 Ma). Either polarity sequence is compatible with the 40Ar–39Ar age of 20.01±0.35 Ma obtained from single-grain analyses of alkali feldspar from a tephra sample from a depth of 1093.02 mbsf, although the younger interpretation allows a better fit with chronostratigraphic data up-core. Given this age model, the mean sedimentation rate is about 18 cm/k.y. from the top of LSU 6 to the base of the hole.

Description: Published

Description: 221-220

Description: 2.2. Laboratorio di paleomagnetismo

Description: N/A or not JCR

Description: reserved