0000000000063850
AUTHOR
Edda Elisa Falcone
Weathering of evaporites: natural versus anthropogenic signature on the composition of river waters
Weathering of evaporites strongly influences the chemistry of continental runoff, making surface waters poorly exploitable for civil uses. In south-central Sicily, this phenomenon is worsened by the occurrence of abandoned landfills of old sulphur and salt mines. The industrial evolution of the Bosco-S. Cataldo mining site leaved two landfills from the early exploitation of a sulphur mine followed by that of a kainite deposit. In particular, the weathering of these landfills leads the dissolved salt (TDS) values up to about 200 g l−1 in the Stincone–Salito Stream waters. This process induces the V, Cr and Fe desorption from sediments and particulates in the aqueous phase under reducing cond…
Rare earths behaviour during the deposition of volcanic sublimates
Abstract In this study, the REE distribution between volcanic fluids and related solids in fumaroles with temperatures ranging from approximately 100 to 421 °C was investigated in different geological scenarios. The treatment of geochemical REE data was carried out by calculating the REE enrichment factors (EF REE ) relative to the volcanic host rocks in studied sites under the assumption that the REE transport takes place as silicate aerosol in volcanic fluids. Shale-normalised REE concentrations in these fluids have been assessed to investigate whether the REE transport as aqueous complexes in water-saturated volcanic gas is reasonable. The REE behaviour in alkaline condensates according …
Rare earths and trace elements contents in leaves: A new indicator of the composition of atmospheric dust
The relationship between the trace element distribution in atmospheric particles and leaves of some exposed plants in the environment was recently demonstrated. This indication would suggest that the trace element analysis of leaves in these plants could provide information about the composition, nature and origin of the atmospheric dust dispersed in the environment. In order to corroborate this hypothesis, the distribution of trace elements and Rare Earths were studied in leaves of some endemic plants, in the atmospheric fallout and in soils of rural, urban and industrial ecosystems in Sicily. These elements have been chosen to discriminate the source and nature of different source on atmo…
Zirconium, Hafnium and Rare Earths behaviour during the transport in volcanic fluids. Geochemical effects throughout the sublimation and after interactions with aqueous media
This research indicates the fate of Zr, Hf and Rare Earths during their sublimation from the high-temperature gas phase (100° - 420 °C), in volcanic systems associated with different geodynamic regimes, and processes associated with volcanic sublimation representing the last natural “inorganic” interface where a detailed investigation into the behaviour of Rare Earths had never been conducted. The research was carried out in active volcanic systems at Vulcano (Aeolian Islands, Italy), Santorini (Cyclades Islands, Greece), Phlegrean Fields (Italy), Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain) and Fogo Island (Cape Verde) where both fumaroles and thermal waters from submarine springs and inland wells wer…
Natural gadolinium discharge from volcanic sources
Although a large fraction of chemicals is provided from volcanic fluids to the environment (Oppenheimer et al., 2014) only a scarce literature was focused on the Rare Earth elements (REE) release from high temperature fumaroles (Möller et al., 2003; Gilbert & Williams-Jones, 2008; Zelenski et al., 2013). In order to fill this gap, this research was carried out mainly taking in account the REE partitioning during the emissions of fumarolic fluid between newly-forming sublimates and the remaining gas phase. The latter was collected as alkaline condensates according to Sortino et al. (2006). The investigated high temperature fumaroles (95-450°C) occur in several volcanic systems at Vulcano (Ae…
Dissolved major and trace elements in meteoric depositions on the flanks of Mt. Etna (Italy): the impact of volcanic activity on the environment
In the framework of the “Save the Etna World” research project, which investigates the impact of the volcanic activity on the surrounding environment, three bulk collectors were deployed on the flank of the Mt. Etna volcano to collect the meteoric depositions. The sampling sites were at distances between 5.5 and 13 km from the summit vents of the volcano on its eastern flank, that is the most exposed to the volcanic plume due to the high-altitude prevailing winds direction. The sites were selected in order to have a gradient of exposition with respect to the volcanic emissions, the most exposed being CIT, the intermediate ILI and the least NIC. Samples were collected monthly from July 2017 …
Impact of acidic volcanic emissions on ash leaching and on the bioavailability and mobility of trace metals in soils of Mt Etna
We report on original geochemical data, which combine the rainfall trace metal contents from three different areas of Mt. Etna, variably fumigated by the volcanic plume, and those from soils, collected over the whole volcano. Trace element contents in rainfall appear mostly related to acidic ash leaching, while only for the most volatile elements (Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb, As, Sb, Tl, Se) we suggest a derivation from magmatic degassing. We analyzed separately the labile fraction of soil samples, considered the fraction bioavailable to plants and soil organisms living in. The complexing medium used to extract the bioavailable fraction simulates the growth environment of plant roots.The contents of tra…