Carbonate stromatolites from a Messinian hypersaline setting in the Caltanissetta Basin, Sicily: petrographic evidence of microbial activity and related stable isotope and rare earth element signatures
Lower Messinian stromatolites of the Calcare di Base Formation at Sutera in Sicily record periods of low sea-level, strong evaporation and elevated salinity, thought to be associated with the onset of the Messinian Salinity Crisis. Overlying aragonitic limestones were precipitated in normal to slightly evaporative conditions, occasionally influenced by an influx of meteoric water. Evidence of bacterial involvement in carbonate formation is recorded in three dolomite-rich stromatolite beds in the lower portion of the section that contain low domes with irregular crinkly millimetre-scale lamination and small fenestrae. The dominant microfabrics are: (i) peloidal and clotted dolomicrite with c…
Direct determination of total mercury in phosphate rock using alkaline fusion digestion
The aim of this work was to develop a new method to determine the mercury (Hg) concentrations in phosphate rock using a dedicated analytical instrument (the DMA80 Tricell by Milestone) that employs an integrated sequence of thermal decomposition followed by catalyst conversion, amalgamation and atomic absorption spectrophotometry. However, this instrument underestimates Hg concentrations when phosphorite and apatite rocks are investigated with a classic thermal decomposition treatment that complies with US EPA method 7473. Therefore, to improve the recovery of total Hg, we performed alkaline fusion digestion (AFD) directly inside the furnace of the instrument, using BCR(32) as a certified r…
Mercury in fishes from Augusta Bay (southern Italy): risk assessment and health implication
Our study reports on the total mercury (HgT) concentrations measured in the muscles and livers of several benthic, demersal and pelagic fish species caught inside and outside of Augusta Bay (southern Italy), a semi-enclosed marine area, highly contaminated by the uncontrolled (since the 1950s to 1978s) discharge of the largest European petrochemical plant. Mercury levels in fish tissues are discussed with regard to specific habitat, size and/or age of the specimens and HgT distribution in the bottom sediments. Results suggest a still active Hg release mechanism from the polluted sediments to the marine environment. Also, the high HgT concentrations measured in fishes caught in the external …
The sea–air exchange of mercury (Hg) in the marine boundary layer of the Augusta basin (southern Italy): Concentrations and evasion flux
Abstract The first attempt to systematically investigate the atmospheric mercury (Hg) in the MBL of the Augusta basin (SE Sicily, Italy) has been undertaken. In the past the basin was the receptor for Hg from an intense industrial activity which contaminated the bottom sediments of the Bay, making this area a potential source of pollution for the surrounding Mediterranean. Three oceanographic cruises have been thus performed in the basin during the winter and summer 2011/2012, where we estimated averaged Hg atm concentrations of about 1.5 ± 0.4 (range 0.9–3.1) and 2.1 ± 0.98 (range 1.1–3.1) ng m −3 for the two seasons, respectively. These data are somewhat higher than the background Hg atm …
First simultaneous mercury and major volatiles characterization of atmospheric hydrothermal emissions at the Pisciarelli's fumarolic system (Campi Flegrei, Italy)
Abstract Hydrothermal systems with active surface expressions are important natural source of atmospheric mercury. Here we report on the first simultaneous assessment of gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) and major volatiles (H2S and CO2) fluxes from the fumarolic system of Pisciarelli, currently the most active at the Campi Flegrei caldera (CFc), Naples (Italy). This was achieved via a GPS-synchronized Lumex and MultiGAS survey which extends similar investigations reported elsewhere. GEM concentrations measured in the fumarolic emissions were consistently above background air level close to the degassing area (mean ~ 8 ± 3 ng m−3 on average) and ranged up to 12,000 ng m−3. Our data evidenced …
Distribution of rare earth elements in marine sediments from the Strait of Sicily (western Mediterranean Sea): Evidence of phosphogypsum waste contamination
Concentrations of rare earth elements (REE), Y, Th and Sc were recently determined in marine sediments collected using a box corer along two onshore–offshore transects located in the Strait of Sicily (Mediterranean Sea). The REE + Y were enriched in offshore fine-grained sediments where clay minerals are abundant, whereas the REE + Y contents were lower in onshore coarse-grained sediments with high carbonate fractions. Considering this distribution trend, the onshore sediments in front of the southwestern Sicilian coast represent an anomaly with high REE + Y concentrations (mean value 163.4 lg g 1) associated to high Th concentrations (mean value 7.9 lg g 1). Plot of shale-normalized REE + …
Yttrium and REE signature recognized in Central Mediterranean Sea (ODP Site 963) during the MIS 6–MIS 5 transition
Abstract The Mediterranean Sea acts as a miniature ocean with the development of its own conveyor belt. It constitutes an ideal location to study and forecast how the marine environment responds to rapid climatic change. Here we present a palaeoenvironmental study carried out on the sediments of ODP Site 963, recovered in the Sicily Channel, the sill which divides the western from the eastern Mediterranean basin. We focused on the transition between the penultimate glacial (MIS 6) and the last interglacial (MIS 5), between approximately 130 and 115 kyr BP. A novel approach is proposed, taking into account centennial-scale geochemical data on major elements, selected trace elements, and yttr…
Hydrochemical mercury distribution and air-sea exchange over the submarine hydrothermal vents off-shore Panarea Island (Aeolian arc, Tyrrhenian Sea)
Abstract There is a growing concern about the mercury (Hg) vented from submarine hydrothermal fluids to the marine surrounding and exchange of dissolved gaseous mercury (DGM) between the sea surface and the atmosphere. A geochemical survey of thermal waters collected from submarine vents at Panarea Island (Aeolian Islands, southern Italy) was carried out in 2015 (15–17th June and 17–18th November), in order to investigate the concentration of Hg species in hydrothermal fluids and the vertical distribution in the overlying water column close to the submarine exhalative area. Specific sampling methods were employed by Scuba divers at five submarine vents located along the main regional tecton…
The key role played by the Augusta basin (southern Italy) in the mercury contamination of the Mediterranean Sea.
The Augusta basin, located in SE Sicily (southern Italy), is a semi-enclosed marine area, labelled as a highly contaminated site. The release of mercury into the harbour seawater and its dispersion to the blue water, make the Augusta basin a potential source of anthropogenic pollution for the Mediterranean Sea. A mass balance was implemented to calculate the HgT budget in the Augusta basin. Results suggest that an average of ∼0.073 kmol of HgT is released, by diffusion, on a yearly basis, from sediments to the seawater, with a consequent output of 0.162 kmol y(-1) to coastal and offshore waters; this makes the Augusta area an important contributor of mercury to the Mediterranean Sea. Owing …
Carbonate stromatolites from a Messinian hypersaline setting in the Caltanissetta Basin, Sicily: petrographic evidence of microbial activity and related stable isotope and REE signatures
Lower Messinian stromatolites of the Calcare di Base Formation at Sutera in Sicily record periods of low sea-level, strong evaporation and elevated salinity, thought to be associated with the onset of the Messinian Salinity Crisis. Overlying aragonitic limestones were precipitated in normal to slightly evaporative conditions, occasionally influenced by an influx of meteoric water. Evidence of bacterial involvement in carbonate formation is recorded in three dolomite-rich stromatolite beds in the lower portion of the section that contain low domes with irregular crinkly millimetre-scale lamination and small fenestrae. The dominant microfabrics are: (i) peloidal and clotted dolomicrite with c…