Hydrothermal circulation on Ischia Island (Southern Italy), revealed by an integrated geochemical, geophysical and geological approach

Volcano-hosted hydrothermal systems are complex geological objects, whose thorough characterisation requires extensive and interdisciplinary work. Indeed, even thought geological, geochemical and geophysical observations offer highly significant but independent information, only an integrated multidisciplinary approach can yield a comprehensive characterisation of the chemical/physical structure of hydrothermal systems. Notwithstanding the extensive application of geological, geochemical and geophysical techniques in geothermal research, there are only a few examples in the literature of concurrent use of the three techniques [Finizola et al., 2002; Zlotnicki et al., 2009]; these studies ov…

The Ischia Island hydrothermal system: an integrated multidisciplinary (geochemical, geophysical and geological) study

Ischia Island is the emergent portion of a large volcanic complex on the Gulf of Naples (Southern Italy). Ischia volcano has undertaken a complex evolution since 150 ka b.p., with prolonged cycles of effusive and explosive eruptions alternated with quiescence periods (the most recent of which started after the 1302 A.D. Arso eruption). Currently, hot springs (with discharge temperature up to 90 C), fumarolic gas emissions with CO2 up to 97%, and diffuse soil degassing testify a persistent activity state of the Ischia volcano. Ischia Island is a very good example of an active volcano hosting a large hydrothermal system and, in particular, its south-western sector has long been known to be th…

Degassing regime of Hekla volcano 2012-2013

Hekla is a frequently active volcano with an infamously short pre-eruptive warning period. Our project contributes to the ongoing work on improving Hekla's monitoring and early warning systems. In 2012 we began monitoring gas release at Hekla. The dataset comprises semi-permanent near-real time measurements with a MultiGAS system, quantification of diffuse gas flux, and direct samples analysed for composition and isotopes (δ13C, δD and δ18O). In addition, we used reaction path modelling to derive information on the origin and reaction pathways of the gas emissions.Hekla's quiescent gas composition was CO2-dominated (0.8mol fraction) and the δ13C signature was consistent with published value…

DEEP RESERVOIR TEMPERATURES OF LOW-ENTHALPY GEOTHERMAL SYSTEMS IN TUNISIA: NEW CONSTRAINTS FROM CHEMISTRY OF THERMAL WATERS

Tunisia is characterized by hot and warm groundwaters (temperature up to 75 °C) which represent the surface manifestation of geothermal systems hosted in carbonate-evaporite rock sequences. The T-conditions of Tunisia deep thermal reservoirs are here evaluated for the first time at the regional scale. The results here shown clearly highlight the limitations inherent in the application of common geothermometric methods in the estimation of equilibrium temperatures in sedimentary environments. The modeling approach proposed by Chiodini et alii (1995), which makes use of the ratios between dissolved HCO3, SO4 and F, provides the most reliable results, and allows us to derive equilibrium temper…

Quantifying carbon dioxide flux from dormant volcanoes with low-temperature fumarolic activity: demonstration from measurements at La Soufrière, Guadeloupe and Campi Flegrei, Italy

Quantifying the flux of magma derived CO2 dissipated by fumarolic fields at dormant volcanoes is fundamental to assess their current state of hydrothermal activity and, therefore, the likelihood of a future phreatic/magmatic eruption. There is, in fact, documented evidence that gas fluxes, and CO2 flux in particular, can increase substantially during volcanic unrests and prior to eruption, due to either degassing of new ascending magma or changes in the hydrothermal system physical regime. Quantifying CO2 emissions is relatively straightforward at open-conduit volcanoes with high-temperature gas venting, which release high enough quantities of SO2 remotely measurable with UV spectroscopy an…

Steam and gas emission rate from La Soufriere volcano, Guadeloupe (Lesser Antilles): Implications for the magmatic supply during degassing unrest

Abstract Since its last magmatic eruption in 1530 AD, La Soufriere andesitic volcano in Guadeloupe has displayed intense hydrothermal activity and six phreatic eruptive crises. Here we report on the first direct quantification of gas plume emissions from its summit vents, which gradually intensified during the past 20 years. Gas fluxes were determined in March 2006 and March 2012 by measuring the horizontal and vertical distributions of volcanic gas concentrations in the air-diluted plume and scaling to the speed of plume transport. Fluxes in 2006 combine real-time measurements of volcanic H2S concentrations and plume parameters with the composition of the hot (108.5 °C) fumarolic fluid at …

Chemical and isotopic characterization of Ischia hydrothermal system: an interpretative model of fluids circulation

First in-situ sensing of volcanic gas plume composition at Boiling Lake (Dominica, West Indies)

Dominica, a small Caribbean island between Martinique (to the South) and Guadeloupe (to the North), is, because of the high number of potentially active volcanic centres,one of the most susceptible sites to volcanic risk in the Lesser Antilles arc. Seven major volcanic centres, active during the last 10ka, are considered likely to erupt again, and one of these is the Valley of Desolation volcanic complex. This is an area of 0.5 km2, located in on SW Dominica, where a number of small explosion craters, hot springs,bubbling pools and fumaroles testify for vigorous and persistent hydrothermal activity. Two main phreatic explosions have been documented in historical time (1880 and 1997), and th…

Soil and groundwater discharge of magmatic CO2 and He on south western Ischia Island (Central Italy)

Quantitative models of hydrothermal fluid–mineral reaction: The Ischia case

Abstract The intricate pathways of fluid–mineral reactions occurring underneath active hydrothermal systems are explored in this study by applying reaction path modelling to the Ischia case study. Ischia Island, in Southern Italy, hosts a well-developed and structurally complex hydrothermal system which, because of its heterogeneity in chemical and physical properties, is an ideal test sites for evaluating potentialities/limitations of quantitative geochemical models of hydrothermal reactions. We used the EQ3/6 software package, version 7.2b, to model reaction of infiltrating waters (mixtures of meteoric water and seawater in variable proportions) with Ischia’s reservoir rocks (the Mount Ep…

Helium-carbon isotopic composition of thermal waters from Tunisia

Reaction path models of magmatic gas scrubbing

Gas-water-rock reactions taking place within volcano-hosted hydrothermal systems scrub reactive, water-soluble species (sulfur, halogens) from the magmatic gas phase, and as such play a major control on the composition of surface gas manifestations. A number of quantitative models of magmatic gas scrubbing have been proposed in the past, but no systematic comparison of model results with observations from natural systems has been carried out, to date. Here, we present the results of novel numerical simulations, in which we initialized models of hydrothermal gas-water-rock at conditions relevant to Icelandic volcanism. We focus on Iceland as an example of a "wet" volcanic region where scrubb…

Numerical modelling of gas-water-rock interactions in volcanic-hydrothermal environment: the Ischia Island (Southern Italy) case study.

Hydrothermal systems hosted within active volcanic systems represent an excellent opportunity to investigate the interactions between aquifer rocks, infiltrating waters and deep-rising magmatic fluids, and thus allow deriving information on the activity state of dormant volcanoes. From a thermodynamic perspective, gas-water-rock interaction processes are normally far from equilibrium, but can be represented by an array of chemical reactions, in which irreversible mass transfer occurs from host rock minerals to leaching solutions, and then to secondary hydrothermal minerals. While initially developed to investigate interactions in near-surface groundwater environments, the reaction path mode…

First observations of the fumarolic gas output from a restless caldera: Implications for the current period of unrest (2005-2013) at Campi Flegrei

The fumarolic gas output has not been quantified for any of the currently deforming calderas worldwide, due to the lack of suitable gas flux sensing techniques. In view of resumption of ground uplift (since 2005) and the associated variations in gas chemistry, Campi Flegrei, in southern Italy, is one of the restless calderas where gas flux observations are especially necessary. Here we report the first ever obtained estimate of the Campi Flegrei fumarolic gas output, based on a set of MultiGAS surveys (performed in 2012 and 2013) with an ad-hoc-designed measurement setup. We estimate that the current Campi Flegrei fumarolic sulphur (S) flux is low, on the order of 1.5–2.2 tons/day, suggesti…

Along-arc, inter-arc and arc-to-arc variations in volcanic gas CO 2 /S T ratios reveal dual source of carbon in arc volcanism

Abstract Some 300–600 Tg of volatiles are globally vented each year by arc volcanism. Such arc gas emissions have contributed to past and present-day evolution of the Earth atmosphere and climate by recycling mineral-bound volatiles subducted along active slabs. Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and total sulphur (S T ) are, after water, the major components of volcanic arc gases. Understanding their relative abundances (e.g., the CO 2 /S T ratio) in arc volcanic gases is important to constrain origin and recycling efficiency of these volatiles along the subduction factory, and to better constrain the global arc volcanic CO 2 flux. Here, we review currently available information on global variations o…

Volcanic gas monitoring of quiescent volcanoes using permanent Multi-GAS networks

The Multi-component Gas Analyzer System (Multi-GAS) has recently consolidated as a standard technique for the nearly real-time in-situ observation of major volcanogenic components (H2O, CO2, SO2, H2S,H2) in volcanic gas plumes. The Multi-GAS has been initially operated at open-vent volcanoes, where it has revealed ideal for long-term continuous observations at for instance Etna and Stromboli volcanoes in Italy, therein paving the way to the acquisition of unprecedentedly long and continuous volcanic gas time-series. We here initially review the present state of the expanding network of permanent Multi-GAS instruments, now covering about 10 volcanoes worldwide. We then specifically focus on …

The structure of a hydrothermal system from an integrated geochemical, geophysical and geological approach: the Ischia Island case study

The complexity of volcano-hosted hydrothermal systems is such that thorough characterisation requires extensive and interdisciplinary work. We use here an integrated multidisciplinary approach, combining geological investigations with hydrogeochemical and soil degassing prospecting, and resistivity surveys, to provide a comprehensive characterisation of the shallow structure of the south-western Ischia’s hydrothermal system. We show that the investigated area is characterised by a structural setting that, although very complex, can be schematised in three sectors, namely the extra caldera sector (ECS), caldera floor sector (CFS), and resurgent caldera sector (RCS). This contrasted structura…

Steam and gas emission rates from La Soufrière of Guadeloupe (Antilles arc): implications for the magmatic supply degassing during unrest

Since its last magmatic eruption in 1530 AD, La Soufrière andesitic volcano in Guadeloupe has displayed intense hydrothermal activity and six phreatic eruptive crises (the last of which, in 1976-1977, with 73000 evacuees). Here we report on the first direct quantification of gas plume emissions from La Soufrière summit vents, which gradually intensified during the past 20 years. Gas fluxes were determined in 2006 then 2012 [1] by measuring the horizontal and vertical distribution of volcanic gas concentrations in the air-diluted plume, the composition of the hot fumarolic fluid at exit (108°C), and scaling to the speed of plume transport (in situ measurements and FLIR imaging). We first dem…

Chemical and isotopic characterization of ground water discharges on the Ischia island ( Italy )

First multi-GAS based characterisation of the Boiling Lake volcanic gas (Dominica, Lesser Antilles)

We used a Multi-component Gas Analyser System (Multi-GAS) to measure, for the very first time, the composition (H2O, CO2, H2S, SO2) of the volcanic gas plume issuing from the Boiling Lake, a vigorously degassing, hot (T ~ 80-90°C) volcanic lake in Dominica, West Indies. The Multi-GAS captured in-plume concentrations of H2O, CO2 and H2S were well above those typical of ambient atmosphere, while no volcanic SO2 was detected (<0.05 ppm). These were used to derive the Boiling Lake plume characteristic ratios of CO2/H2S (5.2±0.4) and H2O/CO2 (31.4±6). Assuming that other volcanic gas species (e.g., HCl, CO, H2, N2, etc.) are absent in the plume, we recalculated a (air-free) composition fo…