Search results for " geochimica"

Time series of PM2.5, PM2.5–10, PM10 and their interrelationships in the airborne particulate matter from Palermo.

2009

Astronomic forcing on the planktonic foraminifera assemblage in the Piacenzian Punta Piccola section (Southern Italy).

2006

Trace elements in Mirror of Venus lake waters (Pantelleria Island, Italy)

2016

Mirror of Venus lake (MV) is a small (1.5 km2) endorheic alkaline lake located in a calderic depression on the northern side of Pantelleria Island (South Italy), a quiescent Pleistocenic stratovolcano located in the NW-SE trending continental rift developed between North Africa and Sicily. The lake, sub-squared in shape (around ca 450 m long and ca 350 m wide and 13 m depth) water input contribution is essentially from the thermal springs situated on its shores (Q = 0.1 l.s-1) and from meteoric waters. A total volume of 580.000 m3 has been estimated in June 2014. CO2 flux measurements made with a floating accumulation chamber in 2014 on the MV surface (both diffusive and bubbling CO2) highl…

Distribution of rare earth elements in marine sediments from the Strait of Sicily (western Mediterranean Sea): Evidence of phosphogypsum waste contam…

2010

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 + …

Contribution of isotopic geochemistry to the origin of lead in the atmosphere of Sicily.

2001

Air quality can be assessed using mineral and biological indicators: airborne particulate matter, mosses, lichens, and pine needles. However, the origin of the pollutant is usually difficult to determine on the sole basis of concentrations, particularly when many sources are involved. In this study, we report some examples of application of lead isotopic geochemistry on airborne particulate matter, lichens and pine needles as a mean to decipher sources of lead pollution in Sicily. Furthermore, we evaluate the use of Pb/Sc and Pb/Br ratios to enhance the discriminating power of the isotopic method. Besides the methodological aspect, this work aims to provide, at least for lead, a summary of …

First measurements of magmatic gas composition and fluxes during an eruption (October 2010) of Piton de la Fournaise hot spot volcano, La reunion isl…

2011

Piton de la Fournaise (PdF), in the western Indian Ocean, is a very active hot spot basaltic volcano, with 1-2 fissure eruptions per year on average. Its magmas have been widely studied and its eruptions are well anticipated by the local seismic-geodetic monitoring network. However, no datum was yet available for its magmatic gas emissions (restricted to only eruptive phases and hardly accessible). Here we report on the first measurements of the chemical composition and mass flux of magmatic gases emitted during a PdF eruption in October 2010. Hot gases arising from different eruptive vents were remotely measured with OP-FTIR spectroscopy, using molten lava fragments as IR radiation source,…

New insight into halogen release from experimental studies on BrO/Br ratios in volcanic plumes

2014

Recognition of Trace Element Contamination Using Ficus macrophylla Leaves in Urban Environment

2020

Urban areas are characterized by numerous pollutants emitted by anthropic sources both in the form of solid and gaseous particulates. Biomonitoring is an easy, economical, and accessible approach for the determination of atmospheric pollutants. In this study, we used the leaves of Ficus macrophylla Desf. ex Pers., collected in the city of Palermo (Italy), to determine major and trace elements. Geogenic elements exhibited the highest concentrations, making up 99% of the weight of the analyzed elements (Ca, K, Mg, P, S, Na, Fe, and Al)

Inorganic geochemistry of roadway dust from the metropolitan area of Palermo, Italy

2003

Inorganic matter from roadway dust collected in the urban area of Palermo, Italy, was analysed to identify the chemical elements introduced into the environment as a result of human activities. Metals of environmental concern exhibit very high enrichment factors, which in some cases exceed 100. Metal size distribution indicates that Pd, Pt, Au, Sb, Zn, S, Ni, V, Mo and Cr substantially accumulate in the finest particles, whereas Pb, Br, As, Cu, Ag and Ba are almost independent of the size fraction. SEM/EDS analyses revealed that some individual particles contain clusters of foreign particles (<10 μm) made up of Fe-Ni, Cr-Ni or Fe alone, typical of the abrasion of stainless steel. Others are…

Perturbation vectors to evaluate air quality using lichens and bromeliads: a Brazilian case study.

2017

10 pages; International audience; Samples of one lichen species, Parmotrema crinitum, and one bromeliad species, Tillandsia usneoides, were collected in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, at four sites differently affected by anthropogenic pollution. The concentrations of aluminum, cadmium, copper, iron, lanthanum, lead, sulfur, titanium, zinc, and zirconium were determined by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy. The environmental diagnosis was established by examining compositional changes via perturbation vectors, an underused family of methods designed to circumvent the problem of closure in any compositional dataset. The perturbation vectors between the reference s…