Search results for "Earth and Related Environmental Sciences"

Geochemistry and volatile content of magmas feeding explosive eruptions at Telica volcano (Nicaragua)

2017

Telica volcano, in north-west Nicaragua, is a young stratovolcano of intermediate magma composition producing frequent Vulcanian to phreatic explosive eruptions. The Telica stratigraphic record also includes examples of (pre)historic sub-Plinian activity. To refine our knowledge of this very active volcano, weanalyzedmajor element composition and volatile content of melt inclusions fromsomestratigraphically significant Telica tephra deposits. These include: (1) the Scoria Telica Superior (STS) deposit (2000 to 200 years Before Present; Volcanic Explosive Index, VEI, of 2–3) and (2) pyroclasts from the post-1970s eruptive cycle (1982; 2011). Based on measurements with nanoscale secondary ion…

Modern Multispectral Sensors Help Track Explosive Eruptions

2013

Due to its massive air traffic impact, the 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajokull was felt by millions of people and cost airlines more than U.S. $1.7 billion. The event has, thus, become widely cited in renewed efforts to improve real-time tracking of volcanic plumes, as witnessed by special sections published last year in Journal of Geophysical Research, (117, issues D20 and B9).

Chronology of the oldest supracrustal sequences in the Palaeoarchaean Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa and Swaziland

2016

Abstract Zircon age data for felsic metavolcanic rocks of the Sandspruit and Theespruit formations, the two oldest supracrustal components in the Palaeoarchaean Barberton Greenstone Belt, show that these two successions are time-equivalent and constitute one single volcanic event at ca. 3530 Ma. The Sandspruit felsic rocks are ubiquitously metasomatized, intensely deformed and intruded by, and tectonically interlayered with, ca. 3450 Ma granitoid sills that are probably part of the Theespruit Pluton. One metasomatized Sandspruit sample contains abundant metamorphic zircons with a weighted mean 207Pb/206Pb age of 3220.1 ± 1.6 Ma, reflecting a widespread metamorphic event in parts of the east…

The Santa Ninfa Cave (Belice Valley): hydrogeochemical features and relationships with neotectonics

2020

The Santa Ninfa Cave (SNC) develops in an outcrop of Messinian gypsum, located in the heart of the zone struck by the 1968 seismic sequence of the Belice valley. It is composed of different levels of sub-horizontal galleries, the lowest of which is characterized by perennial flowing water, running along the water table. From the hydrogeological point of view, it configures as an open circuit, both inflowing and outflowing from/to neighboring aquifers. The geochemical facies of groundwater collected in the SNC is compatible with a meteoric recharge chemically interacting with evaporitic deposits. The most relevant geochemical feature is the mixing between a small tributary of sulfur water wi…

Rockfall hazards of Mount Pellegrino area (Sicily, Southern Italy)

2020

A map derived by rockfall analysis at Mount Pellegrino is presented herein. The study area is affected by several phenomena of rockfall which caused numerous damage and a strong social and economic impact. Official reports and maps that give a general assessment of rockfall hazard are available in this respect, however, it would be advisable to provide a more specific cartographic support useful for land management and planning. The drafting of new maps showing the rockfall runout areas is an additional tool that may be used in conjunction with the existing maps as a means of risk mitigation and reduction. On the basis of geological, geomorphological, and geomechanical analysis and exploiti…

Management of irrigation water and nutrient demands of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) using urban treated wastewater from a pilot-scale horiz…

2017

The reuse of treated wastewater (TWW) in crop irrigation is an advanced and rational approach to water resource management in agriculture. Results would seem to demonstrate that it could be an extremely important tool in the reduction of freshwater (FW) consumption in agriculture, at the same time helping to increase crop yields through the transfer of nutrients required for crop growth. In arid and semi-arid areas of the Mediterranean, constructed wetlands can play a key role in the treatment and reuse of wastewater due to their multifunctional nature. The aim of this study was to manage water and nutrient requirements of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) using TWW from a pilot-scale …

Using LIDAR topography data for determination of morphology and terrace levels of the River Ogre Valley in Middle Latvia Lowland [abstract].

2016

Exceptional mobility of an advancing rhyolitic obsidian flow at Cordón Caulle volcano in Chile

2013

The emplacement mechanisms of rhyolitic lava flows are enigmatic and, despite high lava viscosities and low inferred effusion rates, can result in remarkably, laterally extensive (30 km) flow fields. Here we present the first observations of an active, extensive rhyolitic lava flow field from the 2011-2012 eruption at Cordón Caulle, Chile. We combine high-resolution four-dimensional flow front models, created using automated photo reconstruction techniques, with sequential satellite imagery. Late-stage evolution greatly extended the compound lava flow field, with localized extrusion from stalled, ~35 m-thick flow margins creating80 breakout lobes. In January 2013, flow front advance continu…

The emissions of CO2 and other volatiles from the world’s subaerial volcanoes

2019

AbstractVolcanoes are the main pathway to the surface for volatiles that are stored within the Earth. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is of particular interest because of its potential for climate forcing. Understanding the balance of CO2 that is transferred from the Earth’s surface to the Earth’s interior, hinges on accurate quantification of the long-term emissions of volcanic CO2 to the atmosphere. Here we present an updated evaluation of the world’s volcanic CO2 emissions that takes advantage of recent improvements in satellite-based monitoring of sulfur dioxide, the establishment of ground-based networks for semi-continuous CO2-SO2 gas sensing and a new approach to estimate key volcanic gas param…

Tropical Atlantic temperature seasonality at the end of the last interglacial

2015

The end of the last interglacial period, ~118 kyr ago, was characterized by substantial ocean circulation and climate perturbations resulting from instabilities of polar ice sheets. These perturbations are crucial for a better understanding of future climate change. The seasonal temperature changes of the tropical ocean, however, which play an important role in seasonal climate extremes such as hurricanes, floods and droughts at the present day, are not well known for this period that led into the last glacial. Here we present a monthly resolved snapshot of reconstructed sea surface temperature in the tropical North Atlantic Ocean for 117.7±0.8 kyr ago, using coral Sr/Ca and δ18O records. W…