Search results for "LCA"
showing 10 items of 1995 documents
Ozone depletion in tropospheric volcanic plumes
2010
Ground based remote sensing techniques are used to measure volcanic SO2 fluxes in efforts to characterise volcanic activity. As these measurements are made several km from source there is the potential for in-plume chemical transformation of SO2 to sulphate aerosol (conversion rates are dependent on meteorological conditions), complicating interpretation of observed SO2 flux trends. In contrast to anthropogenic plumes, SO2 lifetimes are poorly constrained for tropospheric volcanic plumes, where the few previous loss rate estimates vary widely (from 99% per hour). We report experiments conducted on the boundary layer plume of Masaya volcano, Nicaragua during the dry season. We found that SO2…
Towards a representation of halogen chemistry within volcanic plumes in a chemistry transport model
2014
Volcanoes are a known source of halogens to the atmosphere. HBr volcanic emissions lead rapidly to the formation of BrO within volcanic plumes as shown by recent work based on observations and models. BrO, having a longer residence time in the atmosphere than HBr, is expected to have a significant impact on tropospheric chemistry, at least at the local and regional scales. The objective of this paper is to prepare a framework that will allow 3-D modelling of volcanic halogen emissions in order to determine their fate within the volcanic plume and then in the atmosphere at the regional and global scales. This work is based on a 1-D configuration of the chemistry transport model MOCAGE whose …
Intercomparison of SO2 camera systems for imaging volcanic gas plumes
2015
Abstract SO 2 camera systems are increasingly being used to image volcanic gas plumes. The ability to derive SO 2 emission rates directly from the acquired imagery at high time resolution allows volcanic process studies that incorporate other high time-resolution datasets. Though the general principles behind the SO 2 camera have remained the same for a number of years, recent advances in CCD technology and an improved understanding of the physics behind the measurements have driven a continuous evolution of the camera systems. Here we present an intercomparison of seven different SO 2 cameras. In the first part of the experiment, the various technical designs are compared and the advantage…
Trace metal modeling of groundwater–gas–rock interactions in a volcanic aquifer: Mount Vesuvius, Southern Italy
2005
We report a detailed study of trace metals in groundwaters from the Somma-Vesuvius volcanic complex and present a model of the chemical processes that control the fate of these components during gas–water–rock interactions. Trace metal concentrations in Vesuvian groundwaters range from 0.01 to 0.1 Ag/l for ultra-trace elements (Sb, Cs, Co, Cd, and Pb) up to 0.1–10 mg/l for minor elements (Fe and Sr), leading to water–rock ratios from ~0.5 to 10 � 9 when normalized to trace element concentrations in the host rocks. Our results indicate non-isochemical dissolution of local volcanic rocks by groundwaters, during which mobile trace elements (As, Se, Mo, V, Li) are enriched and elements such as …
The viscous-brittle transition of crystal-bearing slilic melt: direct observation of magma rupture and healing
2012
Magmas may fl ow or break depending on their deformation rate. The transition between such viscous and brittle behavior controls the style of volcanic eruptions. While the brittle failure of silicate melts is reasonably well characterized, the effect of crystals on the viscous-brittle transition has not yet been constrained. Here we examine the effect of suspended crystals on the mechanical failure of magmas using torsion experiments performed at temperatures (600‐ 900 °C), strain rates (10 ‐4 ‐10 ‐1 s ‐1 ), and confi ning pressures (200‐300 MPa) relevant for volcanic systems. We present a relationship that predicts the critical stress and associated strain rate at which magmas fail as a fu…
Chemical and isotopic characterization of the gases of Mount Etna (Italy)
1997
Abstract In the period 1990–1995, 43 samples of dissolved gases in groundwaters (wells, springs and drainage galleries) and 64 samples of free gases (fumaroles, bubbling and soil gases) from the Mount Etna area were collected and analysed. Isotopic analyses were also carried out of both the carbon of the CO 2 in free gases and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in the waters. The chemical composition of the gases depends on the relative abundances of three interacting components. These are gases of (1) atmospheric origin enriched in O 2 and N 2 , present almost exclusively in dissolved gases, (2) deep origin enriched in CO 2 , prevalent in the majority of cases, and (3) more superficial origi…
Rapid oxidation of mercury (Hg) at volcanic vents: Insights from high temperature thermodynamic models of Mt Etna's emissions
2011
A major uncertainty regarding the environmental impacts of volcanic Hg is the extent to which Hg is deposited locally or transported globally. An important control on dispersion and deposition is the oxidation state of Hg compounds: Hg(0) is an inert, insoluble gas, while Hg(II) occurs as reactive gases or in particles, which deposit rapidly and proximally, near the volcanic vent. Using a new high temperature thermodynamic model, we show that although Hg in Etna's magmatic gases is almost entirely Hg(0) (i.e., gaseous elemental mercury), significant quantities of Hg(II) are likely formed at Etna's vents as gaseous HgCl2, when magmatic gases are cooled and oxidised by atmospheric gases. Thes…
Volcanic SiO2-cristobalite: A natural product of chemical vapor deposition
2020
Abstract Cristobalite is a low-pressure, high-temperature SiO2 polymorph that occurs as a metastable phase in many geologic settings, including as crystals deposited from vapor within the pores of volcanic rocks. Such vapor-phase cristobalite (VPC) has been inferred to result from silica redistribution by acidic volcanic gases but a precise mechanism for its formation has not been established. We address this by investigating the composition and structure of VPC deposited on plagioclase substrates within a rhyolite lava flow, at the micrometer to nanometer scale. The VPC contains impurities of the form [AlO4/Na+]0—coupled substitution of Al3+ charge-balanced by interstitial Na+—which are ty…
Minor and trace elements in olivines as probes into early igneous and mantle melting processes
2013
Abstract The trace element composition of olivine is a rapidly growing research area that has several applications of great potential. Mantle olivines can be distinguished from volcanic olivines by lower concentrations of Ca (
Variation of olivine composition in the volcanic rocks in the Songliao basin, NE China: lithosphere control on the origin of the K-rich intraplate ma…
2016
Abstract Lithospheric thickness and the heterogeneity of the mantle lithosphere are two major parameters that play a role in determining the final composition of the mafic melts and their minerals. The Songliao basin in northeast China represents an ideal natural laboratory to study the effect of these two parameters on early Pliocene to Holocene K-rich mafic lavas (K2O > 4 wt.%; K2O/Na2O > 1). A series of Cenozoic volcanic edifices (Erkeshan, Wudalianchi, Keluo and Xiaogulihe) are tentatively divided into three groups (Group 1 — thin, Group 2 — middle, and Group 3 — thick) according to the lithosphere thickness. They are located in the northern region of the Songliao basin extending in a n…