Search results for "Petrologia"

Evidence of basaltic magma intrusions in a trachytic magma chamber at Pantelleria (Italy)

2012

In the last 50 ka basalts have erupted outside the margin of the young caldera on the island of Pantelleria. The inner portion of the caldera has instead been filled by trachyte lavas, pantellerite lavas and pumice fall deposits. This paper focuses on a low-volume benmoreite lava topping the trachyte lava pile in the middle of the young caldera. The mineral chemistry, including trace elements in clinopyroxene (LA-ICP-MS), suggests that benmoreite is a hybrid product resulting from mixing between a trachytic magma and a basaltic end member even more primitive than those erupted during the past 50 ka. The principal inference is that basaltic magmas intruded the trachytic magma chamber below t…

A two-component mantle source feeding Mt. Etna magmatism; insights from the geochemistry of primitive magmas.

2014

The major elements, trace elements and Sr and Nd isotopes of selected Etnean primitive rocks (b15 ky BP) were studied in order to characterize their mantle source. The noble-gas geochemistry of fluid inclusions in minerals fromthe same lavaswas also investigated. Themajor element compositions ofwhole rocks and minerals showed that these products are among the most primitive atMt. Etna, comprising 6.3–17.5 wt.% MgO. The variable LREE (Light Rare Earth Elements) enrichment relative to MORB (Mid-Ocean Ridge Basalt) (Lan/Ybn = 11–26), togetherwith the patterns of certain trace-element ratios (i.e., Ce/Yb versus Zr/Nb and Th/Y versus La/Yb), can be attributed to varying degrees of melting of a c…

Scienze Naturali

2017

Il corso è stato progettato per disporre di tutti gli argomenti previsti da programma ministeriale per il quinto anno dei Licei (Chimica organica, Genetica, Biochimica, Microbiologia, Biotecnologie e Scienze della Terra) in un unico volume. Gli argomenti proposti sono trattati in maniera organica, evidenziando i possibili punti di contatto tra le differenti discipline e abituando lo studente a sviluppare una concezione liquida del sapere. La didattica e la struttura proposte sono finalizzate alla conoscenza e alla comprensione dei fenomeni che contraddistinguono la materia, la natura, gli esseri viventi e l’uomo e l’ambiente nel quale vive e col quale interagisce. Il corso concorre alla cos…

Seismic velocity structures of Southern Italy from tomographic imaging of the Ionian slab and petrological inferences.

2012

International audience; In this study we have determined detailed Vp and Vs seismic velocity models of the Ionian lithosphere subducting beneath the Tyrrhenian basin and of the surrounding mantle, by applying a post-processing technique to a large sample of local earthquake tomography studies. Our seismic velocity models permit us to infer the presence of low velocity anomalies within the slab, which we interpret as regions that are partially hydrated by fluids released during the subduction process. A petrological interpretation of the velocity anomalies gives new details on the magmatism of the volcanic Aeolian arc. Furthermore our velocity models provide a more detailed description of th…

Hatching Success of Caretta caretta on a Mediterranean Volcanic Beach: Impacts from Environmental Parameters and Substrate Composition

2022

New data on the potential impact of environmental parameters and the mineralogical nature of the substrate on the hatching success of the loggerhead sea turtle Caretta caretta on a volcanic beach on Linosa Island in the central Mediterranean Sea are reported. During 2 years of investigation (2018-19), five nests were observed. The temperature and moisture of the nests were determined along with the grain size and mineralogical nature of the substrate. The temperature values of the nests recorded at depths of 5 and 35 cm showed an average temperature incubation of 32.2°C ± 1.4°C and 32.8°C ± 1.6°C, respectively, with peaks close to 37°C. The sedimentological analysis carried out on two cores…

Geologia e geomofologia dell’isola di Pantelleria: il settore di Cala Tramontana-Cala Levante

2012

Geochronology of the medium-high-grade units of the Peloritani Mts., Sicily.

2003

The Peloritani Mountains are a fragment of an orogen variably attributed to the Alpine or Hercynian orogeny. On the basis of Ar-39-Ar-40, U-Pb and Rb-Sr dating, the main metamorphism of the two medium-high grade metamorphic units, the Mela and Aspromonte Units, and most of the thrusting responsible for stacking the orogenic edifice are seen to be Hercynian. The main thrusting of the Aspromonte Unit over the lower grade units took place at 301+/-2 Ma. Brittle deformation during Tertiary reactivation of Hercynian thrust planes did not generate any rejuvenation of white micas in the studied sector. Our dataset shows a great complexity and we propose to unravel it by considering different level…

Petrologic constraints on melting conditions in the Strait of Sicily Rift Zone.

2013

The Strait of Sicily Rift Zone (SSRZ) is a northwest-southeast trending transtensional rift situated in the Mediterranean Sea between Sicily and north Africa. The SSRZ consists of three basins: the Pantelleria Trough, the Linosa Basin, and the Malta Trough. Volcanoes are situated in or adjacent to all except the Malta Trough, and include two islands (Pantelleria and Linosa) and several seamounts. The thickness of the crust throughout the region is 25-35 km, but thins to 16-18 km in the basins of the SSRZ. The Pantelleria Trough is characterized by high average heat flow values and a strong positive Bourger anomaly, which suggest assthenospheric upwelling to ~60 km and the presence of abunda…

Carbonate stromatolites from a Messinian hypersaline setting in the Caltanissetta Basin, Sicily: petrographic evidence of microbial activity and rela…

2010

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…

Petrology of some amphibole-bearing volcanics of the pre-Ellittico period (102-80 ka), Mt. Etna

2006

We present here petrological and geochemical data on volcanics cropping out in southern and northeastern walls of the Valle del Bove (Mt. Etna), belonging to the Rocche, Serra Giannicola Grande and Canalone della Montagnola Units. These units constitute the remnants of several volcanoes that were active in the time span 102-80 ka, i.e. before the growth of the Ellittico-Mongibello strato-volcano. Their products, range in composition from hawaiites to benmoreites. Amphibole (kaersutite) is present as phenocryst in all the studied rocks, and commonly shows breakdown coronas of rhönite ± clinopyroxene and plagioclase formed during magma ascent. Nevertheless, in mafic rocks, amphibole occurs as…