Search results for "STABLE ISOTOPES"
showing 10 items of 167 documents
Flotsam samples can help explain the δ13C and δ15N values of invertebrate resting stages in lake sediment
2018
The stable isotopic composition of chitinous remains of Cladocera (water fleas) and freshwater Bryozoa (moss animals) preserved in lake sediment records can provide supporting insights into past environmental and ecosystem changes in lakes. Here we explore whether analyses of these remains isolated from lake flotsam can provide information on the driving variables affecting the isotopic composition of these remains. We collected flotsam in 53 lakes and found enough material in 33 lakes to measure the stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios (expressed as δ13C and δ15N values, respectively) of resting stages. These values were compared with lake characteristics, water chemistry measurements…
Reconstruction of human subsistence and husbandry strategies from the Iberian Early Neolithic: A stable isotope approach
2018
Objectives The Early Neolithic involved an important social and economic shift that can be tested not only with the material culture, but also through biomolecular approaches. The Iberian Peninsula presents few Early Neolithic sites where fauna and humans can be analyzed together from an isotopic perspective. Here we present an isotopic study on the site of Cueva de Chaves as an example for understanding the dietary and economical changes that took place during Early Neolithic in Iberia. Material and methods Here we apply carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis to bone collagen from 4 humans and 64 faunal samples from 14 different species. The large dataset belongs to the same unique ch…
Light hydrocarbons as a proxy to identify the origin of the gas manifestations in Greece
2017
The geologic emissions of greenhouse gases (CO2 and CH4) have an important natural contribution in the global carbon budget. Tectonics, through faults in geothermal and oil producing areas, play a significant role in the release of C-gases in many non-volcanic regions of the Earth. Methane, the most abundant organic compound in Earth’s atmosphere, has a potential global warming that is 28 times higher than that of CO2 on a 100-year time horizon. In this study, δ13C-CH4, δ2H-CH4 and light hydrocarbon (alkane: CH4, C2H6, C3H8, C3H6, i-C4H10, n-C4H10; alkene C3H6, iC4H8; and aromatic C6H6) gas concentration data of 119 gas samples (103 unpublished data and 16 literature data) from volcanic-hyd…
Mineralogy of the soils altered by fumarolic activity at Nisyros volcano, Greece
2017
Nisyros is the easternmost island of the South Aegean Active Volcanic arc in Greece. It is an active stratovolcano known for its intense hydrothermal activity. In this study we present the results of the mineralogical analyses of 20 soil samples collected in the caldera area. Samples were analysed through X-ray diffraction and the results allow us to divide them in two groups: Lakki Plain and Stefanos Crater. In their majority the soils of Lakki Plain have a main mineralogical assemblage that consists of quartz, feldspar and gismondine (Ca2Al4Si4O16·9H2O). Gismondine as well as stellerite (CaAl2Si7O18·7H2O), which is appearing in some samples, derive from hydrothermal alteration, whilst wol…
Characterisation and origin of hydrothermal waters at São Miguel (Azores) inferred by chemical and isotopic composition
2017
Abstract This study focuses on the characterisation and origin of hydrothermal waters discharging from three main active volcanoes (Furnas, Fogo and Sete Cidades) at Sao Miguel, where 33 water with temperatures ranging between 13 and 97 °C, and 5 precipitate samples were collected. The developed conceptual model for this active hydrothermal system reveals that all waters can be classified by Na-HCO 3 , Na-Cl and Na-SO 4 types and are of meteoric origin. This is confirmed by the stable hydrogen and oxygen isotope data that are positioned close to the local meteoric water line (− 4.1‰ ≤ δ 18 O H2O ≤ 5.2‰; − 17.6‰ ≤ δD H2O ≤ 20.4‰), except for the Na-Cl type water at Ferraria (Sete Cidades a…
Gas geochemistry and CO2 output estimation at the island of Milos, Greece
2018
Abstract Twenty gas samples have been collected from the natural gas manifestations of Milos Island, the majority of which is found underwater along its coast. Furthermore, three anomalous degassing fumarolic areas (Kalamos, Paleochori and Adamas) have been recognized on-land. Almost all the gases are CO2-dominated with CO2 ranging from 88 to 99% vol for the samples taken underwater, while the on-land manifestations show a wider range (15–98%) due to air contamination. Methane reaches up to 1.0% vol, H2 up to 3.2% vol and H2S up to 3.5% vol indicating a hydrothermal origin of the gases. The isotope composition of He points out to mantle contributions up to 45%, while the C-isotope compositi…
Geochemical characterisation of the alkaline and hyperalkaline groundwater in the Othrys Ophiolite Massif, central Greece
2021
The complex geology of Greece includes two important parallel running ophiolitic belts. The Othrys Massif in central Greece belongs to the westernmost of them. In the current study, 33 water samples from cold hyperalkaline and hypothermal (T < 40°C) alkaline springs and 30 gas samples (either dissolved or free) were collected at 17 different sites in and around this wide ophiolite outcrop, aiming to determine the origin of fluids and evidence gas-water-rock interaction processes taking place in the area. Water samples were analysed for their chemical (major ions and trace elements) and isotope (d18O-H2O, d2H-H2O) composition. They can be subdivided into alkaline (pH <11) of both Mg-Ca…
Microbial methane oxidation leading to extreme isotopic fractionation in thermal springs of central Greece
2017
The Greek territory belongs to the geodynamically active Alpine-Himalayan orogenic belt. As such, it shows intense seismic activity, active volcanic systems and areas of enhanced geothermal fluxes. One of these areas is the Sperchios basin and the northern part of Evia island in central Greece, which present widespread thermal manifestations (D’Alessandro et al., 2014). Five of them with temperatures from 33 to 80°C present bubbling gases whose dominating species are either CO2 or N2. All gases contain from 27 to 4000 ppm of CH4. The isotopic composition of CH4 in these gases covers a wide range with δ13C values ranging from -21.7 to +16.9 ‰ and δ2H values ranging from -124 to +301 ‰. The h…
Littoral energy pathways in highly humic boreal lakes
2017
Littoral zones in lakes are among the most productive habitats in the world, but have been seriously understudied, as most limnological studies have concerned only pelagic habitats. The likely importance of littoral zones in clear lakes is widely acknowledged, but in contrast their role in dystrophic humic lakes has generally been assumed to be minor. In this thesis, littoral importance in whole-lake metabolism was studied in small and highly humic lakes in Southern Finland, where Lake Mekkojärvi was the principal study lake. Primary production (PP) measurements revealed that littoral periphyton, growing on surrounding aquatic vegetation, can dominate the whole-lake PP, and the highly autot…