Search results for "geochemistry"

Passive degassing at Nyiragongo (D.R. Congo) and Etna (Italy) volcanoes

2014

Volcanoes are well known as an impressive large natural source of trace elements into the troposphere. Etna (Italy) and Nyiragongo (D.R. Congo) are two stratovolcanoes located in different geological settings, both characterized by persistent passive degassing from their summit craters. Here, we present some results on trace element composition in volcanic plume emissions, atmospheric bulk deposition (rainwater) and their uptake by the surrounding vegetation, with the aim to compare and identify differences and similarities between these two volcanoes. Volcanic emissions were sampled by using active filter-packs for acid gases (sulfur and halogens) and specific teflon filters for particulat…

High-temperature metamorphism and crustal melting at ca. 3.2 Ga in the eastern Kaapvaal craton, southern Africa

2018

Abstract The question of whether high-grade metamorphism and crustal melting in the early Archaean were associated with modern-style plate tectonics is a major issue in unravelling early Earth crustal evolution, and the eastern Kaapvaal craton has featured prominently in this debate. We discuss a major ca. 3.2 Ga tectono-magmatic-metamorphic event in the Ancient Gneiss Complex (AGC) of Swaziland, a multiply deformed medium- to high-grade terrane in the eastern Kaapvaal craton consisting of 3.66–3.20 Ga granitoid gneisses and infolded greenstone remnants, metasedimentary assemblages and mafic dykes. We report on a 3.2 Ga granulite-facies assemblage in a metagabbro of the AGC of central Swazi…

Resurgent uplift at large calderas and relationship to caldera-forming faults and the magma reservoir: New insights from the Neapolitan Yellow Tuff c…

2021

Abstract Resurgence uplift is the rising of the caldera floor, mainly due to pressure or volume changes in the magma reservoir. Identifying resurgence structures and understanding their relationship to the magmatic reservoir is challenging. We investigate the resurgence structures of the Neapolitan Yellow Tuff caldera (Italy) by integrating bathymetric data, high-resolution seismic profiles and Differential Synthetic-Aperture Radar Interferometry data. Our results show that the resurgent area is manifested as 1) a central dome constituted by two main blocks bounded by NNE-SSW trending faults, 2) an apical graben developed on top of the most uplifted block, 3) a peripheral zone including sev…

Geochemistry of gases and waters discharged by the mud volcanoes at Paternò, Mt. Etna (Italy)

1996

Approximately 20 km south of Mt. Etna craters, at the contact between volcanic and sedimentary formations, three mud volcanoes discharge CO2-rich gases and Na–Cl brines. The compositions of gas and liquid phases indicate that they are fed by a hydrothermal system for which temperatures of 100–150 °C were estimated by means of both gas and solute geothermometry. The hydrothermal system may be associated with CO2-rich groundwaters over a large area extending from the central part of Etna to the mud volcanoes. Numerous data on the He, CH4, CO2 composition of the gases of the three manifestations, sampled over the past 5 years, indicate clearly that variations are due to separation processes of…

Phase petrology reveals shallow magma storage prior to large explosive silicic eruptions at Hekla volcano, Iceland

2017

Abstract Understanding the conditions that culminate in explosive eruptions of silicic magma is of great importance for volcanic hazard assessment and crisis mitigation. However, geological records of active volcanoes typically show a wide range of eruptive behavior and magnitude, which can vary dramatically for individual eruptive centers. In order to evaluate possible future scenarios of eruption precursors, magmatic system variables for different eruption types need to be constrained. Here we use petrological experiments and microanalysis of crystals to clarify the P – T – x state under which rhyodacitic melts accumulated prior to the H3 eruption; the largest Holocene Plinian eruption of…

The percolation threshold and permeability evolution of ascending magmas

2017

Abstract The development of gas permeability in magmas is a complex phenomenon that directly influences the style of a volcanic eruption. The emergence of permeability is linked to the concept of percolation threshold, which is the point beyond which gas bubbles are connected in a continuous network that allows gas escape. Measurements of the percolation threshold, however, range from ∼30 to 78 vol%. No known combination of parameters can explain such a wide range of threshold values, which affects our understanding of the relationship between percolation and permeability. We present permeability calculations on bubble-bearing rhyolitic melts that underwent experimental decompression. Sampl…

2017

Information about past volcanic impact on climate is mostly derived from historic documentary data and sulfate depositions in polar ice sheets. Although these archives have provided important insights into the Earth's volcanic eruption history, the climate forcing and exact dating of many events is still vague. Here we apply a new method of break detection to the first millennium-length maximum latewood density reconstruction of Northern Hemisphere summer temperatures to develop an alternative record of large volcanic eruptions. The analysis returns fourteen outstanding cooling events, all of which agree well with recently developed volcanic forcing records from high-resolution bipolar ice …

Using 81Kr and Noble Gases to Characterize and Date Groundwater and Brines in the Baltic Artesian Basin on the One-Million-Year Timescale

2017

Analyses for $^{81}$Kr and noble gases on groundwater from the deepest aquifer system of the Baltic Artesian Basin (BAB) were performed to determine groundwater ages and uncover the flow dynamics of the system on a timescale of several hundred thousand years. We find that the system is controlled by mixing of three distinct water masses: Interglacial or recent meteoric water $(\delta^{18}\text{O} \approx -10.4\unicode{x2030})$ with a poorly evolved chemical and noble gas signature, glacial meltwater $(\delta^{18}\text{O} \leq -18\unicode{x2030})$ with elevated noble gas concentrations, and an old, high-salinity brine component $(\delta^{18}\text{O} \geq -4.5\unicode{x2030}, \geq 90 \text{g …

Stratospheric aerosol-Observations, processes, and impact on climate

2016

Interest in stratospheric aerosol and its role in climate have increased over the last decade due to the observed increase in stratospheric aerosol since 2000 and the potential for changes in the sulfur cycle induced by climate change. This review provides an overview about the advances in stratospheric aerosol research since the last comprehensive assessment of stratospheric aerosol was published in 2006. A crucial development since 2006 is the substantial improvement in the agreement between in situ and space-based inferences of stratospheric aerosol properties during volcanically quiescent periods. Furthermore, new measurement systems and techniques, both in situ and space based, have be…

Stratigraphy of the Neoproterozoic Damara Sequence in northwest Namibia: Slope to basin sub-marine mass-transport deposits and olistolith fields

2016

Abstract The Neoproterozoic Damara Sequence (>1000 m thick) is composed of siliciclastic and carbonate rocks that crop out in the Damara Belt, Namibia. In Damaraland (including the Vrede, Bethanis, Austerlitz and Toekoms farms), these rocks were deformed and metamorphosed under greenschist facies (biotite zone) conditions during the Damara Orogeny. The stratigraphy and paleoenvironments of the Damara Sequence rocks are debated by the scientific community. We use field data, including detailed 1:25,000 geological mapping, elaboration of stratigraphic profiles and observation of preserved primary structures, textures and composition, to identify lithofacies and lithofacies associations, and t…