Search results for "isotope ratio"

A distinct section of the early bronze age society? Stable isotope investigations of burials in settlement pits and multiple inhumations of the Úněti…

2015

OBJECTIVES: Inhumations in so-called settlement pits and multiple interments are subordinate burial practices of the Early Bronze Age Unětice culture in central Germany (2200-1700/1650 BC). The majority of the Unětice population was entombed as single inhumations in rectangular grave pits with a normative position of the body. The goal of the study was to test archaeological hypotheses that the deviant burials may represent socially distinct or nonlocal individuals. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study comprised up to two teeth and one bone each of 74 human individuals from eight sites and faunal comparative samples. The inhumations included regular, deviant burials in so-called settlement or s…

Flotsam samples can help explain the δ13C and δ15N values of invertebrate resting stages in lake sediment

2018

Abstract 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 mea…

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…

Origin of methane and light hydrocarbons in natural fluids emissions: A study from Greece.

2018

Abstract Greece, a country characterised by intense seismic and volcanic activity, has a complex geodynamic and geological setting that favours the occurrence of many gas manifestations. In this study, we address the origin of CH 4 and light hydrocarbons in cold and thermal emissions discharging along the Hellenic territory. Also, we investigate their possible relationship with the main geochemical composition of the gases and the different geological settings of the sampling sites. For this purpose we collected 101 new samples that were analysed for their chemical (O 2 , N 2 , CH 4 , CO 2 , He, Ne, Ar, H 2 , H 2 S and C 2 -C 6 hydrocarbons) and isotopic (R/R A , δ 13 C-CO 2 , δ 13 C-CH 4 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…

2021

Holocene climate in Central Europe was characterized by variations on millennial to decadal time scales. Speleothems provide the opportunity to study such palaeoclimate variability using high temporal resolution proxy records, and offer precise age models by U-series dating. However, the significance of proxy records from an individual speleothem is still a matter of debate, and limited sample availability often hampers the possibility to reproduce proxy records or to resolve spatial climate patterns. Here we present a palaeoclimate record based on four stalagmites from the Hüttenbläserschachthöhle (HBSH), western Germany. Two specimens cover almost the entire Holocene, with a short hiatus …

Hydrogeochemistry and stable isotopes of thermal springs: earthquake-related chemical changes along Belice Fault (Western Sicily)

2001

Abstract Three geothermal systems, Montevago, Castellammare-Alcamo and Sciacca, are located along the main seismogenetic structures in Western Sicily. Concentrations of dissolved species including the gases CO 2 , N 2 , He and the results of stable isotope measurements δ 18 O, δ D and δ 13 C TDIC in water samples collected from six thermal springs and 28 cold discharges were used to characterise their feeder aquifers and to reveal the relationships between water chemistry and regional seismicity. The Sciacca thermal springs differ chemically and isotopically from those of Montevago and the Castellammare-Alcamo areas. The inferred deep end-members of the thermal waters of Montevago and Caste…

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…

Soil and fumarole gases of Mount Etna: geochemistry and relations with volcanic activity

1998

Abstract Between 1993 and 1996, gas samples were collected on Mt. Etna volcano from both high- and low-temperature fumaroles and from soils in areas of anomalous degassing located on the flanks of the volcanic edifice. The chemical composition of all the emitted gases is consistent with their magmatic origin. During their transport to the surface, they would undergo shallow mixing processes, mostly with air. Locally, as in the case of a point in the lower southwestern flank of the volcano (P39), very high contents of He and CH4 indicate that deep gases mainly interact with ground waters and also with a hydrocarbon reservoir. The isotopic composition of carbon in CO2 from these gases also su…

CO 2 output and δ 13 C(CO 2 ) from Mount Etna as indicators of degassing of shallow asthenosphere

1997

An estimated average CO2 output from Etna's summit craters in the range of 13±3 Mt/a has recently been determined from the measured SO2 output and measured CO2/SO2 molar ratios. To this amount the CO2 output emitted diffusely from the soil (≈ 1 Mt/a) and the amount of CO2 dissolved in Etna's aquifers (≈ 0.25 Mt/a) must be added. Data on the solubility of CO2 in Etnean magmas at high temperature and pressure allow the volume of magma involved in the release of such an amount of this gas to be estimated. This volume of magma (≈ 0.7 km3/a) is approximately 20 times greater than the volume of magma erupted annually during the period 1971–1995. On the basis of C-isotopic data of CO2 collected in…