Search results for "petrology"
showing 10 items of 1516 documents
Continuous monitoring of hydrogen and carbon dioxide at Mt Etna
2013
article i nfo This study assessed the use of an H2 fuel cell as an H2-selective sensor for volcano monitoring. The resolution, repeatability, and cross-sensitivity of the sensor were investigated and evaluated under known laboratory conditions. A tailor-made device was developed and used for continuously monitoring H2 and CO2 at Mt Etna throughout 2009 and 2010. The temporal variations of both parameters were strongly correlated with the evolution of the volcanic activity during the monitoring period. In particular, the CO2 flux exhibited long-term variations, while H2 exhibited pulses immediately before the explosive activity that occurred at Mt Etna during 2010.
Tunable diode laser measurements of hydrothermal/volcanic CO<sub>2</sub> and implications for the global CO<sub&am…
2014
Abstract. Quantifying the CO2 flux sustained by low-temperature fumarolic fields in hydrothermal/volcanic environments has remained a challenge, to date. Here, we explored the potential of a commercial infrared tunable laser unit for quantifying such fumarolic volcanic/hydrothermal CO2 fluxes. Our field tests were conducted between April 2013 and March 2014 at Nea Kameni (Santorini, Greece), Hekla and Krýsuvík (Iceland) and Vulcano (Aeolian Islands, Italy). At these sites, the tunable laser was used to measure the path-integrated CO2 mixing ratios along cross sections of the fumaroles' atmospheric plumes. By using a tomographic post-processing routine, we then obtained, for each manifestati…
Diagenesis of speleothems and its effect on the accuracy of 230 Th/U-ages
2014
Abstract Speleothems can be precisely dated by U-series disequilibrium methods. One basic assumption of the 230Th/U-dating method is that the system remains closed and U and Th isotopes are neither lost nor added after deposition. For stalagmites, this requirement is usually fulfilled due to their protected environment in caves. However, undersaturated drip water may lead to diagenesis of speleothem CaCO3 and altered 230Th/U-ages. Here we present a detailed petrographic investigation using thin sections and 230Th/U-ages of a stalagmite from the Riesenberghohle, northern Germany, which grew during Marine Isotope Stages 5e, c and a. The occurrence of a mosaic fabric in large parts of the stal…
Major-ion bulk deposition around an active volcano (Mt. Etna, Italy)
2005
Bulk atmospheric deposition of major cations (Na, K, Ca, Mg) and anions (Cl, F, SO4) were measured at 15 sites around an active volcano, Mount Etna, from 2001 to 2003. Their composition indicates several natural sources, among which deposition of plume-derived volcanogenic gas compounds is prevalent for F, Cl and S. Plume-derived acidic compounds are also responsible for the prevailing acidic composition of the samples collected on the summit of the volcano (pH in the 2.45–5.57 range). Cation species have complex origin, including deposition of plume volcanogenic ash and aerosols and soil-dust wind re-suspension of either volcanic or carbonate sedimentary rocks. Variation of the deposition …
Mafic and ultramafic enclaves in Ustica Island lavas: Inferences on composition of lower crust and deep magmatic processes
2005
Abstract Ustica Island, southern Tyrrhenian Sea, is constituted of Quaternary alkaline volcanics. A variety of enclaves representative of deep to supra-crustal settings were recently found in a hawaiitic lava flow. Enclaves consist of: (i) Ultramafic meta-cumulates, i.e. clinopyroxenites and wherlites characterized by variably deformed porphyroclastic to granoblastic textures. (ii) Mafic cumulates, i.e. gabbros (± amphibole) and troctolites, the first often characterized by frequent amphibole breakdown coronas (olivine + Ti-augite + plagioclase + magnetite + ilmenite + rhonite) in response to an H 2 O decrease during the ascent, while the troctolites interpreted as meta-cumulates. (iii) Mic…
Radiative heat power at Stromboli volcano during 2000–2011: Twelve years of MODIS observations
2012
Abstract Twelve years of night-time MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) observations, has been analysed to detect and quantify the radiative heat power emitted by Stromboli volcano (from March 2000 to September 2011). Using an accurate background subtraction of the MODIS signal at 4 μm, we were able to discriminate two main regimes of thermal radiation, related to different levels of volcanic activity. Effusive eruptions (occurred on December 28, 2002 and February 27, 2007) radiated at an average of ~ 186 MW with a frequency of alert detection of 50–95%. Conversely, during the typical strombolian activity, an average of ~ 9 MW is radiated, with a frequency of alert detecti…
Magmatic signature in acid rain at Masaya volcano, Nicaragua: Inferences on element volatility during lava lake degassing
2021
Abstract Major, minor and trace element concentrations of single rainfall events were investigated at Masaya volcano (Nicaragua) in order to determine the relative contributions of volcanogenic elements. Most of the samples were collected in the summit area of the volcano around the Santiago crater, and two samples, representative of the local background, were collected at a 4.3 km upwind site. Samples from the summit are very acidic with pH down to 2.14 and contain large amounts of volcanogenic elements that can be clearly distinguished from the local background. These elements are released into the atmosphere from the continuously degassing lava lake of the Santiago crater, Masaya volcano…
The Othris Ophiolite, Greece: A snapshot of subduction initiation at a mid-ocean ridge
2008
The mantle section of the Tethyan-type Othris Ophiolite, Greece, records tectono-magmatic processes characteristic of both mid-ocean ridges and supra-subduction zones. The Othris Ophiolite is a remnant of the Jurassic Neotethys Ocean, which existed between Eurasia and Gondwanaland. Othris peridotites range from fertile plagioclase lherzolites to depleted harzburgites. Abundances of Al2O3 and CaO show well-defined inverse linear correlations with MgO, suggesting that the Othris peridotites formed as residua from variable degrees of partial melting. Peridotites from the Fournos Kaitsa and western Katachloron sub-massifs are similar to abyssal peridotites and can be explained by a multistage m…
Continental extension: From core complexes to rigid block faulting
2005
Extension of overthickened continental crust is commonly characterized by an early core complex stage of extension followed by a later stage of crustal-scale rigid block faulting. These two stages are clearly recognized during the extensional destruction of the Alpine orogen in northeast Corsica, where rigid block faulting overprinting core complex formation eventually led to crustal separation and the formation of a new oceanic backarc basin (the Ligurian Sea). Here we investigate the geodynamic evolution of continental extension by using a novel, fully coupled thermomechanical numerical model of the continental crust. We consider that the dynamic evolution is governed by fault weakening, …
SHRIMP zircon dating and Nd isotopic systematics of Palaeoproterozoic migmatitic orthogneisses in the Epupa Metamorphic Complex of northwestern Namib…
2010
Abstract The Epupa Metamorphic Complex constitutes the southwestern margin of the Congo Craton and is exposed in a hilly to mountainous terrain of northwestern Namibia, bordering the Kunene River and extending into southern Angola. It consists predominantly of granitoid gneisses which are migmatized over large areas. This migmatization locally led to anatexis and produced crustal-melt granites such as the Otjitanda Granite. We have undertaken reconnaissance geochemical studies and single zircon U–Pb SHRIMP and Pb–Pb evaporation dating of rocks of the Epupa Complex. The granitoid gneisses, migmatites and anatectic melts are similar in composition and constitute a suite of metaluminous to per…