Search results for "petrology"

Mercury concentration, speciation and budget in volcanic aquifers: Italy and Guadeloupe (Lesser Antilles)

2009

Abstract Quantifying the contribution of volcanism to global mercury (Hg) emissions is important to understand the pathways and the mechanisms of Hg cycling through the Earth's geochemical reservoirs and to assess its environmental impacts. While previous studies have suggested that degassing volcanoes might contribute importantly to the atmospheric budget of mercury, little is known about the amount and behaviour of Hg in volcanic aquifers. Here we report on detailed investigations of both the content and the speciation of mercury in aquifers of active volcanoes in Italy and Guadeloupe Island (Lesser Antilles). In the studied groundwaters, total Hg (THg) concentrations range from 10 to 500…

Mercury content and speciation in the Phlegrean Fields volcanic complex: evidence from hydrothermal system and fumaroles

2009

Abstract Mercury is outstanding among the global environmental pollutants of continuing concern. Although degassing of active volcanic areas represents an important natural source of mercury into the atmosphere, still little is known about the amount and behaviour of Hg in volcanic aquifers, especially regarding its chemical speciation. In order to assess the importance of mercury emissions from active volcanoes, thermal waters were sampled in the area surrounding La Solfatara, Pozzuoli bay. This is the most active zone of the Phlegrean Fields complex (coastal area north–west of Naples), with intense hydrothermal activity at present day. Studied groundwaters show total Hg (THg) concentratio…

Investigation of the He solubility in H2O-CO2 bearing silicate liquids at moderate pressure: a new experimental method

2000

We have designed the first available experimental method capable to investigate the solubility of inert gases in H2O–CO2 bearing silicate melts in a large range of pressures. The method overcomes the difficulties imposed by the physical state of volatiles at room conditions. Experiments were done by using an internally heated pressure vessel, where sealed capsules containing the sample are introduced. The peculiarity of the method consists in the capability of loading, in accurately known proportions (even lower than ppm), volatiles in a gaseous state at room conditions. Gas is loaded as a weighed amount of a gas-bearing glass, which was previously prepared by using the same gas as a pressu…

Sources, degassing, and contamination of CO2, H2O, He, Ne, and Ar in basaltic glasses from Kolbeinsey Ridge, North Atlantic

2005

Abstract New volatile data (CO2, H2O, He, Ne, and Ar) are presented for 24 submarine basaltic glasses from the Kolbeinsey Ridge, Tjornes Fracture Zone and Mohns Ridge, North Atlantic. Low CO2 and He contents indicate that magmas were strongly outgassed with the extent of degassing increasing toward the south, as expected from shallower ridge depths. Ne and Ar are significantly more abundant in the southernmost glasses than predicted for degassed melt. The strong atmospheric isotopic signal associated with this excess Ne and Ar suggests syn- or posteruptive contamination by air. Degassing, by itself, cannot generate the large variations in δ13C values of dissolved CO2 or coupled CO2-Ar varia…

The dynamics of slug trains in volcanic conduits: Evidence for expansion driven slug coalescence

2017

Strombolian volcanism is a ubiquitous form of activity, driven by the ascent and bursting of bubbles of slug morphology. Whilst considerable attention has been devoted to understanding the behaviour of individual slugs in this regime, relatively little is known about how inter-slug interactions modify flow conditions. Recently, we reported on high temporal frequency strombolian activity on Etna, in which the larger erupted slug masses were followed by longer intervals before the following explosion than the smaller bursts (Pering et al., 2015). We hypothesised that this behaviour arose from the coalescence of ascending slugs causing a prolonged lag before arrival of the next distinct bubble…

Influence of parent material and soil use on arsenic forms in soils A case study in the Amblés Valley (Castilla-León, Spain)

2014

Abstract The total, water soluble and extractable concentrations with EDTA of As from topsoils from the Ambles Valley (Avila, Spain) were determined. The geochemical baseline concentrations of total As were established, and the relationships between the concentration of the different As forms and soil properties were investigated. Total As content in soils was related with parent material, whereas anthropogenic activities affected its mobility. Iron, aluminium, clay content, soil organic matter and soil pH were the main controlling factors for As soil concentrations. The geochemical baseline concentrations obtained (mg kg − 1 ) were 7.3–35 in soils on granite parent material and 2.2–6.8 in …

Background levels and baseline values of available heavy metals in Mediterranean greenhouse soils (Spain)

2011

Abstract This study determines extractable levels of Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn, Ni and Co in western Almeria (Spain) greenhouse surface soil horizons using EDTA solution, which is identified as the fraction available for organisms and plants. It also establishes background levels, geochemical baseline concentration and reference values (RV), and investigates the possible relationships between soil properties and elemental concentrations. The results show that the soil concentration of these extractable heavy metals was high as those reported by other authors for Spanish agricultural soils. The available RV concentrations obtained (mg kg −1 ) were: Cd 0.17, Cu 1.6, Pb 13.8, Zn 5.0 Ni 1.7 and Co 2.9. Us…

Age and tectonic setting of granitoid gneisses in the Eastern Desert of Egypt and south-west Sinai

1994

Strongly deformed and locally migmatized gneisses occur at several places in the southern Eastern Desert of Egypt and in Sinai and have variously been interpreted as a basement to Pan-african (≈900 to 600 Ma) supracrustal and intrusive assemblages. A suite of grabbroic to granitic gneisses was investigated in the Hafafit area, which constitutes an I-type calc-alkaline intrusive assemblage whose chemistry suggests emplacement along an active continental margin and whose granitoid members can be correlated with the so-called ‘Older Granites’ of Egypt. 207Pb/206Pb single zircon evaporation from three samples of the Hafafit gneisses yielded protolith emplacement ages between 677 ± 9 and 700 ± 1…

In Situ U‐Th‐Pb Dating and Sr‐Nd Isotope Analysis of Bastnäsite by LA‐(MC)‐ICP‐MS

2019

Fabric control on strain and rupture of heterogeneous shale samples by using a non-conventional mechanical test

2004

Abstract This work was a part of the preliminary stage of the ANDRA project on a deep-seated research laboratory for the feasibility study of long-term radioactive waste storage in the Callovo–Oxfordian argillites of the Eastern part of the Paris Basin. These rocks are bedded, their density is about 2.4, and they contain an average of 30% carbonates and 25% quartz. Thick (5 mm) sections from cores were put through a non-conventional device called CGI testcell (CGI: Centre de Geologie de l'Ingenieur, i.e. Engineering Geology Centre). The aim of this versatile device is to achieve plane deformation tests under compressive uniaxial loading together with controlled temperature and humidity cond…