The composition of noble gas and co2 in the european subcontinental lithospheric mantle

This PhD thesis reports an integrated study of petrography and geochemistry of the minerals with noble gases and CO2 (when available) in fluid inclusions (FI) from selected mantle xenoliths erupted in Europe during alkaline magmatism. The aim of the thesis is to show how the occurrence of partial melting, metasomatism, refertilization, magmatic degassing, volatile recycling, and mixing of volatiles modified the pristine composition of fluids stored in European SCLM and give clues on its geodynamic evolution. Mantle xenoliths from a few key regions where magmatism occurred in different temporal and geodynamic conditions were selected: Lower Silesia (Eger Rift) in SW Poland, Persani Mts. (Transylvania) in Romania, Eifel and Siebengebirge in Germany. The main outcomes of this thesis are: - The chemistry of FI in mantle xenoliths from the studied areas revealed is dominated by CO2, with N2 as second major species. Noble gas are in trace. Oliv are systematically gas-poor respect to Px from the same xenoliths. Among Oliv from European xenoliths, those from Lower Silesia display the highest CO2 concentrations suggesting carbonated-like metasomatism, as also inferred from trace elements in cpx. - Ne and Ar concentration and isotopic ratios indicate variable extents of contamination by atmosphere-derived fluids. This contamination is likely derived from the recycling into the mantle of atmospheric-derived material inherited by local/recent or fossil subduction. This is more evident in the xenoliths from Persani Mts., where a recent subduction occurred. - Oliv and Px display variable extents of partial melting and metasomatism/refertilization, as indicated by the mineral chemistry and He/Ar* in FI. The highest degrees of melting (25-30%) are found in samples from Lower Silesia and Siebengebirge, which are also among the oldest within the suite of samples (>6 Ma). Evidences of low degrees of melting and/or refertilization are found in Persani Mts. and West Eifel, which are Quaternary. This suggests that refertilization process is likely occurred in Quaternary, postponing mantle melting still recorded in Lower Silesia and Siebengebirge. - The 3He/4He corrected for air contamination (Rc/Ra) is within European SCLM range (6±1 Ra) that is lower than MORB (8±1 Ra). This indicates a widespread recycling of crustal material below Europe if compared to other continental rift (e.g., Antarctica, East African). However, the careful investigation of olivine, cpx, and opx in single localities allowed distinguishing variations of 3He/4He that are related to the local history of the mantle. In detail, Persani Mts. show the lowest 3He/4He values within the dataset that indicate highest degree of crustal recycling due to the recent subduction that plays an important role in contaminating the mantle. Instead, metasomatism involving asthenospheric MORB-like fluids well explains the highest 3He/4He values recognized in all the studied localities. - Ne-Ar-He isotopic systematics indicates that most of the data fall along a mixing between air and a MORB mantle. The presence of a plume (lower mantle) beneath the studies localities can be excluded. - I presented the first data of carbon isotope composition of CO2 (δ13C V-PDB) in the Lower Silesia mantle xenoliths, which suffered a metasomatism by carbonated-rich fluids. The δ13C values are about -3.9 ‰ and are within MORB range with <0.1% limestone contamination. - The comparison of 3He/4He signature measured in mantle xenoliths from the three target areas with that of CO2-dominated gas emissions located within or nearby shows that only gases emitted along Eger Rift are representative of the local mantle signature, suggesting an active magmatic activity below this area. Instead, gases emitted in East Eifel and nearby Persani Mts. are slightly to strongly contaminated by crustal fluids during their rising toward the surface or are released from a cooling and aging magma residing within the crust

Aortic stenting in the growing sheep causes aortic endothelial dysfunction but not hypertension: Clinical implications for coarctation repair

Stent implantation is the treatment of choice for adolescents and adults with aortic coarctation (CoAo). Despite excellent short-term results, 20%-40% of the patients develop arterial hypertension later in life, which was attributed to inappropriate response of the aortic baroreceptors to increased stiffness of the ascending aorta (ASAO), either congenital or induced by CoAo repair. In particular, it has been hypothesized that stent itself may cause or sustain hypertension. Therefore, we aimed to study the hemodynamic and structural impact following stent implantation in the normal aorta of a growing animal

Influence of feedstock and operational conditions on bio-chars derived from the pyrolysis of selected biomasses

The proprieties of bio-char, the solid product from biomass pyrolysis, depends on both the feedstock and process conditions during thermochemical conversion[1]. As regards the interaction of the char with soil (i.e. as soil amendment), surface areas, size and shape of pores are among the most important factors to be considered. [1] P. R. Bonelli , G. Nunell , M. E. Fernández , E. L. Buonomo & A. L. Cukierman (2012) The Potential Applications of the Bio-char Derived from the Pyrolysis of an Agro-industrial Waste. Effects of Temperature and Acid-pretreatment, Energy Sources, Part A: Recovery, Utilization, and Environmental Effects, 34:8, 746-755, DOI: 10.1080/15567031003681937 Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

Biochar from lab-scale pyrolysis: influence of feedstock and operational temperature

AbstractBiochar properties are highly dependent on the feedstock type and operational conditions during thermochemical processing, in particular slow pyrolysis. To clarify this aspect, nine biochars were produced by pyrolyzing in a macro TGA at 400, 550, and 650 °C three different decorticated and chopped biomasses. The studied biomasses are representative of conifer (black pine) and deciduous (poplar and willow) woods. Biochar surface area, size, and shape of pores were investigated by means of nitrogen adsorption isotherm, Hg porosimetry, and electron microscopy. The results indicate that biochars with high surface area can be obtained at high temperature, especially starting from pine feedstock. Regarding porosity, micro-pores (1–10 nm) are not remarkably affected by the starting feedstocks, while macro-pores (> 10 nm) are strictly connected with the morphology of the starting wood. More than the surface area, we found a strong correlation between the chemical composition (elemental composition and FTIR) of the biochars and their retention and release capacity of ions (cation exchange capacity, CEC). The trend in the CEC, determined via coupled approach by spectrophotometric and ion chromatography, reveals that the increase in the processing temperature has the effect of reducing the number of functional groups able of exchanging the cations with the equilibrium solution. This work represents a step forward in the characterization of the char produced by pyrolysis of biomass thanks to the development of a multi-technique approach allowing to obtain a structure-property correlation of the biochars. Our results and experimental approach can help in the optimization of the parameters used in the preparation of these materials.Graphical abstrac

The composition of gas emissions at Petite Terre (Mayotte, Comoros): inference on magmatic fingerprints

The Comoros archipelago is an active geodynamic region located in the Mozambique Channel between East continental Africa and Madagascar. The archipelago results from intra-plate volcanism, the most recent eruptions having occurred on the youngest island of Grande Comore and on the oldest one of Mayotte. Since 2018, the eastern submarine flank of Mayotte has been the site of one of the largest recent eruptive events on Earth in terms of erupted lava volume. On land, the most recent volcanic activity occurred in Holocene on the eastern side of Mayotte, corresponding to the small Petite Terre Island, where two main and persistent gas seep areas are present (Airport Beach, namely BAS, and Dziani Dzaha intracrateric lake). The large submarine eruption at the feet of Mayotte (50 km offshore; 3.5 km b.s.l.) is associated with deep (mantle level) seismic activity closer to the coast (5–15 km offshore) possibly corresponding to a single and large magmatic plumbing system. Our study aims at characterizing the chemical and isotopic composition of gas seeps on land and assesses their potential link with the magmatic plumbing system feeding the Mayotte volcanic ridge and the recent submarine activity. Data from bubbling gases collected between 2018 and 2021 are discussed and compared with older datasets acquired between 2005 and 2016 from different research teams. The relation between \mbox {}^{3}\mathrm{He}/\mbox {}^{4}\mathrm{He} and $\delta ^{13}\mathrm{C}$-$\mathrm{CO}_{2}$ shows a clear magmatic origin for Mayotte bubbling gases, while the variable proportions and isotopic signature of $\mathrm{CH}_{4}$ is related to the occurrence of both biogenic and abiogenic sources of methane. Our new dataset points to a time-decreasing influence of the recent seismo-volcanic activity at Mayotte on the composition of hydrothermal fluids on land, whose equilibrium temperature steadily decreases since 2018. The increased knowledge on the gas-geochemistry at Mayotte makes the results of this work of potential support for volcanic and environmental monitoring programs

The composition of gas emissions at Petite Terre (Mayotte, Comoros): inference on magmatic fingerprints

The Comoros archipelago is an active geodynamic region located in the Mozambique Channel between East continental Africa and Madagascar. The archipelago results from intra-plate volcanism, the most recent eruptions having occurred on the youngest island of Grande Comore and on the oldest one of Mayotte. Since 2018, the eastern submarine flank of Mayotte has been the site of one of the largest recent eruptive events on Earth in terms of erupted lava volume. On land, the most recent volcanic activity occurred in Holocene on the eastern side of Mayotte, corresponding to the small Petite Terre Island, where two main and persistent gas seep areas are present (Airport Beach, namely BAS, and Dziani Dzaha intracrateric lake). The large submarine eruption at the feet of Mayotte (50 km offshore; 3.5 km b.s.l.) is associated with deep (mantle level) seismic activity closer to the coast (5–15 km offshore) possibly corresponding to a single and large magmatic plumbing system. Our study aims at characterizing the chemical and isotopic composition of gas seeps on land and assesses their potential link with the magmatic plumbing system feeding the Mayotte volcanic ridge and the recent submarine activity. Data from bubbling gases collected between 2018 and 2021 are discussed and compared with older datasets acquired between 2005 and 2016 from different research teams. The relation between \mbox {}^{3}\mathrm{He}/\mbox {}^{4}\mathrm{He} and $\delta ^{13}\mathrm{C}$-$\mathrm{CO}_{2}$ shows a clear magmatic origin for Mayotte bubbling gases, while the variable proportions and isotopic signature of $\mathrm{CH}_{4}$ is related to the occurrence of both biogenic and abiogenic sources of methane. Our new dataset points to a time-decreasing influence of the recent seismo-volcanic activity at Mayotte on the composition of hydrothermal fluids on land, whose equilibrium temperature steadily decreases since 2018. The increased knowledge on the gas-geochemistry at Mayotte makes the results of this work of potential support for volcanic and environmental monitoring programs