Do volcanic emissions affect carbon gas fluxes in peatlands?

Recently, a link has been suggested between volcanic deposition of SO4 and the suppression of CH4 emissions in northern peatlands (Gauci et al., 2008). This link stems from the widely accepted idea that acid rain SO4 additions to peatlands can cause a shift in microbial communities as SO4 reducing bacteria out-compete methanogens for substrates, which results in a suppression of CH4 emission. However, volcanic emissions contain besides S other chemically reactive species that are potentially harmful to the environment. In particular, gaseous and particulate F emissions from volcanoes constitute a steady or intermittent source of F emission and deposition into the environment both close to the source and within fallout range of large eruptions. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of volcanic depositions of SO4, both alone and in combination with F, on CH4 emission in peatlands. Peat mesocosms collected from Pennine uplands in the UK were treated with weekly pulses of Na2SO4 and NaF over 20 weeks in doses of 74 kg SO4/ ha and 13.5 and 135 kg F /ha. CH4 emissions were measured at regular intervals by taking headspace samples, which were analysed by GC-FID. CO2 fluxes were also measured using a portable Infra Red Gas Analyser (IRGA). No significant differences in CH4 and CO2 emissions were observed for any of the treatments when compared to the controls, which had only received deionised water. These findings are in contrast with previous studies where SO4 reduces CH4 emission in peatlands. The reason for this is unclear but may be due to the heterogeneous nature of peat soils. An alternative explanation relates to the previous history of the soils used in the mesocosms which are known to have been previously exposed to large volumes of anthropogenic S pollution. This may have caused microbial communities to evolve and become acclimatised to high levels of S addition. In either case, the assumption that CH4 suppression in peatlands occurs upon exposure to volcanic depositions is questionable. Gauci, V., S. Blake, et al. (2008). Halving of the northern wetland methane source by a large icelandic volcanic eruption. JGR, doi:10.1029/2007JG00049

Accompagner les étudiants bacheliers bioingénieurs dans le développement de leurs compétences transversales

Cet article propose de décrire la conception, le déroulé et l’évaluation de quatre modules de formation aux compétences transversales instaurés dans le cadre d’une réforme du programme de bachelier dans la Faculté des bioingénieurs de l’UCLouvain en réponse à deux enjeux facultaires : 1) intégrer les disciplines dans un contexte plus appliqué et 2) développer les compétences transversales des futurs bioingénieurs. Le scénario des modules prenait pour point d’ancrage la connaissance de soi et la conscience des différences interpersonnelles et visait un développement progressif des compétences de collaboration, d’organisation et de communication, en articulation directe à la réalisation d’un projet. Quarante-quatre équipes d’étudiants ont pris part au dispositif. Celui-ci a fait l’objet d’une évaluation quantitative (enquête) et qualitative (focus group). Les résultats intègrent des mesures de l’efficacité du groupe et des émotions vécues

Tinguís, Pioneiros e Adventícios na Mancha Loira do Sul do Brasil : o discurso regional autorizado de formação social e histórica paranaense

Orientador: Prof. Dr. Ricardo Costa de OliveiraTese (doutorado) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor de Ciencias Humanas, Letras e Artes, Programa de Pós-Graduaçao em Sociologia. Defesa: Curitiba, 24/08/2009Inclui bibliografiaÁrea de concentraçao: Cultura e pode

Assessment of leachable elements in volcanic ashfall : a review and evaluation of a standardized protocol for ash hazard characterization.

Volcanic ash presents a widespread and common hazard during and after eruptions. Complex interactions between solid ash surfaces and volcanic gases lead to the formation of soluble salts that may be mobilized in aqueous environments. A variety of stakeholders may be concerned about the effects of ash on human and animal health, drinking water supplies, crops, soils and surface runoff. As part of the immediate emergency response, rapid dissemination of information regarding potentially hazardous concentrations of soluble species is critical. However, substantial variability in the methods used to characterize leachable elements makes it challenging to compare datasets and eruption impacts. To address these challenges, the International Volcanic Health Hazard Network (www.ivhhn.org) organized a two-day workshop to define appropriate methods for hazard assessment. The outcome of this workshop was a ‘consensus protocol’ for analysis of volcanic ash samples for rapid assessment of hazards from leachable elements, which was subsequently ratified by leading volcanological organizations. The purpose of this protocol is to recommend clear, standard and reliable methods applicable to a range of purposes during eruption response, such as assessing impacts on drinking-water supplies and ingestion hazards to livestock, and also applicable to research purposes. Where possible, it is intended that the methods make use of commonly available equipment and require little training. To evaluate method transferability, an interlaboratory comparison exercise was organized among six laboratories worldwide. Each laboratory received a split of pristine ash, and independently analyzed it according to the protocol for a wide range of elements. Collated results indicate good repeatability and reproducibility for most elements, thus indicating that the development of this protocol is a useful step towards providing standardized and reliable methods for ash hazard characterization. In this article, we review recent ash leachate studies, report the outcomes of the comparison exercise and present a revised and updated protocol based on the experiences and recommendations of the exercise participants. The adoption of standardized methods will improve and facilitate the comparability of results among studies and enable the ongoing development of a global database of leachate information relevant for informing volcanic health hazards assessment

Surface ocean iron fertilization: the role of subduction zone and hotspot volcanic ash and fluxes into the Pacific Ocean

Surface ocean iron (Fe) fertilization can affect the marine primary productivity (MPP), thereby impacting on CO2 exchanges at the atmosphere-ocean interface and eventually on climate. Mineral (aeolian or desert) dust is known to be a major atmospheric source for the surface ocean biogeochemical iron cycle, but the significance of volcanic ash is poorly constrained. We present the results of geochemical experiments aimed at determining the rapid release of Fe upon contact of pristine volcanic ash with seawater, mimicking their dry deposition into the surface ocean. Our data show that volcanic ash from both subduction zone and hot spot volcanoes (n = 44 samples) rapidly mobilized significant amounts of soluble Fe into seawater (35–340 nmol/g ash), with a suggested global mean of 200 ± 50 nmol Fe/g ash. These values are comparable to the range for desert dust in experiments at seawater pH (10–125 nmol Fe/g dust) presented in the literature (Guieu et al., 1996; Spokes et al., 1996). Combining our new Fe release data with the calculated ash flux from a selected major eruption into the ocean as a case study demonstrates that single volcanic eruptions have the potential to significantly increase the surface ocean Fe concentration within an ash fallout area. We also constrain the long-term (millennial-scale) airborne volcanic ash and mineral dust Fe flux into the Pacific Ocean by merging the Fe release data with geological flux estimates. These show that the input of volcanic ash into the Pacific Ocean (128–221 × 1015 g/ka) is within the same order of magnitude as the mineral dust input (39–519 × 1015 g/ka) (Mahowald et al., 2005). From the similarity in both Fe release and particle flux follows that the flux of soluble Fe related to the dry deposition of volcanic ash (3–75 × 109 mol/ka) is comparable to that of mineral dust (1–65 × 109 mol/ka). Our study therefore suggests that airborne volcanic ash is an important but hitherto underestimated atmospheric source for the Pacific surface ocean biogeochemical iron cycle

Environmental impacts of tropospheric volcanic gas plumes

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Geochemical, isotopic and heat budget study of two volcano-hosted hydrothermal systems: the acid crater lakes of Kawah Ijen, Indonesia, and Taal, philippines, volcanoes

Doctorat en Sciencesinfo:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublishe