Coutinho, Rui

We present the first helium isotope data for thermal waters and gas emissions on the islands of Terceira, Graciosa, Faial, Pico and Flores, as well as new data for Sao Miguel. The results allow us to track current mantle degassing associated with the Azores hot spot, to delineate its spatial distribution and to discuss its possible origin. As a general rule, we find that free gases tend to display somewhat higher 3He/4He ratio than groundwaters.We argue that this difference is likely due to radiogenic helium inputs to aquifers duringwater– rock interactions and, therefore, that gas phases are the fluid carriers with the most representative of mantle source signature. The measured 3He/4He ratios (normalized to the air ratio, Ra) range from lower-than-MORB values (5.23–6.07 Ra) on central Sao Miguel, to MORB values on Faial (8.53 Ra) and Flores (8.04 Ra) – located on either side of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge – and to plume-type values on Graciosa (11.2 Ra) and Terceira (13.5 Ra) where free gases also display ten times higher-than-MORB CO2/3He ratios (1.8–2.6×1010). Such a wide He isotopic range and its spatial distribution corroborate with available data for volcanic rocks, indicating that plume's head presently underlies the central part of the archipelago. The plume-type 3He/4He ratios on Terceira and Graciosa agree with geochemical and seismic evidence of a deep-rooted mantle plume feeding the Azores hot spot. Our finding that high 3He/4He ratios correspond to low 3He concentrations and high (arctype) CO2/3He values exclude a simple plume supply of 3He-rich primitive mantle. Instead, the simultaneity of both elevated CO2/3He and 3He/4He ratios is best explained by a 3He-rich contribution from the lower mantle diluted in a CO2-rich feeding plume that contains a recycled altered oceanic plate component. The alternative possibility of an enhanced time-integrated 3He/(U+Th) ratio in the Azores plume due to a greater compatibility of helium relative to U and Th during melting events is difficult to reconcile with the enriched pattern of volcanic rocks from the central islands. In any case, the Azores plume should derive from a mantle reservoir that could escape convective homogenization for a very long period of time, in agreement with subchondritic osmium isotopic ratios in volcanic rocks from the central islands of the archipelago.

Volcanoes hold a fascination for human beings and, before they were recorded by literate observers, eruptions were portrayed in art, were recalled in legend and became incorporated into religious practices: being viewed as agents of punishment, bounty or intimidation depending upon their state of activity and the culture involved. In the Middle East the earliest record dates from the third millennium BCE and knowledge of volcanoes increased progressively over time. In the first century CE written records noted nine volcanoes in the Mediterranean region plus Mount Cameroon in West Africa, yet by 1380 AD the record only totalled 48, with volcanoes in Japan, Indonesia and Iceland being added. After this the list of continued to increase, but important regions such as New Zealand and Hawaii were only added during the last 200 years. Only from 1900 did the rate of growth decline significantly, but it is sobering to recall that in the twentieth century major eruptions have occurred from volcanoes that were considered inactive or extinct, examples including: Mount Lamington—Papua New Guinea, 1951; Mount Arenal—Costa Rica, 1968 and Nyos—Cameroon, 1986. Although there were instances where the human impact of historical eruptions were studied in detail, with examples including the 1883 eruption of Krakatau and 1943–1952 eruption of Parícutin, these were exceptions and before 1980 there was a significant knowledge gap about both the short and long-term effects of major eruptions on societies. Following a global review, this chapter provides a discussion of the ways in which information has been collected, compiled and disseminated from the earliest times until the 1980s in two case study areas: the Azores Islands (Portugal) and southern Italy. In Italy information on eruptions stretches back to prehistoric times and has become progressively better known over more than 2,000 years, yet even here there remain significant gaps in the record even for events that took place between 1900 and 1990. In contrast, located in the middle of the Atlantic, the Azores have been isolated for much of their history and illustrate the difficulties involved in using indigenous sources to compile, not only assessments of impact, but also at a more basic level a complete list of historical events with accurate dates.