Options
Università di Palermo, Dipartimento DiSTeM
4 results
Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
- PublicationRestrictedGeochemical survey of Levante Bay, Vulcano Island (Italy), a natural laboratory for the study of ocean acidification(2013-08)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;Boatta, F.; Università di Palermo, Dip. DiSTeM ;D'Alessandro, W.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Palermo, Palermo, Italia ;Gagliano, A. L.; Università di Palermo, Dip. DiSTeM ;Liotta, M.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Palermo, Palermo, Italia ;Milazzo, M.; Università di Palermo, Dip. DiSTeM ;Rodolfo-Metalpa, R.; University of Plymouth, UK ;Hall-Spencer, J. M.; University of Plymouth, UK ;Parello, F.; Università di Palermo, Dip. DiSTeM; ; ; ; ; ; ; Shallow submarine gas vents in Levante Bay, Vulcano Island (Italy), emit around 3.6t CO2 per day providing a natural laboratory for the study of biogeochemical processes related to seabed CO2 leaks and ocean acidification. The main physico-chemical parameters (T, pH and Eh) were measured at more than 70 stations with 40 seawater samples were collected for chemical analyses. The main gas vent area had high concentrations of dissolved hydrothermal gases, low pH and negative redox values all of which returned to normal seawater values at distances of about 400 m from the main vents. Much of the bay around the vents is corrosive to calcium carbonate; the north shore has a gradient in seawater carbonate chemistry that is well suited to studies of the effects of long-term increases in CO2 levels. This shoreline lacks toxic compounds (such as H2S) and has a gradient in carbonate saturation states.477 124 - PublicationRestrictedPhysiological advantages of dwarfing in surviving extinctions in high-CO2 oceans(2015-04-20)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;Garilli, V.; APEMA Paleosofia, Research & Educational Service, Via Alla Falconara 34, 90136 Palermo, Italy. ;Rodolfo-Metalpa, R.; UMR ENTROPIE—Laboratoire d’Excellence CORAIL, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, BP A5, 98848 Nouméa cedex, New Caledonia - IAEA EL—International Atomic Energy Agency, Environmental Laboratories, 4 Quai Antoine 1er , 98000, Principality of Monaco ;Scuderi, D.; BIOMLG—Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Catania, Via Mauro de Mauro 15b, Piano Tavola, 95032 Belpasso, Catania, Italy ;Brusca, L.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Palermo, Palermo, Italia ;Parrinello, D.; STEBICEF—Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Biologiche Chimiche e Farmaceutiche, Università degli studi di Palermo, Via Archirafi 18, 90123 Palermo, Italy ;Rastrick, S. P. S.; IMR—Institute of Marine Research, PO Box 1870 Nordnes, 5817 Bergen, Norway ;Foggo, A.; MBERC—Marine Biology and Ecology Research Centre, School of Marine Science and Engineering, Plymouth University, Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK ;Twitchett, R. J.; NHM—Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK ;Hall-Spencer, J. M.; MBERC—Marine Biology and Ecology Research Centre, School of Marine Science and Engineering, Plymouth University, Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK ;Milazzo, M.; DiSTeM—Department of Earth and Marine Sciences, University of Palermo, Via Archirafi 28, 90123 Palermo, Italy; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; Excessive CO2 in the present-day ocean–atmosphere system is causing ocean acidification, and is likely to cause a severe biodiversity decline in the future1, mirroring e ects in many past mass extinctions2–4. Fossil records demonstrate that organisms surviving such eventswere often smaller than those before5,6, a phenomenon called the Lilliput e ect7. Here, we showthat two gastropod species adapted to acidified seawater at shallow-water CO2 seeps were smaller than those found in normal pH conditions and had higher mass-specific energy consumption but significantly lower whole-animal metabolic energy demand. These physiological changes allowed the animals to maintain calcification and to partially repair shell dissolution. These observations of the long-term chronic e ects of increased CO2 levels forewarn of changes we can expect in marine ecosystems as CO2 emissions continue to rise unchecked, and support the hypothesis that ocean acidification contributed to past extinction events. The ability to adapt through dwarfing can confer physiological advantages as the rate of CO2 emissions continues to increase.280 13 - PublicationOpen AccessAnother kind of “volcanic risk”: the acidification of sea-water. Vulcano Island (Italy) a natural laboratory for ocean acidification studies(INGV, 2012-12-12)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;Boatta, F.; Università di Palermo, Dipartimento DiSTeM ;D'Alessandro, W.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Palermo, Palermo, Italia ;Gagliano, L.; Università di Palermo, Dipartimento DiSTeM ;Calabrese, S.; Università di Palermo, Dipartimento DiSTeM ;Liotta, M.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Palermo, Palermo, Italia ;Milazzo, M.; Università di Palermo, Dipartimento DiSTeM ;Parello, F.; Università di Palermo, Dipartimento DiSTeM; ; ; ; ; ; ;; ;Corsaro, R.A.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Catania, Catania, ItaliaAcidification of seawater is one of the aspect tightly linked to volcanic risk, due to the presence of submarine vents releasing abundant volcanic fluids. In aquatic system CO2 gas dissolves, hydrates and dissociates to form weak carbonic acid, which is the main driver of natural weathering reactions [Drever, 1997]. The result of the CO2 increase is seawater acidification. Vulcano Island, the southernmost of Aeolian Islands, is located in the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea (Italy), approximately 18 miles off the NE coast of Sicily. The Baia di Levante can be considered a natural laboratory where almost all of the biogeochemical processes related to the ocean acidification can be studied. In this area many submarine vents release CO2. Four geochemical surveys of the Bay were carried out in April - September 2011 and May - June 2012. The main physic-chemical parameters (T, pH, Eh, electric conductivity) were measured at more than 70 sites and more than 40 samples for chemical analyses were collected at representative points. Major (Na, K, Mg, Ca, Cl, SO4) and some minor components (B, Sr, Fe) and trace elements (Mn, Mo, Al, U, Ce, Pb, Tm, Tb, Nd, Th) dissolved in water, the chemical composition of dissolved gases (He, H2, O2, N2, CH4 and CO2) and the isotopic composition of total dissolved inorganic carbon were determined in the laboratory. The bubbling CO2 produces a strong decrease in pH from the normal seawater value of 8.2 down to 5.5 (Figure 1). In the area close to the main degassing vents, characterized by very low pH, macroorganisms were absent. Acidification of sea water is one of the aspect tightly linked to volcanic risk, due to the presence of submarine vents releasing abundant volcanic fluids. At Baia di Levante, about 300 m from the main vents the seawater is only slightly acidic (pH 6.5 - 7.0) resembling the ocean water conditions in equilibrium with the high atmospheric CO2 concentrations expected in the near future. Therefore environments like this, naturally enriched in CO2, are good laboratories to study the consequences of ocean acidification on aquatic biota [Doney et al., 2009]. Furthermore acidification is tightly linked with the mobility and bio-availability of heavy metals [Millero et al., 2009] in sea water and volcanoes were always the favourite choice for human settlements; as a consequence economic anthropological activity, such as fishing, could be dangerous for human health, because of the presence toxic level of trace metals in the food chain due to the presence of the volcano’s. The present study could provide important information about the best environmental management of volcanic areas such as Vulcano Island491 236 - PublicationOpen AccessVolcanic CO2 seep geochemistry and use in understanding ocean acidification(2021)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; Ocean acidification is one of the most dramatic effects of the massive atmospheric release of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) that has occurred since the Industrial Revolution, although its effects on marine ecosystems are not well understood. Submarine volcanic hydrothermal fields have geochemical conditions that provide opportunities to characterise the effects of elevated levels of seawater CO2 on marine life in the field. Here, we review the geochemical aspects of shallow marine CO2-rich seeps worldwide, focusing on both gas composition and water chemistry. We then describe the geochemical effects of volcanic CO2 seepage on the overlying seawater column. We also present new geochemical data and the first synthesis of marine biological community changes from one of the best-studied marine CO2 seep sites in the world (off Vulcano Island, Sicily). In areas of intense bubbling, extremely high levels of pCO2 ([10,000 latm) result in low seawater pH (\6) and undersaturation of aragonite and calcite in an area devoid of calcified organisms such as shelled molluscs and hard corals. Around 100–400 m away from the Vulcano seeps the geochemistry of the seawater becomes analogous to future ocean acidification conditions with dissolved carbon dioxide levels falling from 900 to 420 latm as seawater pH rises from 7.6 to 8.0. Calcified species such as coralline algae and sea urchins fare increasingly well as sessile communities shift from domination by a few resilient species (such as uncalcified algae and polychaetes) to a diverse and complex community (including abundant calcified algae and sea urchins) as the seawater returns to ambient levels of CO2. Laboratory advances in our understanding of species sensitivity to high CO2 and low pH seawater, reveal how marine organisms react to simulated ocean acidification conditions (e.g., using energetic tradeoffs for calcification, reproduction, growth and survival). Research at volcanic marine seeps, such as those off Vulcano, highlight consistent ecosystem responses to rising levels of seawater CO2, with the simplification of food webs, losses in functional diversity and reduced provisioning of goods and services for humans.210 91