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Di Martino, Roberto Maria Rosario
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Di Martino, Roberto Maria Rosario
Official Name
Di Martino Roberto M. R.
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Di Martino, Roberto M. R.
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roberto.dimartino@ingv.it
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robertomr.dimartino@gmail.com
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Roberto M.R. Di Martino
23 results
Now showing 1 - 10 of 23
- PublicationRestrictedTemporal and spatial correlations between soil CO2 flux and crustal stress(2016-10)
; ; ; ; ;Camarda, M.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Palermo, Palermo, Italia ;De Gregorio, S.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Palermo, Palermo, Italia ;Di Martino, R. M. R.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Palermo, Palermo, Italia ;Favara, R.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Palermo, Palermo, Italia; ; ; In seismically active areas, tectonic stress deforms and breaks the rocks of the crust. Ongoing deformation produces detectable modifications in the shallower portions of the crust, resulting in a wide variety of changes in several parameters. In this paper, we report the results of a large-scale spatial (across an area of 15,000 km2) and temporal (up to 3 years) investigation of the relationship between active crustal stress and soil CO2 flux. We deployed a network of 10 automatic stations in most of the seismically active districts of southern Italy to monitor the soil CO2 fluxes, and we used seismicity data to track crustal stress. The results of the investigation show that the CO2 flux signals varied independently in the districts with low and sporadic seismicity. Conversely, in the only district with nearly continuous seismic activity, almost all of the CO2 flux signals were well correlated with each other, and we recorded a clear synchronous sharp increase of the seismicity and signals recorded by several stations. The high spatial and temporal correlation between seismicity and gas discharge evidenced in this study prove that the crustal stress associated with the seismogenic process is able to effectively modulate the gas release in a seismically active area.860 29 - PublicationRestrictedContinuous monitoring of hydrogen and carbon dioxide at Mt Etna(2013-08-20)
; ; ; ; ;Di Martino, R. M. R.; Dipartimento DiSTeM, Università di Palermo, via Archirafi 36, I-90123 Palermo, Italy ;Camarda, M.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Palermo, Palermo, Italia ;Gurrieri, S.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Palermo, Palermo, Italia ;Valenza, M.; Dipartimento DiSTeM, Università di Palermo, via Archirafi 36, I-90123 Palermo, Italy; ; ; This study assessed the use of a H2 fuel cell as an H2-selective sensor for volcano monitoring. The resolution, repeatability, and cross-sensitivity of the sensor were investigated and evaluated under known laboratory conditions. A tailor-made device was developed and used for continuously monitoring H2 and CO2 at Mt Etna throughout 2009 and 2010. The temporal variations of both parameters were strongly correlated with the evolution of the volcanic activity during the monitoring period. In particular, the CO2 flux exhibited long-term variations, while H2 exhibited pulses immediately before the explosive activity that occurred at Mt Etna during 2010.821 34 - PublicationOpen AccessInferences on the 2021 Ongoing Volcanic Unrest at Vulcano Island (Italy) through a Comprehensive Multidisciplinary Surveillance Network(2023)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; In September 2021, the La Fossa crater at Vulcano, in Italy, entered a new phase of unrest. We discuss a set of monitoring parameters included in the INGV surveillance network, which closely tracked the sequence of effects related to the crisis. The low-frequency local seismicity sharply increased, while the GPS and tiltmeter networks recorded the inflation of the cone, as an effect of fluid expansion in the hydrothermal system. Gravity variations were probably the effects of fast processes within shallow sources. The anomalies in soil CO2 flux, fumarole temperature, and in plume SO2 flux marked the strong increase in the vapor output from crater fumaroles. The signs of the impending crisis had been evident in the chemical and isotopic composition of fumarole gases since July 2021. These geochemical anomalies were clearly indicative of the enhanced input of gases from a magmatic source. In October, the massive degassing also influenced the areas at the base of the cone. In some areas, soil CO2 degassing and the thermal aquifer recorded strong anomalies. By early November, the crisis reached its acme. Afterward, the monitored parameters started a slow and discontinuous decreasing trend although remaining, some of them, sensibly above the background for several months. The multidisciplinary approach proved decisive for the interpretation of the underlying processes acting in the different phases of the unrest, thus allowing a consistent evaluation of the multiple hazards.956 59 - PublicationOpen AccessA theoretical model and the experimental results for the concentration transients of CO2, H2, and He in the volcanic gases(2015)
; ; ; ;Valenza, M. ;Di Martino, R. M. R.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Palermo, Palermo, Italia ;Camarda, M.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Palermo, Palermo, Italia ;Gurrieri, S.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Palermo, Palermo, Italia ;Valenza, M.; Università Degli Studi di Palermo; ; ; Università Degli Studi di PalermoThe thorough understanding of the gas transport in porous media is of considerable interest in several environmental issues, such as the transport of contaminants, nutrient substances or moisture, and to applications in subsurface repository of nuclear wastes. In volcanology, the gas transport process affects the compositions of both the soils and the fumaroles gases, that are the proxy of the magmatic activity. Herein we study the transients of the chemical composition of the soil and fumaroles gases through the formulation of a theoretical model, and the gas flux experiments carried out in the laboratory. The theoretical model accounts for the gas releases in volcanic areas, and investigates the effects of the gas flux processes, the transport parameters in the soils, and the depth of the gas reservoir on the composition of the gas emissions. The model takes into account the process of the mass transfer triggered by the changes of the flux parameters in the system, and describes the time-dependent evolution of the composition of the soil gases as the result of the pristine gas mixture, the diffusivity of the chemicals, and the thickness of the medium. The approximate solution of the flux problem provides the retention time of the ith component of the gas mixture in the porous medium as function of the thickness of the soil, the advective flux rate, and the diffusivity of the chemicals. Carbon dioxide (CO2), hydrogen (H2), and helium (He) were used in a laboratory-scaled flux simulator with the purpose of investigating the evolution of the composition profile in a porous medium of constant thickness. The comparison of the theoretical computations with the experimental results provides the evaluation of the compositional range of validity of the model. Furthermore, the results of this study indicate that the measurement of both the delays between the transients in the concentration of different components, and the gas flux provides an evaluation of the depth of the gas reservoir, because of the retention time in the porous medium is a diffusivitydependent property, and also depends from the depth of the gas source100 75 - PublicationOpen AccessContinuous monitoring of hydrogen and carbon dioxide at Stromboli volcano(2015-04)
; ; ; ;Valenza, M. ;Di Martino, R. M. R.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Palermo, Palermo, Italia ;Camarda, M.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Palermo, Palermo, Italia ;Gurrieri, S.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Palermo, Palermo, Italia ;Valenza, M.; Dipartimento DiSTeM, Università di Palermo, Palermo, Italy; ; ; Dipartimento DiSTeM, Università di Palermo, Palermo, ItalyGeochemical monitoring of fumarole and soil gases is a powerful tool for volcano surveillance, for investigating the subsurface magma dynamics, and for hazard assessment in volcanic areas. The monitoring of both carbon dioxide (CO2) flux, and hydrogen (H2) concentration in active volcanic areas helps to improve the understanding of the processes linking the surface gas emissions, the chemistry of the magmatic gases, and the volcanic activity. The CO2 flux measurement is a routine technique for volcano monitoring purposes, because of CO2 is the secondabundant component of the gas phase in silicate magmas, attaining saturation at the mantle to deep crustal level. The H2 concentration has provided indications concerning the oxygen fugacity of magmatic gases, a parameter that changes over a wide range of low values (1016 – 108 bar), and affects the redox state of multivalent elements. This study reports on the use a tailor-made automatic system developed for continuous monitoring purposes of H2 concentration and CO2 flux in the summit area of Stromboli volcano (Aeolian islands). The automatic device consists of an H2-selective electrochemical sensor, and two IR-spectrophotometers for measuring the CO2 flux in agreement with the dynamic concentration method. The data collected by the automatic system deployed at Stromboli from 19 May 2009 to 15 December 2010 are presented herein. The data processing provides a better understanding of the relationships between the evolution of the low temperature fumarolic emissions, and the volcanic activity. The results of the data analysis indicates that the high frequency variations exhibited by CO2 flux and H2 concentration are positively correlated with the eruptive activity of Stromboli, typically changing on time scale of hours or days. Furthermore, the investigation of the relationships between CO2 flux and H2 concentration provides an evaluation of the depth of the degassing source, by which the gas mixture containing H2 and CO2 starts to move through the rock fractures. Our data indicates that the depth of the degassing source ranges between 2 and 4 km in the volcano plumbing system, in agreement with the magma storage zone that has been proposed by other geochemical, volcanological, petrological and geophysical investigations120 88 - PublicationOpen AccessHazardous changes in soil CO2 emissions at Vulcano, Italy, in 2021(2022-10-14)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; The La Fossa volcano on the Island of Vulcano, Italy, showed signs of more energetic fumarolic–solfataric activity during 2021. Several increases in volcanic gas emissions and seismicity, namely “crisis”, punctuated the passive degassing at Vulcano that had ensued after the last 1888–1890 vulcanian eruption. Most of the gases (i.e., up to 90%) were emitted at the crater cone while the diffuse degassing of CO2 at Vulcano Porto accounted for more than 10% of the volcanic emissions. Two anomalous degassing zones at the base of the volcanic cone (i.e., Palizzi and Faraglione) showed notable changes in the gas output during the volcanic crisis. In these zones, increases of soil CO2 flux (φCO2) had several practical implications other than of volcanological interest, owing to the risk related to people’s exposure to volcanic gas emissions. The results of this study reveal variations of the average φCO2 from 74 g m-2 d-1 during September 2021 to 370 g m-2 d-1 in November 2021, which were 27% and 538% higher than the statistical background since 1988 (φCO2 ≈ 58 g m-2 d-1), respectively. These observations helped in volcanic surveillance at Vulcano. The soil CO2 partitioning determined using both φCO2 and carbon isotope measurements, helped track changes in the volcanic CO2 output from 9.97 · 104 kg d-1 to 101.15 · 104 kg d-1. Estimates for volcanic CO2 suggest that the instability of a magmatic body caused a transition from background fumarolic–solfataric activity toward an unrest event after September 2021.532 76 - PublicationOpen AccessRelationship between soil CO2 flux and tectonic structures in SW Sicily(2020)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; The identification and characterization of seismogenic structures in southwestern Sicily is an open debate both for the geological-structural complexity of this sector and the scarce seismicity as well. In addition, clear morphological evidence of tectonic structures is limited. Besides the geophysical methods, the study of the spatial distribution of soil CO2 flux is a valid methodology to investigate the position and geometry of buried active faults. Indeed, active tectonic structures are channels with high permeability through which deep fluids can migrate toward the atmosphere. Therefore, the alignment of high degassing areas can reveal the presence of preferential ways of rising fluids (i.e. faults). We applied this methodology in SW Sicily in the surrounding of the area hit by the 1968 seismic sequence and in three other areas where evidence of active deformation has been recognized. Furthermore, to investigate the origin of emitted fluids, we measured the carbon isotopic composition of the soil CO2 in some high emission sites. The results showed high spatial variability of soil CO2 fluxes with values ranging from 1 to 430 g m−2d−1. The areal patterns of soil CO2 fluxes in all the areas reveal a strong influence of the main tectonic structures and active deformations on soil CO2 emissions. The range of isotopic data and the distribution of soil CO2 fluxes suggest a supply of deep fluids through the active tectonic structures.922 81 - PublicationRestrictedSpatial domain analysis of carbon dioxide from soils on Vulcano Island: Implications for CO2 output evaluation(2016-09-28)
; ; ; ;Di Martino, R. M. R.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Palermo, Palermo, Italia ;Capasso, G.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Palermo, Palermo, Italia ;Camarda, M.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Palermo, Palermo, Italia; ; The carbon dioxide emissions of volcanoes have been targeted as effective contributors of CO2 to the atmosphere. However, different sources can be effective and active at the same time in the generation and release of CO2 in volcanic zones. Since isotopic fingerprinting of CO2 allows the precise identification of different sources, coupling carbon isotope and CO2 flux measurements enables the evaluation of the mass contribution of each source to the carbon dioxide emissions. This paper accounts for the first extensive spatial analysis of coupled measurements of carbon isotopologues of CO2 in the soil gases and CO2 fluxes discharged by soils on Vulcano Island. An innovative method has been designed, tested and fine-tuned in the laboratory to measure δ13C(CO2) values directly in field using a new type of laser-based isotopologues analyzer, namely a DeltaRay™ (Thermo Fisher Scientific). The method can be used to determine the carbon isotope composition across the full range of CO2 concentrations in the soil gases (0 – 100 vol%). These data have been combined with measurements of the CO2 contents in the soil gases to distinguish CO2 from deep origins from CO2 of biogenic origin in the inhabited area of Vulcano Porto. The method of evaluating the amount of deep-origin CO2 in the soil gases is widely applicable in volcanic and geothermal zones for evaluation and monitoring purposes for both gas and volcanic hazards.866 35 - PublicationRestrictedThe monitoring of natural soil CO2 emissions: Issues and perspectives(2019)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; Natural soil CO2 emissions constitute a substantial portion of the carbon emitted in the atmosphere, particularly in volcano-tectonic areas where deep CO2 supply is also present because of the Earth's degassing. Hence, these emissions are considered of fundamental importance in the study of global CO2 budget estimates. Furthermore, in recent years, soil CO2 emissions have played an important role in the realm of seismic and volcanic studies as well as in the mitigation of gas-hazard-related risks. Although many methods are available for monitoring soil CO2 emissions, the comprehension and use of monitoring data can be challenging. This is because soil CO2 emissions are influenced by numerous processes and as consequence exhibit high spatio-temporal variability. In this framework, understanding the processes behind the variability of soil CO2 emissions is instrumental in improving their investigations. In addition, more suitable management of the monitoring data series is another crucial aspect of soil CO2 emission studies. In this study, we provide a detailed description of the processes that affect soil CO2 emissions and outline their impacts as functions of different features of the measurement sites. In particular, we examine the processes driven by both exogenous and endogenous factors and explain the origin of the observed variations. This study is based on the data acquired via eight monitoring stations on the island of Vulcano (Italy) from 2009 to 2017. The monitoring sites exhibited different features and covered a wide range of the soil CO2 emission values, thereby allowing a broad application of the obtained results.1134 13 - PublicationRestrictedOn the complexity of anthropogenic and geological sources of carbon dioxide: Onsite differentiation using isotope surveyingAnthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) co-occur with emissions of these gases from volcanic and urban environments. Therefore, it remains a challenge for the scientific community to identify the contamination sources and quantify the specific contributions. Stable isotopes have many applications in different fields under geosciences, including volcanology, environmental surveying, and climatology. Isotopic surveys allow identification of photosynthetic fractionation in tree forests and gas sources in urban zones, and tracking of volcanic degassing. Thus, the stable isotopic composition of the local GHGs allows the evaluation of the environmental impacts and assists in mitigating the emissions. The present study aimed to distinguish the tropospheric sources of CO2 in the different ecosystems based on the stable isotopic composition of CO2. The study relies on field experiments performed in both volcanic and urban zones of the Mediterranean region. Experiments to identify the CO2 origins in the field were designed and conducted in the laboratory. The CO2 in the air in Palermo, the soil CO2 released at Vulcano (Aeolian Islands, Italy), and the CO2 emitted at Cava dei Selci (Rome, Italy) were selected for conducting case studies. Isotope surveying of the CO2-containing air in Palermo revealed that the CO2 content was correlated to human activity. Mobile-based measurements of carbon isotope were conducted to distinguish the different sources of CO2 at the district scale. In particular, the isotopic surveying process distinguished landfill-related CO2 emissions from the fossil fuel burning ones. The underlying geological reservoir was identified as the main source of air CO2 at Cava dei Selci. Finally, partitioning of soil CO2 enabled estimation of the geological CO2 estimation in the Vulcano Porto settled zones. The results of the present study revealed that detailed investigations on stable isotopes assist in tracking the CO2 sources and the fate of gas emissions. The fine-tuned experimental solutions assisted in broadening the research perspectives. In addition, deeper insights into the carbon cycle were obtained.
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