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Radionuclides behavior in hydrothermal volcanic systems: Preliminary investigations at high and low gas flux emission sites

G. Bufi1, S. Massaro1,2, F. Giordano3, P. Dellino1, S. Rainò3, F. Dioguardi1, F. Rufino4, S. Caliro4, A. Aiuppa5, S. Lentini1, A. Vitale5, A. Costa2, D. Serini3, D. Cerasole3, L. Divenere3, G. Vougioukalakis6, G. Tamburello2, G. Bini2, R. Sulpizio1,2

  • Affiliations: 1 Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e Geoambientali, Università degli Studi di Bari (Italy) 2 Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione di Bologna (Italy) 3 Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Bari (Italy) 4 Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Osservatorio Vesuviano, Napoli (Italy) 5 Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e del Mare, Università di Palermo (Italy) 6 Hellenic Survey of Geology and Mineral Exploration (HSGME), Athens (Greece)

  • Presentation type: Poster

  • Presentation time: Monday 16:30 - 18:30, Room Poster Hall

  • Poster Board Number: 167

  • Programme No: 3.1.59

  • Theme 3 > Session 1

Abstract

Studies over long periods at many active volcanic systems in the world revealed that radionuclides measurements in volcanic plumes provide useful indications of degassing processes in terms of volume of degassing magma, timescales of magmatic processes, chemical composition and depth of the reservoirs. In this study, we describe the preliminary results obtained from two radiometric surveys carried out between January and April 2024 at Pisciarelli (Campi Flegrei caldera, Italy) and Stephanos crater (Nisyros island, Greece), sites characterized by high and low gas flux emissions, respectively. Radioactivity measurements were collected through a scintillation gamma-ray detector in order to find potential correlations between volcanic gas (i.e., CO2 and H2S) and radionuclides concentrations at ground level and in atmosphere. We provided scans at four different altitudes from the ground, aiming to disentangle the contributions of the radionuclides (i.e., 222Rn, 220Rn, etc.) transported by the gas species diffused in the air from those contained within the rock and soil. Different volumetric profiles and 2D maps of gamma rates and gasses concentration have been plotted considering short (60 seconds) and long (600 seconds) acquisition times in multiple field spots for each scan altitude.